0 tds what can i add

fishkeeprian

Active member
Hello,

I am currently getting 0 TDS water but should I add another stage to make sure it's the cleaning it can be?

I'm not trying to take out some specific because I have no idea what my tap water contains.

Looking for suggestions and thoughts thanks

It's a 4 stage unit I have.
 
As far as I know a 0 TDS reading is the best it can get. The water has been stripped of all it's impurities.
 
Are you talking to me or the OP? Either or a little more explanation would help mcgyver.
 
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So any additional stage, say an extra carbon block wo0uld only prolong the life of the RO membrane and DI?

Yes it may help with the RO life... Or all it may do is end up costing you more money each time you need to replace filters as you just have more filters to replace..
If you know that your water source his high in Chlorine/Chloramines,etc... then you may be able to start looking at potential justification..
IMO leave well enough alone..
 
Let's start at the end and work backwards. If you're getting zero, there's no point in adding more DI, unless you just want to change it less often (but change more each time you do). So, it's a wash.

There's no point in adding another membrane, unless you want a higher flow rate and/or better reject ratio, which you probably don't, since you haven't asked (and it's generally not worth the complication anyways).

There's no point in adding another carbon stage - if you somehow needed one, you'd probably know by now. The big thing carbon helps with is removing chlorine, and unless you have either A LOT in your source, or you're pushing a very high flow rate (multiple membranes), adding another carbon block isn't going to do squat for your water quality or membrane life. I know it's starting to get popular for people to run two carbon prefilters, but I feel like that's at least as much a marketing push by the vendors as it is justified. I'd love to see some testing done on the pre-membrane water for people who feel like they need one. Is there actually anything harmful left after just one stage?

Similarly, adding more sediment filters can make sense if you know for sure that you need them, but if you don't need them, you're either wasting money, or reducing performance (adding several, or really fine, sediment filters can drop pressure at the membrane enough that membrane performance suffers).

So, yes, generally - unless you're chasing a specific known problem (which it sounds like you aren't), don't change anything.
 
You're totally fine. That's very nice source water. It's clean and doesn't have a lot in it. Chlorine levels are acceptable for use as drinking water but plenty low enough to not need additional carbon before your membrane. Your pH is good, which hints that there isn't too much dissolved CO2 in the water (which can kill DI quickly). It's not super hard or salty. It's not full of metals or other contaminants. It's pretty close to ideal.
 
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