buying ro/di unit, help

J

Jenabean

New member
http://www.aquacave.com/spectrapure...-with-manual-membrane-flush-mcspdi-90-mf.html

Hi guys,

So my tank is four months old now. Ive been using the Culligan water from Walmart but it isnt working great because I have several species of algae growing (green bubble, green wiry, green hair, and more). Well anyways I've been looking into buying a ro/di unit. My tank is only 12 gallons, but i want a larger one sometime in the future. So can you guys help me get the most for my money? I want to spend around $250 but less if possible. I found one that seems pretty good, but i only have a basic understanding of them. Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated! The link for the one im looking at is at the top, lol.
 
I got a 5-stage 75gpd off ebay years ago for around $100. It was from Pure Water Club I believe. It's been going strong since then. I've since upgraded the original unit with parts from Bulk Reef Supply. I added their water saver kit that bumps it up to a 150gpd unit. I also swapped out the crappy horizontal DI canisters for a vertical canister. I also picked up a booster pump on ebay for around $100. A TDS meter is also a must in my book. I've probably spent $300 total on it, but it'll beat the pants off anything you could buy in one piece for $300.

There really isn't much difference between an expensive unit and a cheap unit other than the included filter cartridges. Once the cheapies in your cheap unit run out, put in something better and all will be equal.
 
I have the BRS 150 GPD 4 stage value water saver plus system and am very happy with it. Very sturdily built - comes with a TDS meter and is easy to replace cartridges which are readily available from BRS - It's $240
 
Go with a spectrapure. Get one with a high rejection rate. You save no money by purchasing a cheap unit because you will pay for it in di.
 
tkeracer619 said:
Go with a spectrapure. Get one with a high rejection rate. You save no money by purchasing a cheap unit because you will pay for it in di.
Click to expand...

My else cheapo unit produced about 5ppm water. If it makes you feel better, swap out the membrane for a name brand unit, you'll be saving money still, and you'll have a spare.
 
Jenabean said:
http://www.aquacave.com/spectrapure...-with-manual-membrane-flush-mcspdi-90-mf.html

Hi guys,

So my tank is four months old now. Ive been using the Culligan water from Walmart but it isnt working great because I have several species of algae growing (green bubble, green wiry, green hair, and more). Well anyways I've been looking into buying a ro/di unit. My tank is only 12 gallons, but i want a larger one sometime in the future. So can you guys help me get the most for my money? I want to spend around $250 but less if possible. I found one that seems pretty good, but i only have a basic understanding of them. Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated! The link for the one im looking at is at the top, lol.
Click to expand...

I was in Petco yesterday and was amazed they have a 50gpd RO unit for $79! You can add a DI cartridge for a little bit more. Not sure about specs but it was def a deal and may work well for you.
 
azjohnny said:
Go with a Spectrapure Maxcap, I learned my lesson going with cheaper units, Water General off of Ebay was the worst

Here is a link for a Maxcap
http://spectrapure.com/AQUARIUM/RO-...I-Systems/MaxCap-Standard-90-GPD-RO-DI-System


here is a link to Spectrapure's page on Reef Central, a lot of good info in the stickies
http://reefcentral.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=229
Click to expand...
+1 I finally bought an RO/DI last winter after making trips to the store for the previous 4 years. I went with the Spectrapure maxcap 90 with manual flush and I love it.
 
origreefer said:
I was in Petco yesterday and was amazed they have a 50gpd RO unit for $79! You can add a DI cartridge for a little bit more. Not sure about specs but it was def a deal and may work well for you.
Click to expand...

That's the RO Buddie System, you can find it on Amazon and Dr Foster's for $10 to $15 less.

I got mine on sale for $59.00
 
It's always a good idea to do a little research on your source water before spending $$$s on a RODI system. Particularly if it is treated with chloramine vs chlorine. Water pressure is also a consideration. I'm assuming you're not on a well, if so & you're on 'city' water, the pressure should be sufficient that you won't need a system with a booster pump. If your water is treated with chloramine, you'll need an extra carbon stage to protect the RO membrane. If it's chlorine treated, a single carbon stage should suffice. See if you can access a water report from your supplier. Usually they are obligated to provide this information to customers on line. Should include detailed info on TDS & content of various minerals, bad stuff etc. You can also purchase a handheld TDS meter to check the tap water yourself.

In the end, most RODI systems are assembled using relatively generic components, regardless of brand name. The quality of the RO membrane is definitely something to keep in mind & that's where a reputable vendor is a safe bet. Not much sense spending money on extra filtration stages & booster pumps if there's no need. Useful accessories on most RODI systems are at least one pressure gauge and dual TDS meter. The number of filtration stages requrired aside from the RO membrane, will depend on the quality of your source water, so it's best to base your purchase on that, rather than a particular brand name.
 
I just bought the BRS 6 stage 75gpd unit - it's a door buster sale for $202 - Free Shipping. No tax either - I don't understand that.
 
Bulkreefsupply.com has rodi units on doorbuster right now for very cheap. They're not spectrapure, but definitely superior to culligan. You can always upgrade to a spectrapure membrane down the road for 99.9% rejection. My spectrapure membrane has allowed me to have zero Tds water for nearly 3 years now...without a di canister change.

That being said, changing to rodi water will not make algae disappear over night. The most important reason for using rodi water is complete control over calcium and alkalinity in your artificial seawater. Not for algae control.
 
Hey Guys,
First post. Just joined up last night but I've been reading for about a week now. Looking to get back into things again after a ~10 year hiatus and I'm doing a bunch of research right now. I've always done freshwater in the past so there's a lot of new stuff to figure out.

Anyway,

The question I have is, What the difference between the "Aquarium" RO units and the one in my kitchen? The one at MelvsReef and a few of them at Marinedepot looks exactly like the Watts unit that I have under my sink. Leading me to think that they are literally the same (except for the DI filter).

Could I just add a DI filter to the output of my current unit? Does the DI bit work OK for Drinking water?

Thanks!
Jeff
 
The difference is likely the membrane rejection rate but the unit you have will likely accept a new membrane. You want a filmtech 75gpd membrane, you can buy them from several sources but spectrapure sells them as their tested membranes where you can get one producing above 98% rejection. You will also need a different flow restrictor.

As far as DI is concerned you would only run the RO through DI for aquarium use. You can drink it but it doesn't taste so good.
 
The quality of filters ( sediment, carbon, membrane and DI) are a much higher quality with Spectrapure and Buckeye Hydro. Pay attention to pore size smaller the better. I wouldn't go any larger than 1 micron with the sediment or carbon block

Make sure the sediment filter is either the same size or smaller than the carbon.

I run these size filters with my Spectrapure Maxcap

sediment- .2
carbon- .5
Spectrapure Spectra Select Plus ( 99% rejection rate)
Maxcap DI
Silica Buster DI

bad/good water ratio is also important, I run mine at 4/1( I have high TDS levels in my area) If run run to low of a ratio in order to conserve water the membrane will prematurely foul up and need replacement
 
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