Cprowler's 150g System from the start

[rdmpe]

Yuck! I bet mine look like that also. My rodi production has slowed a lot and I have not replaced any of the prefilters since I bought the unit nearly a year ago. Remember you can also rinse the ro membrane on some systems...

 

[tgunn]

Yeah, I got a shock when I first changed mine:

I now use a clear first canister so I can see it getting dirty and know when to change it..

I try to change out the paper filters every month or two and the carbon every 3 months or so...

The water here has lots of sediment though; I've been meaning to get a washable sediment prefilter...

Tyler

 

[Chaloupa]

Phew! Now that I see all the others I don't feel so bad. I thought I had the worst water ever and how on earth could I drink it let alone use it in my fish tank?! Seeing that others get worse filters makes me feel a lot better!

 

[melev]

The rule is change them every six months. The LFS near me was using a 100gpd unit to make water for his tanks as well as for any customers, and after more than a year he needed a new membrane (which is good for 3 to 5 years for the average hobbyist). Once he installed it, production rates shot up.

His store is small, but he must be making water nearly around the clock and these types of RO units aren't designed to be used in that way.

The prefilter can be changed more often if you like. It is the first one and will trap the mostly larger stuff. It's kinda weird how they always turn orange, no matter where their water comes from.

The carbons should be changed at 6 months because they are protecting the membrane from chlorine damage. Running them for a year without changing risks deterioration of the membrane, Randy.

Bill, why do you have two sediment filters? Is your unit a 5 stage? If so, it should be 1 sediment and 2 carbons.

 

[rdmpe]

Are the filter cartriges pretty much generic or do I have to go to where I bought the rodi unit to get filters?

 

[melev]

They should be generic, as long as they are the industry 10" standard cartridges. If you have an ebay RO/DI, it may have a couple of horizontal ones that are proprietary to your unit.

 

[rdmpe]

Mine uses vertical prefilters that look the same as what I typically see everywhere, so I guess I should be OK with that.

I have three prefilters, so I'll have to dig up the docs to see what is what.

So can I just go to Lowes or Home Depot and get a sediment cartridge and an activated carbon cartridge? Where have you guys been getting your replacements?

 

[Stile2]

I order mine online from the manufacturer. I believe I have two prefilters and one carbon. But they come in the package of the three. I'll have to see if I can get two carbon instead.

 

[melev]

It should be one prefilter (1 or 5 micron) and two carbon (5 or 10 micron).

You can buy them at your LFS, at Home Depot (supposedly) or online. Online would be cheapest usually.

 

[Cprowler]

I don't normally have access to computers/net at work but today I'm not doing what I normally do and am at a office that I can sneak on.

The LFS talked me into 2 pre-filters, I had one and two carbon.

After I changed them out the flow had not increased much so I was going to get a carbon on the way home.

Should I get two?

 

[chocolates mom]

Cprowler where do you buy most of your fish / corals?

 

[melev]

You may not see an increase of production, but your TDS should be lower and the membrane remains safe from damage.

 

[tgunn]

I would try a couple of a particular brand of prefilters before buying many. I once bought a package of two 5 micron prefilters from the home improvement store; they were absolutely horrible; they quickly clogged and sent tonnes of sediment into my carbon cartridges and choking them with sediment. I ruined a new carbon cartridge in a span of 2 weeks and my TDS shot up like a rocket quicky.

Tyler

 

[Cuby2k]

I am curious what level of TDS do others see in their pre-filtered water from around the country (world). I see a range from about the 130's to 248 I think was the highest.

And shouldn't you expect ZERO TDS on the leaving side of the DI pack?

 

[Cuby2k]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8149252#post8149252 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Cprowler
I changed my pre-filters today, looks like they are doing their job. I need to check out the other filters and change the ones that need it. Probably all of them.

I would say that these filters really don't look at that bad, especially for the time they have been in service. Mine look more like those that tgunn posted only mine have been in service for a much shorter period of time.

I think my prefilter is a 0.5 micron which would tend to fill faster I think.

 

[melev]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8158086#post8158086 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Cuby2k
I am curious what level of TDS do others see in their pre-filtered water from around the country (world). I see a range from about the 130's to 248 I think was the highest.

And shouldn't you expect ZERO TDS on the leaving side of the DI pack?

My source was is a mere 176, but the DI is 0-1 (my meter doesn't like calibrating to 0 for some reason).

Others in our club have a TDS of 600 or more, which is unbelievable. Still, they get the water down to near 0 levels, although they go through filters and DI far more quickly.

 

[MyMonkey]

Nice pics of BC. Makes me want to move up there.

 

[Cprowler]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8153466#post8153466 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by chocolates mom
Cprowler where do you buy most of your fish / corals?

I'm having DeJa Vous, didn't I answer this for you a few months back?

I got most (90%) of my corals from locals on CanReef and what few I did buy I got at Ocean Aquatics and my fish from J & L Aquatics .

I think OA is the best for corals and advice and JL for fish and the most "in stock" dry goods. Hidden Reef is in your back yard and is fairly good for all 3 coral, fish and dry goods. All three are good for dry goods but JL has the most in stock.

I rank them;

OA - best coral selection/price, very friendly and knolagable.
JL - best fish/invert selection, somewhat snooty.
HR - decent fish and corals, friendly and knolagable

And in a tier below is King ed's that has great pricing on genaric drygoods like Hagen and others, no high end stuff like salifert, tunze, ice cap ect. Hit and miss with livestock.

Does any of that make any sence? There are some others but these are the main players.

Any locals lurking have opinions on this?

 

[Chaloupa]

Yup...I think you have summed it up perfectly...although I do rank HR above and beyond for customer service the ranking for what you can get as you have listed is great! Any yeh, King Ed's is at the bottom as sometimes they have good stuff...sometimes they don't, their customer service is usually poor.

 

[Cprowler]

My water filter is a 6 stage that has carbon last after the DI for some reason.

I picked up a carbon filter the other night and will get another tomorrow since that was the last one at that LFS.

I had the purifier for over a year now and have only changed the first two stages twice(was paper/carbon to paper/paper) and the third (carbon) once.

I'm going to get a second carbon and order some DI online when I get my PayPal straightened out and get rid of the last carbon. That way I'll have; paper, carbon, carbon, RO, DI.

I guess I'll have to get another TDS meter. I got SW on the one I have now and it has never worked properly since. It reads 10 in and 0 out and the output is almost non existent so their is a blockage somewhere.

Here is a pic I took with my old camera from when I installed it.