ebay water filtration?

[Chrismo]

I have had the $100 aquasafe unit for 6 years or so, and it works well. Filters aren't original anymore obviously but My TDS from the Tap is 170, after RO it's 7-8, and then zero after DI. Where would anyone have 800 TDS from the tap? That seems extreme.

I bet after a year or so, cheap units and expensive units will get their filters replaced with whatever is at the LFS and perform similarly.

My unit doesn't leak, but leaking would be more of an argument than the TDS to me. Using any RODI unit will lower your TDS tremendously compared to using tap water - which people do.

 

[luke33]

Arizona and Texas area are extremely high. Round 800tds

 

[Roland Jacques]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12527547#post12527547 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rbursek
I am so sick of this I can puke!!!!!!! You all Fleebay people miss the point, so later I up grade speand more money, after you are on reef forum with your algae/phophate problem!!!!!! And it comes down to your water!!!! Then you talk saving 100.00 on a unit that has to much waste to RODI water and price, but you do not equat that and look at your water bill and add that into your Fleebay unit. We are not here to bash you, just we have learned the hard way and figured it out, I had a exwife that had to fall and break her nose to learn, enstead of watching someone else do the same thing so she did not have to fall and break her nose. That is why she is the ex!!!!

Waste water ratio has nothing to brand... All properly maintained "normal" ROs operate at 4:1 ratio and produces 0 TDS.

What RODI that is right for you should be based on.
1. How much water you use
2. Your tap TDS
3. your water pressure

If you use more than 100 gallons a month, or have very high TDS it is worth looking into a better RODI that may suite your needs and save you money over the time. If you use 50 gallons or less / month it would be hard to recoupe the extra cost, and a basic or cheap RODI may be fine. When it comes to RODI Just do the math for your needs.

My modifide Water General unit to get 1:1 ratio. and has saved me hunderds of dollars because i make a lot of water 800Gals/month.

 

[AZDesertRat]

Before buying any unit you need to know your specific water conditions. That includes temperature, pressure, TDS, hardness and any other unusual conditions such as silicates, orthophosphates, nitrates, iron etc.
If you have extremely low TDS and fairly soft water from the tap with none of the other things mentioned in any large quantities then a cheap unit may work for you. It will never get you the water quality a better unit will do, nor will the membrane and DI resin last as long, but it will get by.
The key is knowing what your water is. In Phoenix I would not consider anything but the Spectrapure products, they are designed, tested and built right here for our high TDs and high hardness water conditions and nothing else on the market works as well or lasts as long, nothing. If I lived in Atlanta with a TDS of 30-50 instad of my 800+ I might condier a cheap unit but I would probably still upgrade the filters over time as my reef means too much to me to skimp on water quality. I have thousands invested in the tank and contents, why not provide the best water since its the largest ingredient in it by far.

 

[Esquare]

In the imortal word of Rodney, "Why can't we all just get along". The proper unit is what ever fits best for your situation. I'm too new to know what I'm talking about but I can still read the 0 TDS on my water general (handheld meter). If I had to do it again, I'd probably get the higher priced unit just to be safe as water quality is the bigest part of this hobby. But for now the water general is working fine and giving 0 tds, time will tell.

 

[sjm817]

If you want a MaxCap, buy a MaxCap. Better off starting with what you want. On my Water General, I replaced the original filters after 6 months, which is considered normal good practice and I would have done it anyway. I think it was like $25 for the prefilters. I replaced the original membrane because of all the all the posts I saw here saying that the 75 GPD Filmtek is the best way to go. It didn't make any improvement over the original, but I have no regrets doing it. Upgrading to the vertical DI was the only significant change. I think that was like $35. So, the only "necessary" upgrade cost was ~ $35.

 

[RichConley]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12529556#post12529556 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by AZDesertRat
nor will the membrane and DI resin last as long, but it will get by.

Incorrect.


I have to replace membranes and DI resin because of their shelf life, not because they wear out. Going to a better membrane/etc would get me no longer life. Things would last exactly the same length.

Please, don't make general statements. They don't apply to a lot of us. They apply only to those of you with high tds.

 

[Fishbulb2]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12529591#post12529591 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sjm817
I replaced the original membrane because of all the all the posts I saw here saying that the 75 GPD Filmtek is the best way to go. It didn't make any improvement over the original, but I have no regrets doing it.

I had the exact same experience. Actually, I got slightly worse rejection from the Filmtec (96%) versus the old 100gpd "nano" filter (97%). I also own a Water General that has received a large overhaul over the years. If I could do it again, I would just buy from one of the RC sponsors and avoid the upgrade. However, I am now completely happy with my unit and it's performing flawlessly (98% rejection).

FB

 

[Esquare]

All right. Y'all got me worried so I ran out (not really, more of a waddel) and got the dual tds meter and hooked it up after the ro and after the di. I get 1 ppm out of the ro and 0 out of the di and I'm working with 170 tap.

I just figured this thread was slowing down so I would stir the pot a little.

 

[abulgin]

My e-bay unit that I got for just over $100 uses a Filmtek 100 RO filter. My tap TDS is 165 or so, my post-RO is 5, and my post DI is 0. I don't know why everyone gets so worked up over this topic, or equipment in general. If a unit gives you pure water, the unit gives you pure water. Period. I've replaced my carbon, sediment and DI cartridges once in a year. DI cartridges are $11. For $20, I can get a 5 micron sediment filter, an activated carbon filter, a coconut carbon filter, and 2 DI cartridges. For $49, I can get all that plus a new Filmtek 100gpd RO cartridge. At those prices, it would take me a long time to recoup my expenses on buying a $250+ unit.

 

[t-bone2]

i dont know what membraine my ebay unit use its from abundant water flow and it takes my 300+ tds down to 1 tds before di for two years now

 

[longhornxtreme]

Ah... what better a post to de-lurk?


------ Intro:
Hi RC, I'm a FW Planted guy who's looking at a reef tank in 2 years after graduating from law school. (Hopefully, a long enough period for saving / research).

I figured a RODI could benefit my planted tanks off the bat as I've noticed my phosphate and nitrate levels are throwing my fertilizing regimen out of whack. Not to mention start the gradual accumulation of the mind blowing amount of equipment needed even for a stinking nano reef .

------
Back on topic:

It really seems that people will defend to the death their RODI brand. Whether it's expensive, inexpensive, sponsored, un sponsored, 75 GPD, 1,000,000 GPD and with neon lights that turn pure rock into blue water. If I have to hear a poster write, "It's a known fact" without some sort of reference to the 'known fact' I think I'm going to actually believe the 'known fact'.

Additionally, 'you get what you pay for with RODI' seems to be a false statement. It seems the proper statement should be, "High TDS tap water or reefers expecting decades of use should buy more expensive units, learn which cartridges go better with what disinfectant YOUR tap uses, and focus on reducing the recurring DI resin costs. Low TDS tap water or low volume needs or those only needing the use the RODI filter for 4-6 years should probably buy a made in the USA ebay model with the knowledge that cartridges might need replacing much earlier than the pricier units."

This thread reminds me of a similar ('closed') thread on APC that discussed the merits of dosing dry ferts versus those same ferts sold in a brand name bottle in a liquid solution.

Don't get so emotionally involved in your equipment!!!!! We don't have to defend our purchases to ANYONE but ourselves (and maybe the spouse / significant other )