good ro/di system for the money?

[jmoney]

For some reason I had nothing but problems with my typhoon III the unit actually completely failed after a month, and it always took more than 3 or for days to get any kind of response from airwaterice, I ordered the plus package from bulk reef supply and got a dual di upgrade for free, and a dual tds meter and presssure gauge for about the same price as my typhoon III, and I've had 0 issues with it...thats just my experience though

 

[Travisxrs05]

Im going to put a +3 for the filter guys. I got the ocean reef +1 and love it!

 

[Zann]

Airwaterice has some of the best prices and great filters check them out i got a mightymight and it works greats great 50 gal a day the typhoon III is a great one also. and remember the gpd is only what rating membrane you have in it. you can take a 75 gpd and make it a 100 by changing the membrane.

 

[RokleM]

The Typhoon III isn't a bad unit either, but I personally had issues with it (including a membrane chamber started leaking causing high TDS). Replacement higher quality parts (chamber was much more solid) from Buckeye fixed the issue. Not to bang Airwaterice as they are a solid company with a lot of great feedback, but issues can occur.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15278372#post15278372 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by slathrum
This is the one area I go cheap. Case in point - my $90 shipped new 6 stage www.purewaterclub.com unit continues to crank out 0 TDS. The housings for these things all seem identical while everyone with their twice as expensive unit will claim theirs is superiorly constructed. It may have a bunch of doo dads and junk on it, but none of that is really necessary for making 0 TDS water. The inline meters never seem very accurate compared to a handheld and a pressure gauge while helpful really isn't necessary unless you're wanting to boost your output with a booster pump on a higher GPD unit. What it comes down to is the filters, and most of those look pretty darn similar between the cheapies and expensive ones. I'd almost guarantee my membrane is made by Filmtec and packaged under a different name. Skimmers, lights...don't go cheap or without doing your homework because you'll end up paying in the end, but RO units are a dime a dozen and nothing special. I always get crap on this, but it really doesn't matter when my unit has failed to self-destruct or not work as well like everyone seems to think.

As with my previous comment, there are major differences in parts, even between quality vendors. No offense, but as you said, most of us could go on for paragraph on paragraph listing issues with most of the rigged up ebay units including the one above (drinking water primarily and very poorly rigged up to try to meet reefkeeper's needs). I'm glad it seems to be working for you, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend it to anyone else. Low quality parts, vertical DI, outright wrong information on the site including specs of parts, tons of extra filters that aren't needed, increased cost (and often much more expensive long term than starting with a quality unit in the first place) due to poor DI usage and extra filters to replace, etc, etc, etc.

Basically many people are happy with these units, but I probably wouldn't use one if you gave it to me for free. And again, please take no offense, but I feel this statement below is 100% dead wrong. RO/DI and water quality in my opinion is one of the most important aspects of succesfull reefkeeping. Some are blessed in having almost perfect water out of the tap and can use rigged up systems. A good chuck of us however do not have the best water possible from the tap and would spend a fortune replacing filters and DI on the system above, or potentially crash our tanks if emphasis on RO/DI was not in place. Just a few of my inhabitants warrant spending slightly more money up front for a properly built system (and will likely save me more money in the long term), let alone the cost of potential issues with all my prized fish/corals/etc.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15278372#post15278372 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by slathrum
This is the one area I go cheap.

 

[slathrum]

No offense taken! I've just yet to see what these "major" differences in build quality are. We're talking molded plastics and fittings with teflon tape connecting them. It's not exactly rocket science, and I just don't see how one unit could be so superior unless it was made out of titanium or something ridiculous like that. Premium filter manufacturers package some of their products as no names all the time. Some may be rejects for whatever reason, but from what I understand that is usually not the case. All the other frills like pressure gauges, meters etc. can be added to any unit if you really want them. I had one issue with mine when I got it. Someone overtightened the fitting threading into the RO membrane capsule. I emailed the company and a few days later had a replacement with no hassle. There's your customer service there.

Of all the issues listed, I haven't experienced any of them. You can easily find an RO unit on ebay to meet your needs if you don't want the tank and faucet. Filters eventually clog up and wear out no matter what you're using, so why not have extras? I guess I'm not sure what you mean by specs. Most of this stuff seems fairly interchangeable to me. I think you meant to say horizontal DI, since vertical is what most shoot for and the fix for that is as easy as rotating the DI container.

 

[harthag12]

no complaints on my filter guys unit +4

 

[RokleM]

slathrum, yes that should have been listed as no vertical DI. Typo on my part.

You're right thought, as long as it works for you, the water quality is good, and you're happy... that's all that matters.

 

[cdness]

I have the Bulk Reef Supply model with the single DI. It is working great and you can get the refill DI resin from them as well as the cartridge is refillable. Also the guys at BRS are awesome to work with and they ship super fast.

One concern to mention though is look at your water cost. I don't have to pay for water (renting) so it isn't a concern for me that there is so much waste water. With the Spectrapure Max Cap there is a lot less waste. If you pay for water and the cost is faily high it would be something to consider...