My DI Resin is spent already?

SpectraPure said:
Mrramsey,

Here are some links to help you understand.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2342795
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=895507
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=898154
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1984127

The link below is for our forum. There is a lot of great information.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=229

Jeremy
Click to expand...

Thanks Jeremy that helped a lot. I think I will order the co2 test kit just to be sure. I did speak to the folks at the water company. He told me our pH fluctuates between 7.2-7.5 and the kh is at 140mgl ALK 280mgl.

I will contact spectra pure to see what I would need to do to improve my system NY the time my filters need a change.
 
Mrramsey,

I am very glad that you were able to use the links provided. Give us a call when you want to optimize your system. I have many ways to make your system better!

Jeremy
 
So have you figured anything out? Did BRS help out in any way? I have the same unit and its brand new made 250 gallons and the DI is toast as well.

Not real happy and not sure what is going on.

I am in the 450 range for tap water. But the 100 plus range at RO before DI.
 
I took membranes out re instlled them at the request of BRS and now have my RO down to 26 going into DI. Still seems high to me especialy being a brand new unit.
 
Ramsay,
I have 600+ TDS before my membrane, and 11 after. After My DI I have zero, and the cartridge lasts about 3 months for top off on my 150 gallon system. It's a simple BRS 5 stage run at 90psi. I think I could probably make about 300 gallons from start to finish before (considering) changing resin.

One thing that has not been mentioned so far is chloramines. Do you have chloramines in your tap water? They will eat up your DI in a heartbeat.

Additionally, do you have a water softener pre RO/DI? Most companies void their warranty without a softener pre membrane. Like someone else said...its doesnt reduce TDS, but it definitely improves the performance and reduces the wear and tear on the membrane.

Solve these two and I think you'll be just fine.
 
Most companies void their warranty without a softener pre membrane.
Click to expand...

If thats the case its time to buy a Spectrapure membrane. Softened water trades calcium and magnesium ions for sodium. Membranes have a much easier time with sodium. Calcium is a "sticky" molecule which sticks to everything than hardens and thickens the more it collects
 
Water softeners are a fine pretreatment for RO membranes. On the commercial systems we install where membranes can get very expensive, water softeners are almost mandatory.

That said, the primary purpose of the softener is not to improve rejection. You install a softener when the feedwater is hard. The softener removes the hardness and keeps scale from building up inside the membrane and clogging it/them.

Russ
 
Buckeye Hydro said:
Water softeners are a fine pretreatment for RO membranes. On the commercial systems we install where membranes can get very expensive, water softeners are almost mandatory.

That said, the primary purpose of the softener is not to improve rejection. You install a softener when the feedwater is hard. The softener removes the hardness and keeps scale from building up inside the membrane and clogging it/them.

Russ
Click to expand...

I guess I can see where you might construe what i said as improving rejection...but that's not what I meant. What I meant by improving performance is exactly what you just said better than I.
 
Ha! Understood. It tough to get across technical info in short texts/posts/emails.

You'll often see us asking people to call in on the phone for troubleshooting help - for that very reason. Seems like we can go around and around via email/bulletin board posts; or we can get it resolved in a 5 minute phone call.

Russ
 
Have you considered this possibility?

Have you considered this possibility?

I run a 100 gpd RO membrane followed by 2 DI cartridges. I have 2 containers that I fill weekly. One is for pure water for ATO, and the other is my salt batch tank. I once ordered a replacement DI cartridge that had color changing resin. After installation I ran the unit to top off my salt batch reservoir which had about 20 gallons of 35 ppt salt water in it. The reservoir can hold 45 gallons. I turned the unit on and went about my day. I do not use a float shut-off, so I keep an eye on the tank level and manuall turn it off when it is close to being full. On this day I forgot to keep an eye on the tank level. The result was a tank that was draining through the overflow to the floor drain. I turned the pump and water supply off and moved on to something else. The next morning I noticed that the last DI cartridge of the series had completely changed color to an extent that I had never seen before. Upon investigating I found that the 1/4" line going into the tank was touching the surface of the water. What had happened was that my overflow level was higher than the low point of my fill line.

In case you don't already know it, your RO/DI unit siphons when you turn it off. Typically you just siphon air or pure water, and nothing happens. In the event that you siphon salt water of some relatively high salinity value, you'll saturate your DI resin immediately. If you were to siphon saturated kalk, the result wouldn't be as severe, but it would certainly saturate a significant amount of your resin and shorten the cartridge's life. Could this be a possible cause of the issue you experienced?

Lou
 
Not part of my issue but i dont think it was directed at me either as for i only fill up my rodi tank from my unit. I have no line from rodi going into my salt tank. This is done by valves and a pump
 
Buckeye Hydro said:
You should have a functioning check valve on the permeate line - sounds like you don't have one or it's not working.

Russ
Click to expand...

Russ,

I do not have a check valve on that line. I ended up just shortening it so that it is physically impossjble for the water level to reach it.

Lou
 
reelredfish said:
Not part of my issue but i dont think it was directed at me either as for i only fill up my rodi tank from my unit. I have no line from rodi going into my salt tank. This is done by valves and a pump
Click to expand...

OK, I didn't catch that. Yep, that would not be applicable toyour situation. I just wanted to put that out there for consideration. Surely I can't be the only one that this has happened to? ;)
 
That will work too!

BTW - Sometimes people don't think they have a check valve but they actually do. Sometimes it is built into the elbow fitting in the permeate port in the RO membrane housing. They don't last forever.

Russ
 
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