RO/DI help

lpsouth1978

lpsouth1978

New member
I recently setup a 40b, completed the cycle, and have 3 fish in it so far. My problem is with my water. I have a 6 stage RO/DI with Aquatec booster pump. I just replaced all of the filters and installed a new Filmtec membrane. My feed water is such poor quality I am only getting about 40 gallons out of my DI resin before it needs to be replaced.

My feed water TDS is at about 700. After the RO membrane it is only down to about 40. I cannot afford to replace the DI resin after each water change and ATO reservoir fill. Is there anything I can do, that won't cost me a small fortune, to improve my final product water and increase the life of my DI resin. It is about a 2 hour round trip to the nearest reputable source of quality, 0tds, water.
 
lpsouth1978 said:
I recently setup a 40b, completed the cycle, and have 3 fish in it so far. My problem is with my water. I have a 6 stage RO/DI with Aquatec booster pump. I just replaced all of the filters and installed a new Filmtec membrane. My feed water is such poor quality I am only getting about 40 gallons out of my DI resin before it needs to be replaced.

My feed water TDS is at about 700. After the RO membrane it is only down to about 40. I cannot afford to replace the DI resin after each water change and ATO reservoir fill. Is there anything I can do, that won't cost me a small fortune, to improve my final product water and increase the life of my DI resin. It is about a 2 hour round trip to the nearest reputable source of quality, 0tds, water.
Click to expand...

Where did you buy your RO/DI unit from? Might be worth emailing them and seeing what they recommend.

I personally have never heard of an RO membrane or DI resin being used up after only 40-gallons tbh. You sure the membrane is working and or seated correctly?
 
RO/DI help

I'm going to say it could possibly be partially related to a CO2 issue. Do you know what your pH is prior to the unit? My well is very acidic and has high concentrations of CO2. This is apparently very common with well water. What I have to do is make just RO water and aerate it for 24 hours prior to pumping it through my DI resin. Doing this has increased the life of my DI resin enormously. My incoming TDS is only 200-300 and is 12-15 after the RO membrane though.
 
Tinkanator2000 said:
I'm going to say it could possibly be partially related to a CO2 issue. Do you know what your pH is prior to the unit? My well is very acidic and has high concentrations of CO2. This is apparently very common with well water. What I have to do is make just RO water and aerate it for 24 hours prior to pumping it through my DI resin. Doing this has increased the life of my DI resin enormously. My incoming TDS is only 200-300 and is 12-15 after the RO membrane though.
Click to expand...

Yup, I am on a well also. without aeration di one month, with aeration di 14 months.
 
I am actually now in Arizona and on municipal water. I never had issues in Colorado, my water was actually very good. I got the system about 2 years ago to use primarily for my drinking/cooking water, so 50-80 TDS was not a problem. When I set up my tank I added the DI.

I am considering running the clean water from the membrane through a 2nd membrane,but I am concerned that it would give me something like 1:8 waste water ratio.
 
lpsouth1978 said:
I am actually now in Arizona and on municipal water. I never had issues in Colorado, my water was actually very good. I got the system about 2 years ago to use primarily for my drinking/cooking water, so 50-80 TDS was not a problem. When I set up my tank I added the DI.

I am considering running the clean water from the membrane through a 2nd membrane,but I am concerned that it would give me something like 1:8 waste water ratio.
Click to expand...

Arozona has feed water with TDS of 700?

Can you post a picture of what system your using? Also, what pre-filters and membrane are you using? Not all pre-filters and membranes are created equal.
 
shaginwagon13 said:
Arozona has feed water with TDS of 700?

Can you post a picture of what system your using? Also, what pre-filters and membrane are you using? Not all pre-filters and membranes are created equal.
Click to expand...

I can try to get a pic tonight, but it is under the sink and not the easiest to get good pics of. I got the RO unit on amazon, same with the replacement filters and membrane. I am looking at ordering new filters and a new membrane from BRS as soon as payday arrives. I am also considering their "Triple DI saver kit". It sounds like that may be the way to go for me.

And, YES Arizona has TERRIBLE water. NO ONE drinks from the tap here. A whole house filter and water softener are pretty much standard. I however have neither and have to rely solely on my RO system.
 
Also on this site down low, Spectrapure has there own section of forum where they cover all kinds of useful information on making DI water. One thing I learned from them is... I had a float valve controlling the refill of my RODI water and it would start to refill as soon as my water level dropped enough to actuate the float valve. This is not the way it should be done. Now I have manual ball valves on my system,and once my second barrel gets down to about half full I turn the valves on and produce a huge volume of water all at once. This has greatly increased the quality of water I am making, and has increased the longevity of my DI resin. If you are making small batches of water... try to stop this practice! It sounds like you are making RO for the house with this system at well, but at least for your aquarium make sure you have at least one large barrel, and only make water for the aquarium in large batches. And obviously as numerous people have suggested get that 99% rejection filter, but note that if you are making small batches of water for the house... you will not get close to 99% rejection. I feel like your best bet would be to save up for a second system and have it run off your existing system.
Good Luck
Ron
 
I decided to make some upgrades to my RO/DI system. While I am keeping the system I have, I just ordered some 1 micron sediment filters, 1 micron Carbon Block filters, and a new 100 GPD membrane from BRS. The membrane is rated at 98% rejection, but that is the highest I could find for a 100gpd membrane. I also ordered the Dual DI Canister upgrade from BRS and extra resin.

I will also be redoing much of the tubing to setup the system more efficiently. I plan on using ball valves to keep the resin separate from the drinking water, so it is only used when making water for the tank. I am hoping that all of these changes will amount to better water and a healthy tank.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

W
Storing RO/DI water
Replies
16
Views
2K
griss
griss
Dogs442
NEED HELP WITH RO/DI SYSTEM
2
Replies
34
Views
3K
griss
griss
Raptor72
Another RO/DI setup question(s)
Replies
19
Views
2K
griss
griss
M
Well water TDS 10
Replies
4
Views
525
wvned
wvned
Mr31415
RO unit: DI resin depletes quickly
2
Replies
25
Views
3K
Mr31415
Mr31415
Back
Top