RO/DI System Worth It?

[LiquidAquariums]

Hi there. straight to my question:

I want to install an RODI system in my home or shop for my aquariums and drinking water. I currently have 3 leased reef tanks totalling close to 1000G and am sick of buying water from the store.

Can anyone recommend a proven sustainable brand? Thanks!

 

[Neilmu]

BRS RO/DI systems seem to be very popular

 

[homer1475]

Spectrapure is pretty popular and are a RC sponsor. They have their own forum in the sponsor section. They are pretty helpful in getting people setup from what I've read.

 

[sfdan]

I have a BRS 6 stage RO/DI and it works great. Regardless of which brand you should get, you should certainly get an RO/DI, there is no other way to conveniently get a large volume of pure water.

 

[Brieninsac]

With a 1000 gallons why have you waited so long? You can get a BRS 4-stage system for just over $200. That's got to be a drop in the hat compared to what your spending buying water plus travel time and expenses.

 

[joshbrookkate]

BRS 6 stage. Good price. Great customer support. (Never needed it for the RODI, but excellent responses to 2 issues re other products.)

 

[mr_anderson]

Yes, get a system. Most systems are the same. It depends on how many stages you want. I have a 5 stage not cannot complain. The system will pay for itself in the long run.

 

[dkeller_nc]

As far as brands, the consumables (RO membrane, carbon blocks, DI resin) is what actually matters. The cartridge housings and bracket are pretty much the same across all brands. Extra $$ gets you some useful bells and whistles, like a TDS meter, an external flow restrictor, an oil-filled pressure gauge, and an RO membrane flush valve.

BRS is very good to deal with, and offers RC members a special discount as part of a "group buy". The sign-up is the first Saturday of each month, and gets you 10% off on that order, free shipping with an order over $29, and a permanent upgrade to "preferred reefer" on your BRS account.

There are two other very reputable RODI system dealers that are RC sponsors - Buckeye Hydro and The Filter Guys.

With the number of gallons you're maintaining, I'd suggest buying one of the "water saver" systems that have two RO membranes. More expensive, but considerably higher output rate. Also, contrary to the "wisdom" on the internet, it won't hurt you to drink RODI water in and of itself. But it's a waste of DI resin, so you might consider installing a take-off valve after the RO membrane and before your DI cartridges.

Also realize that an RODI system strips the antibacterials out of municipal tap water (whether you use just the RO-processed water or RODI). For that reason, it's important that you refrigerate water from your system that you intend to use for drinking, and it's important to take the system apart occasionally and make sure that you're not building up a bacterial biofilm inside the cartridge housings.

 

[Greybeard]

Try Air Water Ice. http://theh2oguru.com/ Good guys, good service, good products.

 

[Bruce51]

BRS or MarineDepot, great customer service from both

 

[CStrickland]

I'm very happy with my refurbished 90gpd spectrapure. I just had an issue with my tap water and they responded immediately and walked me through the whole process really nicely. The unit cost about $150 including shipping. I also like how they have a lot of options to customize.

Idk if it's true but I heard they do the water for Starbucks too

 

[dkeller_nc]

One other comment about setting up an RODI for the first time. It's a good idea to buy a set of total/free chlorine test strips, at least if you're on municipal water. The chloramine that most municipalities use is more difficult to remove than straight chlorine, and carbon blocks get exhausted considerably more quickly when removing chloramine.

With the test strips, you can ascertain precisely when your carbon blocks are exhausted and need to be replaced. Since that's generally the biggest expense in consumables when operating an RODI, the strips pay for themselves pretty quickly by avoiding replacing them too early.

 

[slief]

My first suggestion would be spectrapure. They are one of the best you can get and unlike most, they manufacturer their own cartridges. I run a. 90 GPD Spectrapure Maxcap UHE unit that produces 1 gallon of waste for every gallon of 0 TDS RODI water and I get nearly 1000 gallons of RODI water before having to change the first DI cartridge. The 2nd stage DI lasts even longer as to the RO, sediment and carbon blocks.

Things to consider when buying an RODI are the type of water you get from your tap. Things like well water typically have high Co2 rates and generally need an aerated cistern to rid the water of Co2 before you pump it into your RODI otherwise your cartridges won't last. Chloramines are popular in many municipal elections water treatment processes and kill cartridges fast too. You can download your municipal water quality report online from your water provider. If they are using chloramines, you want a chloramines pre filter. If your water company has high levels of chlorine in your water, that too can exhaust cartridges faster so a chlorine test can come in handy. Spectrapure will review your water quality report and give you a good idea of your best choices. Their pre and post sales support is 2nd to none. Lastly is tap water pressure. Pressure below 50 psi leads to lower water production and 80 PSI is best but not typical for residential tap water. Thus many RODI's include booster pumps which I would normally recommend if you can afford it. You can get a pressure tester from the local hardware store that screws onto a hose spigot and test your tap water pressure. Many don't bother with that. I for example didn't but my RODI has a booster pump so it wasn't necessary. I downloaded my water quality report and knew I didn't have chloramines and spectrapure reviewed my report and gave me sound advice. I've had my Maxcap UHE unit for 6 years now and it's performed flawlessly.

 

[nyknicks4412]

Recommending a system without knowing your current water situation (chloramines, pressure, high tds, etc.) is difficult. The number of stages/the need for a booster pump/membrane capacity depend on these factor.

You should first test for chloramines. BRS has some cheap test strips to find out if they are in your water.

From there I would recommend calling reputable vendor who can walk you through the various options and determine what features you need/want. With a 1000g+ water system you want to do this right.

I have had great experiences with both BRS and Spectrapure.

Prices on the systems are really negligible (you'll spend $150-$300 probably). The real expense is the in filters/resin replacements. If you get the wrong system you'll be burning through the more expensive components (membrane/resin) faster and still not putting out 0 TDS water. Talk to the vendors to make sure you do it right and avoid this situation.

 

[Cameron2324]

my neighbor has just installed the BRS multi stage system I started to get my water from him and my tank has never been happier. I would definitely recommend them I cant wait until I can install one in my house.

 

[J Dawg N iT]

absolutely need an ro/di system, brand depends on what your water quality is like in your area out of the tap. I use RO Buddie 50GPD with NO di. I have a tds meter that reads 000 ppm on the out line of my system easy install and super cheap like $140 Canadian (so like $5.00 american lol) <--- currency exchange jk if no one was followiing.

 

[GROSSR]

NYKnicks is absolutely correct. You do need a RO/DI system. How how you configure it is a matter of debate.

I started off with a simple system, 5 stage, RO with a 3.00 gallon tank.
Then realized :
I needed DI, so I added 2 clear carts with DI.
my water company was adding Chlormines, so I added another canister with Catalytic carbon.
I needed pressure gauges for the RO cartridge. 2 of them - 1 at input of system and 1 at exit of RO
I needed to understand filter life, as in number of gallons. So a 5 stage HM monitor with Volumizer
I also decided on HM TDS meters.
And to increase efficiency in waste water, a Permeate Pump.
soon I will add Bone Char to a canister for Fluoride removal.
As well as a flush kit.

All of this is tied to a 5 gallon tank for drinking water as well. You won't get 5 gallons, but about 3 gallons. That is important as well, how much water do you need per day.

I have had a system for 10 years and added these components little by little as I learned more and more about water quality.

So it is simple, Do I need it.. yes. How do I configure it to understand quality drinking/aquarium water is a different question. I don't think you need an extremely expensive RO/DI system, but you need quality cartridges. After all, if you remove the cartridges, then you just have water flowing through plastic canisters.

I recommend the following - First stage 10 micron sediment filter.
Second stage 5 micron carbon block
Third stage 1 micron carbon block
Fourth Stage your RO - You will need to determine the size. 150 gpd
Water is then stored in your tank. You will need to size this for your needs.
When you turn on your RO faucet, water will drain from the Tank through the 5th stage (a Taste and Odor Cartridge)
When you turn on your DI, water will flow to your DI carts and not theTaste and Odor cartridge.

The 10 micron protects the 5 micron, the 5 protects the 1 micron which then protects the RO membrane.

You might want to consider buying what you need in bulk and then using refillable cartridges to save on cost.


rich

 

[kmbyrnes]

Don't wait. Get one today. With 1000 gallons it will pay for itself in unneeded chiropractic visits alone!

 

[smedlin]

With a 1000 gallons why have you waited so long?

I was wondering the same thing....

 

[jbm421]

My first suggestion would be spectrapure. They are one of the best you can get and unlike most, they manufacturer their own cartridges. I run a. 90 GPD Spectrapure Maxcap UHE unit that produces 1 gallon of waste for every gallon of 0 TDS RODI water and I get nearly 1000 gallons of RODI water before having to change the first DI cartridge. The 2nd stage DI lasts even longer as to the RO, sediment and carbon blocks.

Things to consider when buying an RODI are the type of water you get from your tap. Things like well water typically have high Co2 rates and generally need an aerated cistern to rid the water of Co2 before you pump it into your RODI otherwise your cartridges won't last. Chloramines are popular in many municipal elections water treatment processes and kill cartridges fast too. You can download your municipal water quality report online from your water provider. If they are using chloramines, you want a chloramines pre filter. If your water company has high levels of chlorine in your water, that too can exhaust cartridges faster so a chlorine test can come in handy. Spectrapure will review your water quality report and give you a good idea of your best choices. Their pre and post sales support is 2nd to none. Lastly is tap water pressure. Pressure below 50 psi leads to lower water production and 80 PSI is best but not typical for residential tap water. Thus many RODI's include booster pumps which I would normally recommend if you can afford it. You can get a pressure tester from the local hardware store that screws onto a hose spigot and test your tap water pressure. Many don't bother with that. I for example didn't but my RODI has a booster pump so it wasn't necessary. I downloaded my water quality report and knew I didn't have chloramines and spectrapure reviewed my report and gave me sound advice. I've had my Maxcap UHE unit for 6 years now and it's performed flawlessly.

I also have this unit. However it is recommended to change the first DI every 800 gallons and the second after 2400. I will agree the system is great and the tds coming out of the prefilters alone was down to 1 tds which I thought was improbable. Their customer service I would say SUCKS. This is because I had a broken valve on a brand new unit I called on a Monday told them I was in a bind and this had cost me a lot of trouble over the weekend not being able to make the water for rock I had just purchased etc. they should have sent it to me next day however I finally received it on Saturday which I think was ridiculous. I would say if it wasn't for the unit performing so well I would sell it and NEVER order anything of theirs again!