RO/DI System Worth It?

jbm421 said:
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!
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Support can fall into a gray area when it comes with replacing something that has failed. Especially if expedited shipping is desired so I feel your pain. Especially given your situation. Personally, I've had great support from them but that is in terms of getting answers when I need them as opposed to having to deal with something that broke as I have had no issues with mine.

The one thing about their products unlike others such as BRS is that Spectrapure designs and manufacturers their own cartridges. They don't just put somebody else's into a reactor and call it a day. They also design and fabricate their entire filter where as others buy a unit and put their label on it. The fact that Spectrapure designs this stuff is a huge reason why their units work as well as they do and why their cartridges last as long as they do. As such, I personally would never go elsewhere for my RODI needs. They are by far the best at what they do and they are also the most knowledgeable when it comes to dealing with varying water supply quality conditions.

Don't get me wrong, I love BRS but when it comes to RODI filtration, Spectrapure is as good as they get despite any of their support short comings which in your case is a very rare instance which certainly could have been handled better.
 
slief said:
Support can fall into a gray area when it comes with replacing something that has failed. Especially if expedited shipping is desired so I feel your pain. Especially given your situation. Personally, I've had great support from them but that is in terms of getting answers when I need them as opposed to having to deal with something that broke as I have had no issues with mine.

The one thing about their products unlike others such as BRS is that Spectrapure designs and manufacturers their own cartridges. They don't just put somebody else's into a reactor and call it a day. They also design and fabricate their entire filter where as others buy a unit and put their label on it. The fact that Spectrapure designs this stuff is a huge reason why their units work as well as they do and why their cartridges last as long as they do. As such, I personally would never go elsewhere for my RODI needs. They are by far the best at what they do and they are also the most knowledgeable when it comes to dealing with varying water supply quality conditions.

Don't get me wrong, I love BRS but when it comes to RODI filtration, Spectrapure is as good as they get despite any of their support short comings which in your case is a very rare instance which certainly could have been handled better.
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I would have to agree. Just really frustrating to have to deal with taking everything apart on a new system and then on top of it having to wait a week while your having to pick up loads of water from a lfs bucket after bucket when you should be able to make your own when you spent $300. Anyway,....... Would be nice to see them produce their own membrane.
 
don't drink RO/DI water.

RO water is fine, but the deionized water is stripped of anything but pure H2O. Sounds good, but isn't.
 
jbm421 said:
I would have to agree. Just really frustrating to have to deal with taking everything apart on a new system and then on top of it having to wait a week while your having to pick up loads of water from a lfs bucket after bucket when you should be able to make your own when you spent $300. Anyway,....... Would be nice to see them produce their own membrane.
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$300??? You must have a different one that I do then. Mine is the UHE 1:1 (1 gallon of waste for every 1 gallon of RODI) unit that was much more (3x) than $300.. I wish mine only costs $300! I do understand your frustration though.

This is the unit I have but I also live in drought stricken So. Cal.
http://spectrapure.com/MaxCap®-1-1-Ultra-High-Efficiency-100-GPD-RO-DI-System
 
nyknicks4412 said:
Curious why you went 1:1...is water that expensive in California?
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Yes.. It's expensive and there are now penalties for using too much water. We are actually being forced to water ration and my tank is one of those areas that I wouldn't want to make sacrafices in terms of water quality. Instead, we don't rush when we pee.. We have a saying here.. "If it's brown, flush it down. If it's yellow, let it mellow."

Furthermore, given that we are in a long time perpetual drought and the fact that I use nearly 300 gallons of RODI water a month between top off and water changes, it was a conscious decision to be reasonably mindful of my water usage. I bought this unit before we were being penalized for excessive water usage but I've tried to do my part in being water concious. That 300 gallons works out to 600 gallons of tap water a month. If I had a typical 4:1 unit, that would be 1500 gallons per month or 18,000 gallons a year of which 85% would be going down the drain in the form of waste water. That is a lot of water by most people's standards.

While this unit may be much more expensive, it's long since paid for itself in water savings alone over the course of the 6 years that I've had it. Plus, because of the system design and the cartridge quality, the cartridges go a long long way compared to cheap units such as those from other companies mentioned in this thread so there is that savings as well. The quality of the cartridges coupled with the booster pump and auto flush result in much great cartridge life. For my use and my volumes, it was money well spent.
 
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There are some really good threads in the "responsible reefkeeping" subforum about creative uses for the wastewater too. People who want to, or must, conserve have found ways to use a lot of the waste for other stuff like laundry and toilets etc.
 
slief said:
$300??? You must have a different one that I do then. Mine is the UHE 1:1 (1 gallon of waste for every 1 gallon of RODI) unit that was much more (3x) than $300.. I wish mine only costs $300! I do understand your frustration though.

This is the unit I have but I also live in drought stricken So. Cal.
http://spectrapure.com/MaxCap®-1-1-Ultra-High-Efficiency-100-GPD-RO-DI-System
Click to expand...

Yeah I don't have the booster pump etc. I have the 2:1 Maxcap unit. Figured I didn't need the automatic flush as I can do that myself and have a extra membrane so can add that to the system as well to make it 180 gpd
http://spectrapure.com/MaxCap®-Manual-Flush-90-GPD-RO-DI-System?filter_name=rodi
 
Defo get one. I must have a really bad back when needing to get the water. 1000g. You almost need an industrial ro/di unit for that amount. Lol
 
slief said:
Yes.. It's expensive and there are now penalties for using too much water. We are actually being forced to water ration and my tank is one of those areas that I wouldn't want to make sacrafices in terms of water quality. Instead, we don't rush when we pee.. We have a saying here.. "If it's brown, flush it down. If it's yellow, let it mellow."



Furthermore, given that we are in a long time perpetual drought and the fact that I use nearly 300 gallons of RODI water a month between top off and water changes, it was a conscious decision to be reasonably mindful of my water usage. I bought this unit before we were being penalized for excessive water usage but I've tried to do my part in being water concious. That 300 gallons works out to 600 gallons of tap water a month. If I had a typical 4:1 unit, that would be 1500 gallons per month or 18,000 gallons a year of which 85% would be going down the drain in the form of waste water. That is a lot of water by most people's standards.



While this unit may be much more expensive, it's long since paid for itself in water savings alone over the course of the 6 years that I've had it. Plus, because of the system design and the cartridge quality, the cartridges go a long long way compared to cheap units such as those from other companies mentioned in this thread so there is that savings as well. The quality of the cartridges coupled with the booster pump and auto flush result in much great cartridge life. For my use and my volumes, it was money well spent.
Click to expand...


Wow I guess I'm sheltered on the east coast where water isn't as big a deal! Mountains are doing well out there this year from El Niño so hopefully it'll help fill up some of those reservoirs.
 
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