Well...
Well...
Im going to step in here and say a few things if you guys dont mind my input
Lets start with the issue of pressure not making any difference in the quality of the output water.
In most cases this would be true, But not with an RO membrane.
To give you some insight, After a few threads here I decided to get my hands on a few of these so called 125, 150 gpd membranes and I think you will be interested to hear the results. For starters in order for this membrane to even come close to a decent production rate and even in the ball park of good rejection rates I have had to supply these membranes with a pressure exceeding 75 gpd and believe it or not to get the membrane to achieve the so called gpd ratings that they were labeled for I had to increase the input pressure to the range of 90psi and above on average. Out of five of these after market membranes I ordered not one performed correctly under municipal pressures. Now as a defense to the folks selling these membranes I will tell yu that the supliers of these membranes promise you the world and swear that they are as good if not better than the brands we have grown to know and trust. Now this leads me to another question, If these membranes are not performing correctly under standard tests such as TDS rejection and production, where else are they falling short. I keep hearing this defense that If Im getting 0 TDS Im getting zero TDS. NO!...lol, The fact is that the TDS meter only measures things that are conductive and frankly the main concerns that we have in this hobby are not conductive and will not show up on a TDS meter. We have a good track record with proven brands of membranes that it is assumed that these things are removed based on reliable testing and long term use to back it up. You guys seriously need to be aware that there are new low budget companies producing membranes now that are cheaper and NOT TESTED or proven and based on my results in testing them they will never be proven. If you take any advice from this thread please take this. Stick to the brands that we know work, Dow, Osmonics,WATTS, even Applied membranes is tested and has been in the game for a while. THe reason the ebay units are so cheap is because they ARE cheap. Now I must also say that there are companies out there who stay within the rules on Ebay so you need to do your homework. Ilike the statement made about upgrading the filters to a degree but The problem is that these systems are not and were never intended to be reef safe or used in a life sustaining environment such as an aquarium and not one single component on these systems has been approved for human consumption. Am I saying dont buy from Ebay? No, I sell on Ebay too, It is a great advertising resource and I do not fall into the giveaway pattern. I do good because most people know that you really do get what you pay for
. 150gpd, 125gpd? Never heard of it until recently and based on personal experience IM not impressed. At all, Please also remember that a system built wrong using bad components can cause more problems in the long run because they are allowing things into the water that can and will in the future due to absorption into the rock and sand bed come back to haunt you depending on what is in your water. Another problem is that I have noticed many of these systems are using brass parts after the membrane which will leach metalics into your system. Im getting a little long winded and touching on every single issue would be extremely time consuming so if anyone has any questions regarding direct issues and comparisons please feel free to ask and I will answer the best that I can.
Have a great night all!
Bryan Crenshaw
