RODI Suggestion?

[mike550]

Hello all! Newbie Q here.

Starting a 105g reef and trying to find a good RODI system. Thinking a SpectraPure MaxCap 90 but open to other suggestions.

Also, I've noticed people create two tanks one to store RODI water and another for saltwater. Can I use one container, store 5-7 gal RODI in a small tank or jugs offline and then use big tank to create saltwater?

Thanks in advance

 

[mcgyvr]

Spectrapure, airwaterice, bulkreefsupply, buckeyehydro all have great rodi systems.. Cant go wrong with any of them...

And yes you can just keep/make water in the jugs and pour into larger saltwater container

 

[HumbleFish]

BRS makes good RODI units: https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/bulk-reverse-osmosis-filters-systems/reverse-osmosis-systems.html

Do you know if your source water is treated with chlorine or chloramine??

 

[billdogg]

I've been a www.buckeyehydro.com customer for quite a while. IMHO, the service that Russ (the owner) provides just can't be beat.

And FWIW - I have been using a single 55g barrel for both topoff and salt water since 1988 or so. It helps that I have enough tanks that the water all gets used at once on water change day. I then let the rodi refill it and use it for topoff until the next water change.

I finally bought a 2nd barrel so that I can have both but I haven't gotten around to setting it up yet. Too much life gets in the way!

 

[mike550]

Thanks for everyone’s thoughts! Very much appreciated. Macgyvr and Billdog thanks for your ideas and Humblefish I found our water quality report and it says nothing about chloramine. But I’m going to call just to verify.

 

[HumbleFish]

Thanks for everyone's thoughts! Very much appreciated. Macgyvr and Billdog thanks for your ideas and Humblefish I found our water quality report and it says nothing about chloramine. But I'm going to call just to verify.

If they confirm your tap water is treated with just chlorine, then a 4 stage RODI will suffice. Provided you can live with only being able to produce 75-100GPD.

Change your sediment filter & carbon block every few months, and change out your membrane & DI resin once output TDS hits 1 or greater.

 

[on the spot]

...change out your membrane & DI resin once output TDS hits 1 or greater.

Membrane?

Why?

If you are changing the carbon regularly the membrane will last a long time.

 

[hkgar]

Thanks for everyone’s thoughts! Very much appreciated. Macgyvr and Billdog thanks for your ideas and Humblefish I found our water quality report and it says nothing about chloramine. But I’m going to call just to verify.

Are you on city (public) water or on a well? Or maybe a city system that uses a well, or several.

I ask because, if you are on a well, than you may have water with a high CO2 level which will chew through DI resin very quickly.

There is a fix.

 

[mike550]

I’m on city water. The water sources from Lake Michigan but still treated (thankfully).

 

[monkeysee1]

.....I have a Bulk Reef 5 Stage Plus 75 GPD 5/0.6 Micron carbon black. Going on six years old now. No issues with it so far, besides normal PM. Takes a licking and keeps on ticking.....

 

[MondoBongo]

i'll give a +1 for SpectraPure. i bought two of their refurb 90GPD units a few years back and have been running them ever since. not to say there aren't other great options out there, BRS tends to make a lot of stuff i love, but so far they're the only ones i've needed to try.

 

[mcgyvr]

Change your sediment filter & carbon block every few months, and change out your membrane & DI resin once output TDS hits 1 or greater.

Yeah we will assume that the recommendation to change out your membrane when TDS is 1 or greater was just an "oops".. Membranes typically only need to be replaced every 3-5 years.. Certainly not anytime TDS is over 1..

 

[HumbleFish]

If you are changing the carbon regularly the membrane will last a long time.

Yeah we will assume that the recommendation to change out your membrane when TDS is 1 or greater was just an "oops".. Membranes typically only need to be replaced every 3-5 years.. Certainly not anytime TDS is over 1..

The life of your membrane (and other RODI components) is highly dependent on a) The quality of your tap water b) How often you run your RODI unit.

I change my sediment filter & carbon block every 2-3 months whether it looks like it needs it or not. Once I see a TDS of 1 from my output, that means something is now getting through the DI resin. Changing just the DI resin temporarily fixes the problem, but it seemed like I would have to keep doing this every month or so unless I just went ahead and changed out the membrane as well.

Disclaimer: I run a Fish QT business with 20+ tanks, so I do go through A TON of water. Much more than your average hobbyist.

 

[mcgyvr]

. Changing just the DI resin temporarily fixes the problem, but it seemed like I would have to keep doing this every month or so unless I just went ahead and changed out the membrane as well.

Sounds like putting a TDS meter post RO membrane would be a good idea for you as well as pressure gauges pre and post prefilters.. More often than not the lifespan of a RO membrane will far exceed the DI stage.
If your RO membrane is only lasting the length of your DI stage then that would indicate a problem like very high water hardness or other issue that may be solved via other methods to greatly increase the lifespan...
Monitoring pressure drops will also give you a better indication of prefilter life compared to "looks like it needs it or not".
You may find a big savings by monitoring/managing your RO/DI system better..

 

[mike550]

Thanks again for everyone's thoughts. One other Q. I think I'm down to two different systems. One is a 4 stage with 5 micron sediment and carbon filter. Second is 1 micron with sediment and two carbon stages.

I'm on city water and no chloramine.

Thoughts please?

 

[mcgyvr]

Either one will be fine but a second carbon stage may not be something you need with a chlorine based system.

 

[HumbleFish]

Sounds like putting a TDS meter post RO membrane would be a good idea for you as well as pressure gauges pre and post prefilters.. More often than not the lifespan of a RO membrane will far exceed the DI stage.
If your RO membrane is only lasting the length of your DI stage then that would indicate a problem like very high water hardness or other issue that may be solved via other methods to greatly increase the lifespan...
Monitoring pressure drops will also give you a better indication of prefilter life compared to "looks like it needs it or not".
You may find a big savings by monitoring/managing your RO/DI system better..

My Spectrapure 180 has two built-in TDS meters with 4 sensors, one is post membrane. When the membrane is good, the output is 1 or 2 before going thru the DI resin. Right around when the output for the DI starts reading 1, the output post membrane shoots up between 5-10. Now, I can just change the DI resin and still get 0 TDS out of the DI for a month or so. But for $40 (changing out the membranes) I can get 5-6 months out of fresh DI resin. Water here is soft, but we do have high sulfur followed by "chlorine burns" sometimes.