This RO / DI SYSTEM any good?

[carlso63]

The RO / DI systems on this site cost about 40% less than a Kent Marine or other 'brand name' RO / DI unit:



http://www.purewaterclub.com


Says they are for "reef aquarium use". Use similar - if not the same - filtration, deionization and TFC type Reverse Osmosis membranes as the more expensive brands... I'm guessing they are at least assembled in China if not totally manufactured over there (but, heck, everything is made in China nowadays, right?)


Anyone have any experience using one of these units?

 

[REHEM]

I just purchased one off of positive recommendations from two other people. I got mine off ebay from the same company for $99 and it came with five free filters+. It shipped really fast.

It was suggested to hook up a T.D.S. monitor to it to guage the ppm's and to know exactly when the filters needed changing. My tap water going "IN" read around 250 ppm and the RO water coming "OUT" is less than 10 ppm! It also produces pretty rapidly.

I like it a lot, but you really need to concentrate and follow the directions exclusively!

 

[AS11423]

Unfortunately, with RO/DI systems, you almost always get what you pay for. A cheaply assembled Chinese unit, in my humble experience, is a piece of junk. Check out Spectrapure.com and other sponsors of this site such as the filterguys etc.

 

[TonyOrlando]

Agree with AS11423, spectrapure maxcap 4 stage ro/di unit is what i have with 2 tds meters on them. water coming out reads 0 all the time. A very good system and would highly recommend with very good customer service!!

 

[carlso63]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9649931#post9649931 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by TonyOrlando
Agree with AS11423, spectrapure maxcap 4 stage ro/di unit is what i have with 2 tds meters on them. water coming out reads 0 all the time. A very good system and would highly recommend with very good customer service!!

I also agree that the Spectrapure is a very good system... it should be, as it is 4 and 1/2 X the price of the PureWater unit! :eek1:

 

[REHEM]

I still recommend the above unit. Yes, there are definately better units out there, but as you see, they can get pricey. The two individuals who recommended it to me have had there's for over a year, and they are still happy with it.

Less than 10 ppm's is pretty damn good for $99.

 

[clekchau]

seems good, another not as cheap but cheaper than the norm is melev's

http://www.melevsreef.com/ro_di.html

super easy to set up, replacements are cheap and works great

 

[RWillieK]

I bought my Coralife PureFlo 35 GPD four stage for like $150 - I added a few things....pressure gauge, and TDS.....

I only get a TDS above zero when its time to do maintenance.

I beleive I bought mine from Foster Smith.....but they are available on most of the big retailers.

Robbie

 

[rsxs1212]

check out filterguys they have some really good deals...

to get mine to 0tds off ebay i had to buy 10" dual di housing pressure gauges and tds meter....... overalll it cost abuot 220 to have as good of an rodi unit as any other.. been running for 6 months still 0 tds with no replacements made on membranes

 

[InLimbo87]

I second filterguys. www.filterguys.biz . They have quality stuff for good prices, and their customer service was top notch.

 

[Kaos]

You could also get an Optima Vision from Purely H20 for about $150 shipped. They gurantee 0 TDS.

 

[ubgone]

This prices are unbelievable!!

I think that its not fair to say its:

Unfortunately, with RO/DI systems, you almost always get what you pay for. A cheaply assembled Chinese unit, in my humble experience, is a piece of junk

You just called someones product a piece of junk.... And you never even used it!
I think that is real nasty on your part.
P.S I know you will say that you said "almost always" but I think its still unfair.

Have someone ever USED any "Pure Water" products?

 

[anthony34]

for the most part the cheap or Mid price ones are all ok, there are not problem, your main factor is how crappy is your water to begin with that will dictate what kind of unit is needed cheap or expensice , Some people tap water is good enough to not even need a RO/DI unit others you can darn near see the discolored water, so the theory you must spend X amount of dollars just does not hold true, it all depends on whats needed to get your water down to respectable levels and keep it there with less effort.

My Ro/Di unit from ebay was just $99 and 0 TDS is 0 TDS no matter how you shake it, I only change my filters out about once a year.

 

[kraftyforu]

i used the above unit for almost a year now with no problems and with 0 TDS. my only problem with it is that i live on the 3rd floor of an apartment and have poor water pressure so i dont get the 100gpd. other then that i love it

 

[AZDesertRat]

Their products are very low end as far as quality of components and the water quality they give you. A TDS of 10 down from 250 is nothing to brag about, I would send it back immediately myself. My tap is 850 and I get 6.2 TDS with RO only before DI.

On their units notice things like they never tell you who makes the membranes or what the true manufacturers rejection ratings are. Their math just does not add up, they say it removes 99% of everything and then go on to use 300 TDS for tap water and 20 after RO, thats not 99% rejection or anywhere near it!
Also they use little hollow horizontal tubes with resin bobbing around in them and not true vertical 10" canisters with 24 oz refillable cartridges. They also use cheap poor performing granular carbon. The list goes on and on.

With RO/DI you get what you pay for and cheap is not it. Expect to pay about $150 for a good performing RO/DI, $199 to $250 for a better one and $350 for the best RO/DI on the market which is the Spectrapure MaxCap RO/DI which cannot be compared to any other unit available from anyone. My vote goes for the MaxCap, it will cost you more initially but it will save you money in replacement costs from then on.

 

[Minhle100]

one thing that many of you guys forget about is that the unit is made of two parts the canisters and the filters. if you don't like the unit as a whole you can purchase it and then purchase the filters from spectra or filter guys or anyone. it's less then buying straight from the higher priced guys.

 

[AZDesertRat]

WRONG.
There is a huge difference in the quality of the housings and other components too. Set them side by side and the differences become very apparent. Pick them both up and you can realy feel the difference in weight. Thinner plastics, lack of NSF and ANSI ratings and lots of other things make them cheap, not inexpensive, cheap.
You can't just add filter cartridges and make a MaxCap, its the whole unit from beginning to end that all works together as an assembly.

 

[rubikcube]

I can personally vouch for the fact that they use junk RO membranes. I bought one of the cheap ebay ones a while back. Incoming tap is at 650 ppm. After the RO I measure 55-60 ppm. If I let it run for hours and hours it will get down to 40-45 ppm.

Despite all that, I am still happy with the unit. It was unbelievably cheap($170 shipped) and came with all the stuff I wanted(tank for drinking water, refillable DI, proper fittings for connecting under my sink). I can always get the proper RO membranes later on if I want.

Also, I just don't understand why the horizontal DI tubes don't work as well as the vertical canisters. Mine takes the TDS from 60 to 0.

 

[AZDesertRat]

Several reasons.
The horizontals allow water to channel or short circuit so not all resin comes into contact with the water being treated. A true vertical canister and cartridge uses a bottom up flow pattern so all resin is wetted and carries its share of the load. Horizontals only hold between 6 and maybe 16 oz at best, refillable vertical cartridges hold 24 oz and use every bit of it.
No way in heck would I settle for a rejection rate like that, it is costing you money every time you have to change DI. A good rule of thumb is 16 oz of DI resin will treat 2000 total TDS, so using your numbers of 60 TDS from the RO, you will get about 33 gallons of true 0 TDS water per 16 oz refill if it is working optimally which usually is not the case. With a 24 oz vertical you can stretch that out some but it its still going to eat your lunch in DI costs.
As a comparison, my MaxCap system has been in operation for about 8 months now. My incoming tap TDS is averaging 850 or so, the RO only TDS is between 5.4 and 6.4 and my DI is 0 TDS and has been for 545 gallons as of last Saturday. II am still on the original MaxCap DI cartridge, I have not changed it yet. With my old Typhoon III type system which is avery good system I was getting 150 gallons of 0 TDS water from a 24 oz refillable cartridge with nuclear grade resin and using a standard 75 GPD Dow RO membrane. Thats a big difference. Yes it cost me more to buy initially but ai have already saved money by not having to do 4 DI replacements.

 

[burton14e7]

I used the ebay one for a year with no problem. I just started reefing again after a little hiatus and I will be buying a new unit just because I'm lazy and don't want to get new cartridges.