Water units for well water

[Reef Happy]

My cousin is on Well water. Any suggestions on water units to remove minerals? I am not sure what kind of water he has, but he is in the process of purchasing a 150 gallon reef tank and needs to know what he can do to make his own water.

 

[cman_pogey]

I would highly recommend the Mighty Mite RO/DI unit. It was about $125 and it reads 0 TDS once its done filtering, plus, the price is basically unbeatable IMHO

 

[acidblondie]

I'm on a well and you definitely want to go with an RO DI

 

[Reef Happy]

I'm on a well and you definitely want to go with an RO DI

So you are on well water, just wondering if your RODI unit is specific for well water. I didn't know if there was specific media to run for well water. Surely with well water there is the issue to remove minerals and possibly heavy metals that do not exsist in city water.

The mighty might is really a cheap unit. Just wondering if a larger unit would be needed for well water. My cousin isn't sure what all is in his well water, but I would think there should be a unit available they should remove everything. However when looking on line any of the RODI units I have looked at don't specifically list being used for well water.

 

[Makenna]

I am on well water as well and I find that there is actually less to remove than the city tap around me. FOr example, my TDS out of the well is like 74, city is around 250+. Keep in mind, that with well water you are not having to remove chlorine, chloramine, etc... Point is, any normal RO/DI will work.

One thing to watch for is the high amount of CO2 that is normally present in the water direct from ground. The RO membrane does not remove CO2, so, the water after the RO portion is very high in it. THe DI on the other hand will remove it, but it will chew through the DI. FOr example, I was only getting 100g worth of use out of a fresh DI cartridge with the TDS going into it at 4.

My solution was to have water go from the RO to a brute trash can with an airstone in it. Let it aerate for a lil bit, then use a pump to go from that through the DI cartridge. I now get about 1500g use out of a DI cartridge.

HTH,

 

[acidblondie]

What Makenna said.

 

[star27624]

I have well water as well. I have a filter before the water softner, and I hook my mighty mite RO/DI to the kitchen faucet. TDS going in is 286-296 and out is 0.

 

[robrich342]

Makenna would you do the same if you had a filter before the water softner ?

 

[Makenna]

I would, I think you will find that the CO2 does not contribute to the TDS reading, (Total Dissolved Solids), and as such, any mechanical filter will not help.

I guess it depends on your size tank, when I had just one 60, I just dealt with it, because I didnt need that much waer, but once I got another tank, 200+g, I Had to figure outta way to save cash on DI resin.

 

[Buckeye Hydro]

"Well water" can vary significantly in quality, so without more data it is hard to talk in too many specifics, however:

I'd go with a full-sized RODI system. If he is going to have some storage capacity for the purified water, either RO or DI, a 75 gpd would work fine for him.

We see issues with CO2, hardness, manganese, iron, and hydrogen sulfide more with well water than city water. Does he have a water softener?

Russ

Folks on residential well often have to deal with less than ideal water pressure. Its common that well pumps are set to kick on at 40 psi and off at 60 psi. This can be addressed if/when it becomes an issue.

 

[Reef Happy]

I am not sure if he has a water softener. He runs a 29 gallon and is fairly new in the hobby. He is soon obtaining a 150 gallon set up and will need to get him set on what he will do with his water making capabilities. With the RODI I agree should be a full size one. I am thinking that a $125 unit in no way could take care of the hardness and metals that exsist in well water. It does sound excessive to change out the DI resin often. Bottom line - need to find the cheapest most effective way to make water.

"Well water" can vary significantly in quality, so without more data it is hard to talk in too many specifics, however:

I'd go with a full-sized RODI system. If he is going to have some storage capacity for the purified water, either RO or DI, a 75 gpd would work fine for him.

We see issues with CO2, hardness, manganese, iron, and hydrogen sulfide more with well water than city water. Does he have a water softener?

Russ

Folks on residential well often have to deal with less than ideal water pressure. Its common that well pumps are set to kick on at 40 psi and off at 60 psi. This can be addressed if/when it becomes an issue.

 

[Buckeye Hydro]

If he does have a softener, feed softened water to the RODI system.

Russ

 

[Kenzy]

A booster pump should also be part of his RO/DI system. As mentioned earlier well systems have a varying water pressure and when on the low end of the cycle the RO/DI unit won't work as effectively.