RO Question

[zmazza]

Hey guys,

I'm about to order the Reefkeeper Compact with TDS meter because it really fits in my budget at 150 dollars shipped. My questions are...


They have a 100gpd and a 75gpd model for the same price. Which is better?
Do you have to add chemicals to reconstitute the water or will my Reef Crystals salt do all that?


Thanks for the help! Looking forward to the answers!

[tcastric]

I personally would go with the 100gpd one. Your just going to get a faster rate of return. Simple as that.

[zmazza]

Does the faster water rate come at the cost of quality? It seems as if the slower it goes through the membrane, the cleaner the water, right?

[tcastric]

I could be wrong but I believe the flow rate is dictated by your water pressure.

[zmazza]

I wonder if most RO units come with a pressure guage?

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

There is no need or desirability in adding anything to the RO water before using it for top off or making salt.

Is this an RO only, or RO/DI? RO only is not suitable in some cases, such as if your water supply uses chloramine.

[!wrass!]

I have read that 75 gpd membranes are more efficient (less waste water). If you pay for water, this could be an issue. I bought the 75 gpd unit not long ago. Other than minor shipping damage that was corrected right away, I have no issues.

Flow rate is dependant on incomming water temp and pressure.

Any "good" salt should have everything you need already in it.

[zmazza]

I'm going to be using the Reef Crystals... I just bought the 160 gallon mix a few days ago. Should be here today, actually. :D

I knew they made Kent RO Prep. Wasn't sure if something like that was needed. I've been using Aquasafe to take care of chlorine and chloramines. Should I continue to use it or should it be safe?

It's an 5 Stage RODI unit.

!wrass! - How do you like yours? Was it worth the money?

[AZDesertRat]

100 GPD Dow Filmtec membranes are not Reverse Osmosis membranes but are actually 90% rejection nano filters which are a step below RO in efficiency. They are also not approved for drinking water treatment in the USA, only pool and spa use. 75 GPD Dow Filmtec membrane are true 98% rejection rate RO membranes and are approved by the ANSI/NSF for drinking water use. If given the choice always opt for the 75 GPD Dow Filmtec.
One interesting note, for every 2% you increase the RO efficiency you double the life of the DI resin so an 8% increase in RO efficiency will go a long ways in DI life.

Wrasse, efficency has nothing to do with the amount of waste water, that the waste ratio. Rejection rate and efficiency are the same thing, the nanofilter removes 90% of the contaminants and the RO membrane removes 98%, both normally waste 4:1 or 4 gallons of brine of flush water to one gallon of product or good water.

[zmazza]

You are a genius.

So go with the 75 gallon per day unit? I thought that was a good idea. I had heard that from somewhere. Have you ever heard of the unit? I know that they come with a TDS meter. I'm not sure if it's a good one or not.

[kelley_mc]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9366826#post9366826 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by AZDesertRat
100 GPD Dow Filmtec membranes are not Reverse Osmosis membranes but are actually 90% rejection nano filters which are a step below RO in efficiency. They are also not approved for drinking water treatment in the USA, only pool and spa use. 75 GPD Dow Filmtec membrane are true 98% rejection rate RO membranes and are approved by the ANSI/NSF for drinking water use. If given the choice always opt for the 75 GPD Dow Filmtec.
One interesting note, for every 2% you increase the RO efficiency you double the life of the DI resin so an 8% increase in RO efficiency will go a long ways in DI life.

Wrasse, efficency has nothing to do with the amount of waste water, that the waste ratio. Rejection rate and efficiency are the same thing, the nanofilter removes 90% of the contaminants and the RO membrane removes 98%, both normally waste 4:1 or 4 gallons of brine of flush water to one gallon of product or good water.

See zmazza, I told you he was an expert and would help you out. :D

AZDesertRat - on a side note, thanks for all the help with these units. It is because of you I changed from straight DI water to RO/DI and I feel much better about it.

[zmazza]

AZDesertRat - RO / DI King.

How are the TDS members, kelley? You have any experience with them? The reefkeeper compact comes with one, and that's one reason I think it's a good deal.

[kelley_mc]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9366886#post9366886 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by zmazza
AZDesertRat - RO / DI King.

How are the TDS members, kelley? You have any experience with them? The reefkeeper compact comes with one, and that's one reason I think it's a good deal.

Mine came with a dual meter that connects to the lines so I am not familiar with the handheld ones. I am sure the one they are suppling will be fine. Hopefully is will read 0 on the output. :)

AZDesertRat will know better, but I think you have to test water in a glass container when you use those. I think... :rolleyes:

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I knew they made Kent RO Prep. Wasn't sure if something like that was needed. I've been using Aquasafe to take care of chlorine and chloramines. Should I continue to use it or should it be safe?

It's an 5 Stage RODI unit.


With a 5 stage RO/DI, there is no need to add anything to treat for chlorine or chloramine, nor any value and some possible detriments to adding other products marketed for RO water.

[AZDesertRat]

The compact reefkeeper is a good unit if portability is what you are after. If you plan to mount it somewhere or have more room, for about the same amount of money, not taking into account the shipping, you would be a little better served with a unit using a full sized vertical refillable DI canister and cartridge. If you make much water at all it will save you money from now on by being able to use bulk DI resin refills instead of having to but the much smaller and lower capacity throw away horizontal DI cartridges. I think AWI has a version of the Typhoon for $149 that uses a ful sized DI and might possibly come with a TDS meter, I'm not sure on that. Others here on RC that also fit into that category are the Optima Vision series from www.purelyh2o.com , OceanWave+ series from www.thefilterguys.biz and 75 GPD Premium series from www.buckeyefieldsupply.com . All are very similar in quality and components and all have good customer/technical support as does AWI.

[zmazza]

Sounds great. I already purchased the reefkeeper though. :(

It's just making water for my 29 gallon, and very sparingly at that. 10% water changes every 2 weeks to 1 month.

I think it will work out but I'll definitely check into that if I went with something better.

Just on a side note...

Can a refillable DI canister be purchased and hooked up to the reef keeper? I know some of them are modular.

[AZDesertRat]

You betcha. www.thefilterguys.biz has a complete add on DI kit for like $38 I believe.....

[zmazza]

Oh, and before I forget, DesertRat. I see you are in Water/Wastewater Operations... I'm sure you could answer this very easily...

I'm looking for a water quality report to find out what is in my water and what makes it come out of the tap at 8.3-8.4 pH.

I called my local water utility and they didn't seem to have any idea what I was talking about. They are having a maintenance man call me. Who knows.

Is there an online source that I can use to find out what's in my water?

Thanks.

[AZDesertRat]

Every Public Water System in the US is required by law to provide every metered water connection with what the EPA calls a "Consumer Confidence Report" every calendar year. This report must be in a specific format and mailed to each customer. It must contain sample results for every thing tested in the previous year giving the highest concentrations found and the EPA maximum contaminant level for that solute. If it is a health concern it must contain specific language with the known health concerns too. It may or may not include other test results that are not manditory per the EPA like what are considered astetics, mainly taste and odor concerns or non health related things like TDS and hardness numbers.
You should be able to request a copy of this report or they may have a website where it can be viewed, most medium to large utilities all seem to have websites today. It will probably also be available to view at your local library or newspaper office if you can't fine it anywhere else. Its alway good to find a friend who works for the Utility who may either be a fish person themself or knows of someone who is. I used to field tons of questions for my Utility as everyone knew I kept fish and corals!

[zmazza]

Wow. Simply amazing. Your expertise is nothing short of .... awesome.

Now that I know what it's called I'll try and get a copy of it.

Thanks again!