tons of RODI qustions

[con999]

ok well im thinking about buying a rodi for my 26 gallon tank. but im only 14 so i have NO money, i will get some on cristmas. but i have a ton of qustions like ill only be makeing 7 gallons a week for my waterchanges/topoffs. so why couldent i just buy the ebay cheep ones i know the filters dont last long but i need every thing cheep. also is and RODI sytem easy to controll. like hook everything up and turn the water on. next how could i hook it up to the hose. i know they have connecters, but how hard shold the water be going, all the way on , or like 20 percent? i have a ton more but coulod u answer thouse first

thanks

[chuckreef]

You can get buy with a basic system. Pre-filter, carbon, RO memebrane and a DI cartridge. You get what you pay for and there is a lot of junk on e-bay; so be careful.
For this small volume, Koldsteril may be an easier alternative.

There is a simple garden hose adapter you can use. The faucet will be turned on all the way.

[dublo8]

BRS has a basic system that's pretty descent and if I'm not mistaken comes with the hose adapter. I have a faucet in my garage and the RO unit mounted right next to the faucet. Makes things easy. I just put a 5g bucket underneath and wait for it to fill. easy done.

[con999]

ok but if i turn the hose on all the wayu would that be WAY to much PSI for the RODI

[con999]

also would i need all the add ons like, the presser thing, flush kit

[Mike31154]

Couple of things you can do first to make a better decision as to what you need as a minimum for a RODI set up.

1. Get a water report from your supplier, whoever that may be, city, well or whatever. If you're on city water, they should have that info available on their web site somewhere. They should have reports including where the source is and some of the minerals etc. that are in your tap water. It will also tell you if they use chlorine or chloramine to treat the water. This is important since if they use chloramine, you generally need two carbon stages before your RO membrane.

2. Get hold of a pressure guage (beg, borrow, buy if you have to) and find out what your house pressure is. Should be around 60 psi and if so, you're good to go. If it's much lower, you may need a booster pump. I've tweaked the PRV in my house to give me just over 80 psi.

3. Get hold of a handheld TDS meter (beg, borrow, buy if you have to) and check the TDS of your tap water. This info may be available in the report from your city, but it never hurts to physically check at your house to make sure. Knowing the TDS will also give you a better idea of what you're up against.

Post back with some of this info and RC members will be better able to advise further.

Some advice on the cheaper eBay products..... They generally have white plastic filter housings, so you can't see when your poly filter might need changing, Clear filter housings are more expensive, but worth it IMO. The cheapies may also have their DI stage laying on its side, this is less efficient than an upright DI stage.

[The Punisher]

The water pressure won't hurt the RO/DI, in fact a lot of people have to get booster pumps to increase their water pressure. The RO membrane works better at higher pressures.

[meekz]

Sorry, I don't mean to hijack. I didn't wanna start another thread.

I'm getting 40psi out of my bathroom. What is this booster pump and what one do you recommend?

[Blackhawk007]

A booster pump would bring your pressure up above 65 psi, the pressure needed to effectively use RO. 40 is just too low.

[Humu Humu]

I only have 30 psi at my place and my RO/DI unit works just fine.
I wouldn't worry about the booster pump unless the unit wasn't working.

[con999]

haha its ok i was going to ask that qustion two.

i know i shouldent be buying one used on this site. but im going to get a great deal. but the thing im worried abouut is its been 3 months rom its last use/ how could i tell if the membrane is dried

[Fishfish0001]

How are you currently getting your water? I have a small tank too and its not worth the $200~ for a RO/DI when I get 5 gallons for $5.

[RVANANO]

I agree. For a tank that small, I would probably just buy the water from the LFS. I did that on my 34. I didn't get an RO/DI unit until I set up my 120. I bought my RODI unit used from the local chapter for $75.

[dublo8]

You can get a used unit but in the end when you have to replace all the filters and the membrane your almost right up with the cost of a new one.

[con999]

the tank is just about a year old and i have always used rodi water from my LFS. but my mom said she will only take onces every 3 weeks to save gas. im only 14 so i cant get their any other way

[con999]

but how could i tell if the membrane was dried. should i ask them to quickly do a test or is their a way to tell

[RVANANO]

You can get a cheap handheld TDS meter online. You could always just buy more water buckets :)

[spamreefnew]

If you tap water is not to bad then you can use something like a brita pitcher filter or pure faucet mounted home water filter. all of witch can be bought at any wallmart type store for around 20-30 dollars.

[Just2Many]

Another Question is what do you want to spend? A awesome unit shipped and all is only like $200 that's with the goodies. I'm betting you can get a new one for under $100...Buy it once and be done with it.
MY dad always said,"Do it right the first time"
Look at my quote
"Quality, Only happens when you care enough to do you best."

[RVANANO]

Sort of. You don't just buy an RO/DI and be done with it. You have to change membranes, filters and media which becomes surprisingly expensive over time.

[Just2Many]

Sort of. You don't just buy an RO/DI and be done with it. You have to change membranes, filters and media which becomes surprisingly expensive over time.

True I pay $24 for all my filters and membrane like $50 Thats 2 Carbon and one Sediment + 2 Sand DI units. Filters last littler over a year with TDS 400 In and no more that 15 TDS out then I pump to a Duel DI Sand only wich last 8 months or so cost about $15 to replace sand in it. The membrane last 18 months or more depending. And keep in mind I have about 800+ Gallons of tanks with about 10 to 15 gallons a day used. And about 100 per month in changes give or take 100 gallons. So... Min 4000 Gallons a year in Evap Water and another 1500 in Changes. These are all LOW numbers as I also give water away weekly to help friends out and I have drinking water from my RO too.

[RVANANO]

I have some sort of water issue. Unfortunately I burn through DI and membranes pretty quick. Odd b/c water out of tap is only at like 50 or 60 TDS. Some suggested it could be excess CO2 or copper from the pipes etc.

[jeff@zina.com]

I only have 30 psi at my place and my RO/DI unit works just fine.
"works just fine" isn't "works at optimum levels." :)

At a lower pressure your RO membrane will be less efficient. Which means it's costing more than it should.

Jeff

[Mouse]

the tank is just about a year old and i have always used rodi water from my LFS. but my mom said she will only take onces every 3 weeks to save gas. im only 14 so i cant get their any other way

The water will be fine if in a sealed container, get what you need for the month when you can.

[jeff@zina.com]

im only 14 so i cant get their any other way
Kids these days, sheesh. We just used to steal a car... :)

RO water will keep for 3 weeks in a sealed container, you may just want to get more containers. Or, see if a local reef club has a member in your area that would be willing to supply you. You can also get RO water from most supermarkets in a machine that will dispense a 5 gallon jug for a couple bucks at most.

Jeff

[con999]

so you guys are saying i wouldent relly need one

[con999]

bump

[Fishfish0001]

Pretty Much.

Just buy a few extra jugs and get those filled (they should be pretty cheap, $5 around here for the jug)

[con999]

ya ORDI here is 40 cents a gallon.

[reefpeeper]

how good is the water from the lfs? how good is their filter? do they change the cartridge when needed?

[con999]

acculay i work their. we change our filters every 3 months and our membrane every year. with the mass amount of water we make we have to. we have about 1,200 gallons of saltwater tanks. and only about 500 gallons of freash water tanks.