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07/01/2018, 11:01 AM | #1 |
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RO/DI help
I recently setup a 40b, completed the cycle, and have 3 fish in it so far. My problem is with my water. I have a 6 stage RO/DI with Aquatec booster pump. I just replaced all of the filters and installed a new Filmtec membrane. My feed water is such poor quality I am only getting about 40 gallons out of my DI resin before it needs to be replaced.
My feed water TDS is at about 700. After the RO membrane it is only down to about 40. I cannot afford to replace the DI resin after each water change and ATO reservoir fill. Is there anything I can do, that won't cost me a small fortune, to improve my final product water and increase the life of my DI resin. It is about a 2 hour round trip to the nearest reputable source of quality, 0tds, water.
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07/01/2018, 11:23 AM | #2 | |
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I personally have never heard of an RO membrane or DI resin being used up after only 40-gallons tbh. You sure the membrane is working and or seated correctly?
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- Shaginwagon - Current Tank Info: 550 Gallon SPS Reef l 200 Gallon Sump l Skimmer: Vertex Alpha 250 l Return Pump: Reeflo Hammerhead l Tank Circulation: (2) Maxspect Gyre XF280 l Lighting: (3) 400w Halides & (3) AI Hydra 52 HD |
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07/01/2018, 11:47 AM | #3 |
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Colorado is notorious for bad water.
If you get no satisfaction contact Spectrapure.
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07/01/2018, 01:18 PM | #4 |
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I'd start by using a 99% rejection rate membrane..
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07/01/2018, 01:59 PM | #5 |
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Maybe add a second ro kit
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07/01/2018, 02:49 PM | #6 |
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Are you on a well? You might want to consider a water softener.
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Gary 180 gallon, 40 gallon sump, 3 250 W MH + 4 80W ATI T5's, MTC MVX 36 Skimmer, Apex controller Aquamaxx T-3 CaRx Current Tank Info: A 2 Barred Rabbitfish, Red Head Salon, Yellow/Purple, McMaster Fairy, Possum, 2 Leopard Wrasses, Kole, & Atlantic Blue Tangs, 2 Percula Clown, 3 PJ and 1 Banggai Cardinalfish , Swallowtail, Bellus and Coral Beauty Angels |
07/01/2018, 03:42 PM | #7 |
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RO/DI help
I'm going to say it could possibly be partially related to a CO2 issue. Do you know what your pH is prior to the unit? My well is very acidic and has high concentrations of CO2. This is apparently very common with well water. What I have to do is make just RO water and aerate it for 24 hours prior to pumping it through my DI resin. Doing this has increased the life of my DI resin enormously. My incoming TDS is only 200-300 and is 12-15 after the RO membrane though.
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07/01/2018, 04:02 PM | #8 | |
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Quote:
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Gary 180 gallon, 40 gallon sump, 3 250 W MH + 4 80W ATI T5's, MTC MVX 36 Skimmer, Apex controller Aquamaxx T-3 CaRx Current Tank Info: A 2 Barred Rabbitfish, Red Head Salon, Yellow/Purple, McMaster Fairy, Possum, 2 Leopard Wrasses, Kole, & Atlantic Blue Tangs, 2 Percula Clown, 3 PJ and 1 Banggai Cardinalfish , Swallowtail, Bellus and Coral Beauty Angels |
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07/01/2018, 10:51 PM | #9 |
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I am actually now in Arizona and on municipal water. I never had issues in Colorado, my water was actually very good. I got the system about 2 years ago to use primarily for my drinking/cooking water, so 50-80 TDS was not a problem. When I set up my tank I added the DI.
I am considering running the clean water from the membrane through a 2nd membrane,but I am concerned that it would give me something like 1:8 waste water ratio.
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07/02/2018, 06:29 AM | #10 | |
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Can you post a picture of what system your using? Also, what pre-filters and membrane are you using? Not all pre-filters and membranes are created equal.
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- Shaginwagon - Current Tank Info: 550 Gallon SPS Reef l 200 Gallon Sump l Skimmer: Vertex Alpha 250 l Return Pump: Reeflo Hammerhead l Tank Circulation: (2) Maxspect Gyre XF280 l Lighting: (3) 400w Halides & (3) AI Hydra 52 HD |
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07/02/2018, 01:24 PM | #11 | |
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And, YES Arizona has TERRIBLE water. NO ONE drinks from the tap here. A whole house filter and water softener are pretty much standard. I however have neither and have to rely solely on my RO system.
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07/02/2018, 01:49 PM | #12 |
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Cough... 99% RO membrane
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07/02/2018, 07:13 PM | #13 |
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Lollll Ya that is definitely a very valid point. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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- Shaginwagon - Current Tank Info: 550 Gallon SPS Reef l 200 Gallon Sump l Skimmer: Vertex Alpha 250 l Return Pump: Reeflo Hammerhead l Tank Circulation: (2) Maxspect Gyre XF280 l Lighting: (3) 400w Halides & (3) AI Hydra 52 HD |
07/03/2018, 01:29 PM | #14 |
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Gary 180 gallon, 40 gallon sump, 3 250 W MH + 4 80W ATI T5's, MTC MVX 36 Skimmer, Apex controller Aquamaxx T-3 CaRx Current Tank Info: A 2 Barred Rabbitfish, Red Head Salon, Yellow/Purple, McMaster Fairy, Possum, 2 Leopard Wrasses, Kole, & Atlantic Blue Tangs, 2 Percula Clown, 3 PJ and 1 Banggai Cardinalfish , Swallowtail, Bellus and Coral Beauty Angels |
07/03/2018, 01:51 PM | #15 |
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Also on this site down low, Spectrapure has there own section of forum where they cover all kinds of useful information on making DI water. One thing I learned from them is... I had a float valve controlling the refill of my RODI water and it would start to refill as soon as my water level dropped enough to actuate the float valve. This is not the way it should be done. Now I have manual ball valves on my system,and once my second barrel gets down to about half full I turn the valves on and produce a huge volume of water all at once. This has greatly increased the quality of water I am making, and has increased the longevity of my DI resin. If you are making small batches of water... try to stop this practice! It sounds like you are making RO for the house with this system at well, but at least for your aquarium make sure you have at least one large barrel, and only make water for the aquarium in large batches. And obviously as numerous people have suggested get that 99% rejection filter, but note that if you are making small batches of water for the house... you will not get close to 99% rejection. I feel like your best bet would be to save up for a second system and have it run off your existing system.
Good Luck Ron
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If your not part of the solution... Your part of the precipitate! Current Tank Info: 108G drop off reef, Eshopps RS-300 sump, Kessel A160W & A360W, 2x Jebao SW-8, Apex Controller |
07/06/2018, 12:09 PM | #16 |
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I decided to make some upgrades to my RO/DI system. While I am keeping the system I have, I just ordered some 1 micron sediment filters, 1 micron Carbon Block filters, and a new 100 GPD membrane from BRS. The membrane is rated at 98% rejection, but that is the highest I could find for a 100gpd membrane. I also ordered the Dual DI Canister upgrade from BRS and extra resin.
I will also be redoing much of the tubing to setup the system more efficiently. I plan on using ball valves to keep the resin separate from the drinking water, so it is only used when making water for the tank. I am hoping that all of these changes will amount to better water and a healthy tank.
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07/07/2018, 09:55 AM | #17 |
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I run BRS membranes with good results!
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07/07/2018, 11:21 PM | #19 |
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I am southeast of Phoenix in Florence. We have Johnson Utilities and they are TERRIBLE.
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07/08/2018, 12:12 AM | #20 |
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ours is high but not that high. I'm in west valley, we get water from the white tanks and so far it's averaging 450-500
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07/10/2018, 01:13 PM | #21 |
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I replaced the sediment and carbon block filters and saw a very small improvement. I will have the new membrane on Wednesday and will see if that helps. I also tested my source water for ammonia and did not detect anything. How would I go about testing it for Co2?
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07/10/2018, 02:15 PM | #22 | |
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Dissolved solids will not be removed by a sediment filter and a carbon block will also have little/no effect on them.. The membrane is doing all the work on the TDS levels.. Going with that fine of a micron will likely just cause them to get clogged faster thus lowering pressure post prefilters thus reducing efficiency of the membrane.. Probably wasn't the best move you could have made.. Thats still a 96-98% membrane too.. (96 min..98 typical).. You are maybe getting around that now.. So don't expect much.. I should have asked if you had 75GPD or 100GPD or what..
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07/10/2018, 03:57 PM | #23 | |
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07/12/2018, 12:15 AM | #24 |
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I got the new membrane today and installed. NO improvement. I am still getting just under 93% rejection. The system has a 600 mlm flow restrictor, but most of the things I am reading say that 800 is ideal for a 100gpd system. Would replacing the flow restrictor improve my rejection rate?
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07/12/2018, 08:03 AM | #25 | |
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He will get you hooked up/down the right path.. A proper flow restrictor is important and will effect membrane performance..
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