Finally time to make my own water

[slgcmg]

Been dropping $40 a week of salt and top off water and think it's time to get my own RODI system. There seem to be so much to choose from and they range from$150-$400. Anyone have any suggestions on a particular model?

[mpderksen]

BRS unit for me. Make sure you get the TDS meter.

[Indiana Reefin]

It depends on what your water is like.
Do you have a well? High TDS? High Silicates?

[slgcmg]

I've never tested my water. No well, straight from the city

[slgcmg]

Originally Posted by mpderksen

BRS unit for me. Make sure you get the TDS meter.

What does the TDS do?

[farfromsea]

TDS stands for "total dissolved solids" which can be a variety of organic/inorganic things. People use TDS meters to see much crap is left in the water after going through the filtration process. You want it to be as close to zero as possible. It is often a sign you need to change your resin/filters!

For me, my city puts chloramine in the water so I have to make sure to filter that out when I finally setup my filter. Might be worth looking into if you're not sure about your water


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[mpderksen]

Originally Posted by slgcmg

What does the TDS do?

TDS is the Total Dissolved Solids. It's the biggest reason to use RODI in the first place. The meter tells you when the DI resin is exhausted. As soon as the output isn't zero, you change media. TDS >0 is food for algae. When you start your system up, run it on bypass until the input TDS is <5, the start making water.

[royvoss]

look in to a spectrapure unit, sometimes they have refurbs for sale on there site

[Jonviviano]

I have been using a 5 stage unit from e-bay. PureWaterClub is the brand. They sell on e-bay and have there own website. around $99 for a complete setup.

[CeresReef]

Can you get a TDS separate from a RODI unit or are they built in?

[jayball]

Originally Posted by CeresReef

Can you get a TDS separate from a RODI unit or are they built in?

the built in would be nice but I get along with a handheld.

Call your DPW to ask about chloramines, some also just use it periodically to flush the system so ask about that too.

[farfromsea]

I have this one. I'm yet to set it up honestly so I can't give any reviews myself. But they have an in-line TDS for $30 so not bad


https://airwaterice.com/reefkeepers-...eefkeeper.html

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[mpderksen]

How many gallons do you get before you have to change resin? And how often do you change the RO membrane?

[reef_aholic]

The volume of water before you have to change your resin varies. It depends on what TDS your water coming out of the RO is, if it is low, say, 2-3, you will get a lot of water out. My water is high TDS. I have about 18-21 coming out of the RO, I am seeing maybe 150 gallons to a set of resin cartridges?? I recently replaced my membrane after about 2 years, i am now making water at 8 TDS out of RO, I will be replacing my membrane yearly now.

[ryeguyy84]

Originally Posted by reef_aholic

The volume of water before you have to change your resin varies. It depends on what TDS your water coming out of the RO is, if it is low, say, 2-3, you will get a lot of water out. My water is high TDS. I have about 18-21 coming out of the RO, I am seeing maybe 150 gallons to a set of resin cartridges?? I recently replaced my membrane after about 2 years, i am now making water at 8 TDS out of RO, I will be replacing my membrane yearly now.

Geez what's your incoming TDS?

[f3honda4me]

Can't go wrong with a BRS unit. I have tds measured pre rodi at 200 and after DI is 0. I get about 200 gallons before having to change DI. I'm on well water.

But before you get one you have to find out if your city uses chloramines as that requires a different rodi unit.

[xREEFINaintEZx]

Your city should have a water quality PDF on there site. HONDA knows^You want to check for chlorimines. If something happens to my Kent I'll be looking at spectraPure,buckeye hydro,or BRS.Overall It's all about the filters inside. Inline TDs meter is very useful, having a handheld comes in handy also. Might aslo want a pressure gauge installed before your first carbon block. Look into a membrane flush kit. Finally a bypass after your carbon so you can flush out the fines.

[slgcmg]

Thanks for the info, to be safe, I will go with the 6 stage with TDS meter on BRS

[LinkinReef]

Originally Posted by slgcmg

Thanks for the info, to be safe, I will go with the 6 stage with TDS meter on BRS

Great choice! I've had the same unit for almost 5 years without a single problem.

[slgcmg]

Originally Posted by LinkinReef

Great choice! I've had the same unit for almost 5 years without a single problem.

How often do you have to change out the filters? This is my first unit, so wondering about the maintenance

[LinkinReef]

Originally Posted by slgcmg

How often do you have to change out the filters? This is my first unit, so wondering about the maintenance

For me it depends on how much water I'm making. If I make only about 50g a month, then I normally change them every year.

[ryeguyy84]

On my 90 gallon I change out the sediment filter whenever it turns brown or the pressure starts to fall (around 3 months) I change out carbons every 6 months, rodi membrane I changed at 3 years and DI whenever tds goes over 0 (3ish months)

[slgcmg]

Originally Posted by ryeguyy84

On my 90 gallon I change out the sediment filter whenever it turns brown or the pressure starts to fall (around 3 months) I change out carbons every 6 months, rodi membrane I changed at 3 years and DI whenever tds goes over 0 (3ish months)

So i get all these parts from BRS?

[ryeguyy84]

Yup

[f3honda4me]

The DI resin is what you will change most often. Everything else will probably last a year or more on city water. If you're using a TDS meter after the DI save some money by getting a non color changing DI resin. The color change is nice to remind you to change the DI but with a TDS meter it's unnecessary imo