ro/di resin or filters

[Guest tgallo]

where does everyone get there ro/di filters from, do you buy it in bulk and fill your own containers.

[JC Pollman]

There are two places on the net that have sterling reputations:

 

air water ice

http://www.airwaterice.com/category/18/

 

and

 

Buckey:

http://www.buckeyefieldsupply.com/aboutus.asp

[davelin315]

I buy from Buckeye Field Supply (despite the fact that I went to Illinois and Buckeyes are the equivalent of the Evil Empire, the Yankees!). I like their products and feel that they have great customer service and are willing to answer tons of questions.

[Guest tgallo]

Thanks for all the info people, i've been out of the game for awhile and drew a blank on where to get the stuff.

[Lee Stearns]

Tagging

What TDS number do you use for the point at which you change resin, and or filters?

[Guest alex wlazlak]

not tryin to hijack the thread, but i changed my filters yesterday on my aqua-safe system but it was only the filters and the ro/ci beads. do i need to get a ro membrane thing too?

[miller]

I have used both of those place and been very pleased. Infact i just place an order with air water ice.

 

not tryin to hijack the thread, but i changed my filters yesterday on my aqua-safe system but it was only the filters and the ro/ci beads. do i need to get a ro membrane thing too?

Membranes are usually good for about 2 years or so if you regularly change your other filters.

[davelin315]

Monitor the TDS before and after. The filters before the RO membrane will typically remove very little of the measurable TDS. Your measurement most likely will be the same at the tap as at the filter, perhaps even a tiny bit higher. After it passes through the membrane, you need to measure what the TDS is. Depending on your membrane (gpd) rating, it will have an associated rejection rate. The higher the gpd, the lower the rejection rate. If the rejection rate is below what it is rated at then either your water pressure is not where it needs to be, the temperature is incorrect, or the filter is wearing out or clogged.

 

You can adjust this by making sure your pre-filters are cleaned out and properly flushed before using, then measure the PSI at the end of it. Also, run your water through a bucket with a heater in it (take 10-20' of tubing and coil it in the bucket) and get the water that comes out of the pre-filters to the mid to upper 70s. If all of this fails, you can try to backflush the filter (basically running filtered water through the effluent hose to take loose solids off of the membrane - make sure it's filtered through your carbon filter or the chlorine or chloramine will degrade and ruin your membrane). If it doesn't bring it back to where it should be or reasonably close to it, then it's time to replace the filter. Remember, it's all about the TDS rating before and after the RO membrane.

 

By the way, Tony, are you coming back into the hobby? I still have yet to set up that tank! It's in my basement waiting for me to build a stand, but building up equipment slowly!

[Buckeye Field Supply]

Hi guys. This may help:

 

 

A good rule of thumb is toreplace your sediment filter and carbon block after six months. A more preciseway to maximize the usable life of these two filters is to use a pressure gaugeto identify when pressure reaching the membrane starts to decline. This is yourindication one or both of the filters is beginning to clog.

 

 

Also be cognizant of thechlorine capacity of the carbon block. A good 0.5 micron carbon block forexample will remove 99% of chlorine from 20,000 gallons of tap water presentedat 1 gpm. Some original equipment suppliers commonly provide carbon cartridgesrated at 2,000 to 6,000 gallons.

 

 

Regarding your RO membraneand DI resin, use your TDS meter to measure, record, and track the TDS(expressed in parts per million) in three places:

 

1. Tap water

 

2. After the RO but beforethe DI

 

3. After the DI.

 

 

The TDS in your tap waterwill likely range from about 50 ppm to upwards of 1000 parts per million (ppm).Common readings are 100 to 400 ppm. So for sake of discussion, let's say yourtap water reads 400 ppm. That means that for every million parts of water, youhave 400 parts of dissolved solids. How do we go about getting that TDS readingdown to somewhere near zero?

 

 

If you do some experimentingwith your TDS meter, you'll note that your sediment filter and carbon blockfilter (collectively called