ro/di setup

[Mystical Lady]

I am going to buy a RO/DI system...... but after searching for an hour I am abit confused....... just exactly what are the most important things to look for when buying a RO/DI system? I only have one tank at the moment so I suppose I dont need a massive unit but, if I understand correctly, you lose about 4Gal to 1Gal of RO/DI water, right??? are there more efficient units than others?? or do they all do the same thing just different brands.......

and I suppose I am going to need a plumber, right???

 

*information overload once again*

[Guest Bemmer]

Jan,

I recently purchased an ro/di unit from The filter Guys. As far as equipment goes, it is a very well built unit. Previously, I had one of those units from Aqua something that I bought off Ebay. It was not that great and leaked all the time. Basically, as with most things, you get what you pay for. The unit I bought was a tank with two di filters. I have a 225g tank with a total system of 450+ so you may not need to go that big. However, I highly recommend speaking with Jim at the Filter Guys. He is an older gentleman who loves to chat and is extremely helpful.

 

I installed my unit myself. It comes with very easy to follow instructions and lots of phone support. I know you would be pleased with their product and not feel intimidated by installing the unit.

 

Their website is www.thefilterguys.biz

 

Good luck.

[dhoch]

I bought a unit from an online place out of texas (ebay at the time, but no longer) he is a plumber who sells the units on the side.

 

It was a great price... got a 5-stage unit with a drinking spigot and a 4 gallon resivoir... paid like $120 (including first set of filters a while ago)... now they are a little more expensive but not much:

 

http://www.topotx.com/Merchant2/merchant.m...egory_Code=UCRO

 

Pretty easy unit to install but does require some plumbing.

 

Dave

[flowerseller]

I use an AQUASAFE unit I got off of ebay almost 2 years ago.

I am religious about prefilter (pre-membrane) as well as DI resin (post membrane)

replacement but am still on the origional RO membrane.

I make 60+ gallons a week and am very happy with it.

I needed no serious plumbing modifications to begin use.

[Caribbean Jake]

http://www.airwaterice.com/

 

I bought mine from airwterice.com about three years ago, and only changed the filters once. I am very happy with this unit. bought the reefkeeper unit for $139 then... I think they are still at same price, and they also provide extra filtes

Jacob

[Mystical Lady]

Thanks everyone for the advice...... I think I have enough information to make a decision....... I am excited to make this purchase.... I am tired of the tap water blues.....

[Caribbean Jake]

we know.... we been there.. and think of all the $$$$$b you save doing your own RO/DI water at home, instead of buying gallons from LFS or making tap water ussable to reef system (which is more than often not advised to do for the mare fact of the metals and chemicals the water authority put in it anyway..

 

good luck

[Guest Bemmer]

I believe an ro/di unit is one of the best investments you can make for the quality of your fish tank. Glad to hear you are getting one.

[rsarvis]

I'm thinking about getting one as well, but I'm wondering how the plumbing usually works. Can you have it sit under your kitchen sink, and have the kitchen sink work normally by bypassing it (is that the standard set-up that it comes with plumbing for?), or do you really need to give it a dedicated water source that you can't really use for anything else? I don't really have a convenient water source to dedicate, and the kitchen sink is the only water source on the floor where my tank is.

[dhoch]

rsarvis,

 

Actually that is how mine is setup...

 

It takes a feed from the coldwater line udner the sink (has a resivor under the sink) and drain to drain...

 

Adds an additional tap (like where you would put a flexible sprayer in a kitchen sink).

 

Dave

[lmeyer]

I've got mine connected to the cold water inlet in my laundry room. I put a Y on the cold water inlet to the washer, feed both the RO and the washing machine.

[stevil]

I am going to buy a RO/DI system...... but after searching for an hour I am abit confused....... just exactly what are the most important things to look for when buying a RO/DI system? I only have one tank at the moment so I suppose I dont need a massive unit but, if I understand correctly, you lose about 4Gal to 1Gal of RO/DI water, right??? are there more efficient units than others?? or do they all do the same thing just different brands.......

and I suppose I am going to need a plumber, right???

 

*information overload once again*

I think the important things are gallons per day (GPD), reservior (and capacity of the reservoir), the rejection rate of the RO membrane (which is generally inversely proportionate to the GPD and water pressure required), consideration as to if you have enough household pressure to support a higher GPD with higher rejection rate (higher rejection rate = 'purer' water) and therefore a 'booster' pump.

 

How big is your tank? I have a 100 GPD unit (but it definitely does not produce that much, mostly due to my water pressure I think), and it is adequate for my maintenence fills and water changes on my 90 gallon tank (100 gallons total system volume).

 

I don't believe you lose quite that much water, but it all depeneds on the efficiency of the RO membrane. The 3 variables are Rejection Rate, Gallons Per Day, Water Pressure required that determine how much you get and how much waste water there is.

 

Personally, I believe it's all about the membrane - regardless of the manufacturer of the overall unit. I believe there are only 2 real producers of membranes anyway and they are just re-branded. Obviously there are quality differences with regards to longevity of the unit (leaks etc....) but the membrane really determines what comes out.

 

You may or may not need a plumber. Needle valves are the typical way to install them and they are very easy to do (you just attach the valve to your incoming water by twisting a screw).