Jan March 4, 2009 Share March 4, 2009 (edited) Hi, me again . I just spent too much money on bottled water so now I'm searching for a RO unit. I don't want to spend a lot. I know nothing about these units or how they work. I've seen them range in price from $80.00 for a used Kent Marine RO 2 stage unit to $140.00 for a Coralife pureflo w/post deion RO. What should I be loooking for? Do they all pretty much do the same thing or are some better at filtering than others? What should it do? What brands do you like? Are they easy to install? What is the upkeep like? Thanks Jan Edited March 4, 2009 by Jan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YBeNormal March 4, 2009 Share March 4, 2009 What should I be looking for? >> A common unit that does not use proprietary filters. I think that rules out Kent Marine. Do they all pretty much do the same thing or are some better at filtering than others? >> They all do the same thing. Some are more efficient than others and the non-proprietary ones use interchangale parts so they are cheaper to maintain over the long run. What should it do? >> Look for one with 5 stages (or more). The first stage is for sediment, the next two stages are for carbon, then comes the RO membrane, followed by the DI resin. The sediment filter removes large particles. The carbon filters break down and remove chlorine and chloramine and other chemicals. The RO membrane is the workhorse of the unit and removes most of the remaining impurities. DI resin mops up and anything left after the water goes through the RO membrane. What brands do you like? A lot of us use Air, Water, Ice products. They are a WAMAS sponsor and offer a discount for orders placed by club members. The Filter Guys and Buckeye Field Supply are two other popular online vendors. Most of the LFS in our area carry RO/DI filters as well. Are they easy to install? Water line in, water line to waste and water line to the product output. Two screws mount the entire assembly to the wall. Maybe a 10 minute job! What is the upkeep like? Depends on your water demands and your source water. I change the prefilters every 4-6 months, the DI resin every 6-9 months ('cause it's cheap, not because its' exhausted) and the RO membrane should last 3-5 years. Really bad source water and water with high CO2 concentration (i.e. some well water) will wear the filters and resin out sooner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Ward March 4, 2009 Share March 4, 2009 +1. Bob is probably the expert in the club on RO. Or, he at least doles out the majority of the advice. I'd recommend an AWI unit. Many many many members have them. Get the Chloramine carbon block instead of the regular one (most of the cities around here use Chloramines at some point during the year. If you don't use the Chloramine block you may end up with Ammonia in your water and/or faster depletion of your DI resin). And definitely get one that uses standard filters (no kent marine, no coralife). Everything will be much easier to maintain over the long run. You'll also need a container for the product water (e.g. Brute Trash Can). And I recommend installing a float switch in your product water container (so it can run unattended and turn itself off when the container is full - 75 gallons per day is typical production from these units, so it's not a fast process). The RO system should have a flush valve and an auto shut-off valve. Again, these are for simplicity of operation. If you're going to use a float valve, you need an auto shut-off valve. In Falls Church you probably don't need a booster pump, but the efficiency of the unit depends on your input water pressure. It will work with low water pressure, but you will get more waste water for each gallon of product water. The booster pumps are kinda expensive, so I'd go without one until you're sure you need one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hilary March 4, 2009 Share March 4, 2009 (edited) I have the Typhoon 5-stage from AWI, and am completely satisfied with it. I set mine up in the laundry room, using the splitter they sell so I could hook it up to the cold water faucet that was installed for my washing machine. (BTW, thanks for the compliment on my tank! ) Edited March 4, 2009 by Hilary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davjbeas March 5, 2009 Share March 5, 2009 I have the typhoon III extreme from airwaterice.com and am Extremely satisfied. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami March 5, 2009 Share March 5, 2009 +1 on Bob's (YBeNormal's) advice. I have a Typhoon III and am very satisfied with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan March 5, 2009 Author Share March 5, 2009 It's unaminous (joking on the spelling here). I must look into the Typhoon III. Thanks everyone. As my 10 year old would say "You guys ROCK!" Jan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami March 5, 2009 Share March 5, 2009 (edited) Jan, check this link out: http://www.wamas.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=28488 http://www.wamas.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=20710 Edited March 5, 2009 by Origami2547 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan March 6, 2009 Author Share March 6, 2009 Jan, check this link out: http://www.wamas.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=28488 http://www.wamas.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=20710 Sweet. Thanks Tom. How's Joker (daughters name for the clownfish) doing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YBeNormal March 6, 2009 Share March 6, 2009 It's unaminous (joking on the spelling here). I must look into the Typhoon III. Thanks everyone. As my 10 year old would say "You guys ROCK!" Jan Good choice! Besides being a WAMAS sponsor, AWI has a lifetime guarantee on all parts and they stand behind their guarantee! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami March 6, 2009 Share March 6, 2009 Sweet. Thanks Tom. How's Joker (daughters name for the clownfish) doing? Hi Jan. Joker's doing great. She's eating flake and living the sweet life. It's funny, but she and the other clown are hanging out together on opposite sides of the egg crate. The egg crate's actually open enough that the two damsels and the peppermint shrimp in there cross between the sides fairly regularly, so Joker's not lonely. I've been changing out about 5 gallons per day which has kept up the water quality. Her fins looked a little beat up initially but I think that will heal up just fine as I think her health is returning from the ammonia stress. How is your tank set up doing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan March 6, 2009 Author Share March 6, 2009 Hi Jan. Joker's doing great. She's eating flake and living the sweet life. It's funny, but she and the other clown are hanging out together on opposite sides of the egg crate. The egg crate's actually open enough that the two damsels and the peppermint shrimp in there cross between the sides fairly regularly, so Joker's not lonely. I've been changing out about 5 gallons per day which has kept up the water quality. Her fins looked a little beat up initially but I think that will heal up just fine as I think her health is returning from the ammonia stress. How is your tank set up doing? Hmmm, keep an eye on those two. Hey, maybe we can get more clowns? Is the other one a maroon too? I completely missed that her fins were a little beat up. Poor thing. I feel terrible about losing the damsel and then this one having to go through so much. I'm very thankful for your help. I'm actually doing another water change right now. I'm changeing 90% of the water. Ammonia is through the roof at 4ppm. Nitrites are .50 and nitrates are at 10ppm. Another week or so? What do you think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Origami March 6, 2009 Share March 6, 2009 Hmmm, keep an eye on those two. Hey, maybe we can get more clowns? Is the other one a maroon too? I completely missed that her fins were a little beat up. Poor thing. I feel terrible about losing the damsel and then this one having to go through so much. I'm very thankful for your help. I'm actually doing another water change right now. I'm changeing 90% of the water. Ammonia is through the roof at 4ppm. Nitrites are .50 and nitrates are at 10ppm. Another week or so? What do you think? 4 ppm is very high and may result in a longer cycle. The water change should get you down, nominally, to 0.4 ppm if you assume that your replacement water is 0 ppm for ammonia. If your replacement water is still at 0.5 ppm ammonia, then you'll actually be closer to 0.85 ppm ammonia, I think. Unfortunately, that 4 ppm ammonia really messes things up. If this is the case and you're going to do a 90% change, I'd go ahead and make it 100% just so you can knock the ammonia level way back (to 0.5 ppm because of the change water). Then, test your water as much as needed and do water changes to keep the ammonia below 1 ppm worst case. This will be enough to keep your biological filtration growing and adapting to the load, but not enough to kill off life that's growing on your rock and further increasing the ammonia load. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
extreme_tooth_decay March 6, 2009 Share March 6, 2009 I've always been totally satisfied with my 2 stage unit. I just measured (years later) and am getting TDS=2. I've always felt all those extra stages are just a waste of money. Just my $.02! tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EcoGirl22 March 6, 2009 Share March 6, 2009 I've always been totally satisfied with my 2 stage unit. I just measured (years later) and am getting TDS=2. I've always felt all those extra stages are just a waste of money. Just my $.02! tim I agree, I bought a fancy (but cheap 130$ including s/h) unit off ebay but i've found the "waste water" line (ie water that's only gone through the first 3 stages) tests 0 for chlorine/ Chloramines, although i must say i don't test for anything else:(. But it tastes GREAT! (use it for all my drinking water it saves me so much on bottled water!). And my coral have been doing very well. That's my 2cents! I was weary of the cheap ebay units, but i have to say, i was extremely impressed with the quality of my unit and the faucet quick connect option is perfect for someone like myself for whom drilling into the plumbing is just beyond my skill level at this point to do permanent hookup! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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