RO/DI questions

[AHarp]

So I have been using just regular tap water for top offs and water changes. I'm thinking it's time I stepped up and got some good water for my tanks. I'm trying to figure out what system would be best for me. I have a 55 gallon tank with a few beginner corals and fish. Because my budget isn't large, I'm planning to use a bucket to collect filtered water for now, and eventually work up to a full mixing station. My questions are:

What's the biggest difference between a 3 stage, 4 stage, etc system? For my relatively simple tank, how many filtration stages do I need?

What brands are generally considered good? I see AquaFX Baracuda, Bulk Reef Supply, Aquatic Life...Are they pretty much all the same or is there a definite leader?

What do people do with the waste water? Just run it down the drain? I was considering using it with my freshwater tanks, but the thought of giving them waste water is weird.

Do the systems use electricity to run or just water pressure?

What's the easiest way to let a system run but not overflow the reservoir?

Finally, is there anything I'm missing? Tips or tricks or snags to look out for?

 

Thanks!

 

[Mattiejay6]

A RODI unit and its component are based off your water supply. Are you on a well or city water etc.. Do they treat the city water with certain chemicals etc.. below is a good breakdown of the BRS RODI units.

 

4 Stage Value RO/DI Systems - Perfect for city water that is treated with low amounts of chlorine, or well water with very minimal contaminants. Four stage RODI systems are a great solution if you only connect your RODI system temporarily or have little space to dedicate to storing a RODI system.
5 Stage Premium RO/DI Systems - Our most popular systems handle common impurities found in well water along with most types of city water treated with chlorine including small amounts of chloramines.
6 Stage Deluxe RO/DI Systems - If you are not sure what is in your water, or it contains excessive amounts of TDS or hard to remove contaminants like chloramines, phosphates, nitrates, silicates, etc. The BRS 6 Stage systems are designed to effectively treat any water your home may have prior to using it in your aquarium. The Dual DI stage helps with the hard to remove ions like ammonia, phosphates, silicates, etc.
7 Stage Pro RO/DI Systems - Perfect for almost any water condition, but if you have contaminants that use excessive amounts of DI resin, the 7 Stage RODI system is the ideal choice. It uses cation and anion single bed resins that give you added control and cost savings over traditionally used mixed bed resins. Most water supplies tend to exhaust either the positively or negatively charged resin more quickly than the other, and by separating the standard mixed bed resin into single beds, you are no longer throwing away good deionization resin.

 

Here is the link to the 4 stage unit which may be a great place for you to start. 

https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/4-stage-value-plus-ro-di-system-bulk-reef-supply.html

 

 

Also in terms of a mixing station, a 20g Brute trash can is a great place to start with a first time mixing station. Also fairly cheap for less than $30 and you can get a wheel dolly for it too. 

[Mattiejay6]

 

[Josh&Sarah]

Spectrapure is awesome. I have a Frankenstein system put together.... liquigen housing, BRS filters, spectrapure di housing and cartridges, 80 psi booster pump. I would definitely recommend spectrapure but it isn’t cheap. People love the BRS units too. As stated above, check out the info. You can always add on later. But do your tank a favor and start making RODI. It will greatly improve your success. 

[kingrowland1217]

I use Spectrapure 4 stage. Highly recommend. Its one of the things you only have to buy once if you get a good one. So i went with a pricier one. Alot of people like the BRS one though. You change the actual filters like yearly anyway. So you could always buy pricier name brand filters down the road if you want. It doesnt use power, just water pressure. It has to be a certain level of pressure to be effective though. City water should have enough pressure but some well water may not. I bought the pressure gauge just to be sure. You can buy a $5 valve and hook it straight to your cold water line on your sink and fill a 10 gallon trash can once a week or whatever.

[Origami]

A long-time club sponsor is Air Water Ice (at airwaterice.com). Many of us old-timers here at WAMAS have their systems and are very satisified. Check them out.

[YHSublime]

A long-time club sponsor is Air Water Ice (at airwaterice.com). Many of us old-timers here at WAMAS have their systems and are very satisified. Check them out.

Going on almost a decade with AWI Typhoon 3. And great deals on filter replacements for WAMAS members!

[AHarp]

Awesome!

@Mattiejay6 Thanks for the overview! I am on city water so sounds like a 4 stage will be fine. I do have a couple of Brutes on dollies I use for water changes now. I'll have to get around to the mixing station someday soon!

 

@Josh&Sarah @kingrowland1217 Spectrapures do look nice. So, when you say I can add on or get pricier filters, it isn't too hard to mix and match brands? Like, I can buy any brand of charcoal for my smoker (some might work better than others, but they'll all get the job done) but I can't use an Xbox controller on a Playstation. For an RO/DI, pretty much any brand of filter will fit and work?

 

@Origami @YHSublime I love supporting sponsors. I'll check out AWI! Is there a promo code or something for the filter replacement deals?

 

The BRS video said there's an auto-shutoff; is that standard across the board? Or is there another way to keep reservoirs from overflowing?

 

Thanks again, all!

[Origami]

Check the pinned post in the AWI sponsor forum. The code there may still work. It's been a long time, though.

[Josh&Sarah]

Most filters are standard 10”. I doubt you would find a brand that used their own thing but who knows... so you have a set of prefilters... like sediment and carbon blocks.... then your RO membrane, that’s where the magic happens, then you have canisters or cartridges of DI resin. That gets you down to 0 TDS if all is good. I would recommend getting a quality system. The 3 recommended in this thread are all good. Whenever I buy a new system it will absolutely be a spectrapure, but that’s my bias and great costumer service I received when buying their add on. 
 

let’s say you get a 4 stage, but need more DI resin or some kind of special filter media, you can buy an add on canister and boom... just add it. 
 

I'm on well water.  I need a booster pump, a sediment filter, 2 1 micron carbon blocks (they take out tons of other stuff other than chlorine) and then a good RO membrane. That takes me down to about 2 or 3 TDS. Then I run through spectrapure resins in 2 different housings. So I guess it’s like a “6 stage.”  My system looks bonkers. Works great, but if I could do it over I would have gotten a spectrapure maxcap system off the jump. The other systems are good too though. I think you have 3 real solid options in this thread. 

[Jon Lazar]

18 hours ago, AHarp said:

What do people do with the waste water? Just run it down the drain? I was considering using it with my freshwater tanks, but the thought of giving them waste water is weird.

 

Drain, irrigation, and laundry are three good options.  I tried using waste water for fish only tanks but my waste water contained too much ammonia to be safe.

 

 

18 hours ago, AHarp said:

Do the systems use electricity to run or just water pressure?

 

 

Some units have options like a booster pump, a shutoff solenoid, and automatic flush valves.  These options require AC power.

 

 

18 hours ago, AHarp said:

What's the easiest way to let a system run but not overflow the reservoir?

 

 

Some units will have a float valve and a shutoff valve that work together to stop water flow into the unit when your reservoir is full.  This is good, but I still have a backup drain near the top of my reservoir that allows excess water to go down a sink.  Sort of like the high-level drain in most bathtubs and sinks.

 

[kingrowland1217]

Any brand should work. Idk of any that you HAVE to buy their refill filters.Its super simple to add on, or change filters. RODI systems look much more difficult and overcomplicated than they actually are. I have mine tapped into my sink water, i turn a valve and let it run a few hours into a brute trashcan and shut it off. From the trash can I just have a marineland pump with a hose hooked up and flip a switch to fill my sump. All manual, no auto fill. Good to go.

[AHarp]

@Origami Thanks! I'll check it out.

 

@Josh&Sarah That makes sense. So it's more about the filters themselves/the number of stages, not the canisters then.

 

@Jon Lazar Thanks! The backup drain sounds like a good plan.

 

@kingrowland1217 Oh good! Simple and easy is right up my alley.

 

Thanks all!