Best RO system for my reef tank

[robcaba]

My LFS closed a few months ago so I started buying RO water from another LFS supplier. I noticed a lot of hair algae and nothing over the course of 5 months really helped. I finally tested the RO water and with my TDS tool and got a reading of 278 ppm. I think it’s finally time for me to get my own RO system but there are so many that swear they’re the best. Need best bang for the buck. What are you guys/ladies using and/or what do you recommend?

[Pslreefer]

There not much differences in rodi systems. I’d go with a 5-6 stage 75-100gpd. I have a 10 year old water general 6 stage.

[LQT]

Go with the 75 gpd system... preferably one that uses at minimum, a Dow Filmtec membrane. The specs for the Dow 75 gpd membrane have a 98% rejection rate whereas the 100 gpd membrane has a range of between 96% - 98%. Although that 2% may seem minor, over the long haul, it will cost you in DI resin consumption.

[tom obrecht]

Check out the sponsors here...have some good resources to answer any questions you might have. I’ve always been a Spectrapure guy but others here have gotten excellent ratings!

[robcaba]

Originally Posted by tom obrecht

Check out the sponsors here...have some good resources to answer any questions you might have. I’ve always been a Spectrapure guy but others here have gotten excellent ratings!

Nice will do


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[robcaba]

Originally Posted by LQT

Go with the 75 gpd system... preferably one that uses at minimum, a Dow Filmtec membrane. The specs for the Dow 75 gpd membrane have a 98% rejection rate whereas the 100 gpd membrane has a range of between 96% - 98%. Although that 2% may seem minor, over the long haul, it will cost you in DI resin consumption.

What brand do you recommend?


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[robcaba]

Originally Posted by Pslreefer

There not much differences in rodi systems. I’d go with a 5-6 stage 75-100gpd. I have a 10 year old water general 6 stage.

I’m think the same; they all work the same. But I guess it boils down to what brand is best.


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[Bent]

RO/DI filters are all the same. Name brand doesn’t matters.

Standard R/O housing
Standard size predicted canisters.

Fill these with quality filters. Done.

[tkeracer619]

I disagree. They are not all the same...

If you have chloramines running a standard system may or may not suffice and at minimum will likely burn DI rapidly. At worse you can kill your system.

If you have chloramines and an incoming PH of 7.5 or higher a standard RODI will fail in short order.

Not sure why people all of a sudden think they are all the same. I'm sure companies who specialize in water treatment would disagree with that. There are a plethora of variables that can change how you setup your RODI system for optimal performance and lowest operating cost.

Without looking at your water quality report you may end up wasting money.

[robcaba]

Originally Posted by tkeracer619

I disagree. They are not all the same...

If you have chloramines running a standard system may or may not suffice and at minimum will likely burn DI rapidly. At worse you can kill your system.

If you have chloramines and an incoming PH of 7.5 or higher a standard RODI will fail in short order.

Not sure why people all of a sudden think they are all the same. I'm sure companies who specialize in water treatment would disagree with that. There are a plethora of variables that can change how you setup your RODI system for optimal performance and lowest operating cost.

Without looking at your water quality report you may end up wasting money.

That’s the thing...I am not really savvy when it comes to details on RODI systems. I don’t need anything high tech...just need something to help my reef tank out and that most definitely gives me something better than 278ppm when testing with tds. What are you guys using?

How’s this?



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[NYCBOB]

Why u don’t check out bulk reef supply?

[LQT]

Originally Posted by robcaba

What brand do you recommend?


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Spectrapure or Buckeye Hydro, as their business is water filtration, first and foremost.

[Pslreefer]

It’s all about the filters. The brand of rodi is just a housing, it’s the filters that do the work.

[solitude127]

What's your budget? If you've never made RO water before one thing that always surprises new users is how much waste water there is. Most units will produce 4 gallons of waste and 1 gallon of clean water. One way to have a more efficient unit is by using a booster pump which will increase the cost.

[robcaba]

Originally Posted by solitude127

What's your budget? If you've never made RO water before one thing that always surprises new users is how much waste water there is. Most units will produce 4 gallons of waste and 1 gallon of clean water. One way to have a more efficient unit is by using a booster pump which will increase the cost.

Wow! Well I’m already surprised. I thought these systems just pump water through the filters and exits from another end to a bucket. I guess up to $300. I really just want something simple to set up...plug and play if you will.


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[robcaba]

Originally Posted by Pslreefer

It’s all about the filters. The brand of rodi is just a housing, it’s the filters that do the work.

What are you using?


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[robcaba]

Originally Posted by NYCBOB

Why u don’t check out bulk reef supply?

I have but looking for other options to compare and research


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[Bent]

Originally Posted by tkeracer619

I disagree. They are not all the same...

If you have chloramines running a standard system may or may not suffice and at minimum will likely burn DI rapidly. At worse you can kill your system.

If you have chloramines and an incoming PH of 7.5 or higher a standard RODI will fail in short order.

Not sure why people all of a sudden think they are all the same. I'm sure companies who specialize in water treatment would disagree with that. There are a plethora of variables that can change how you setup your RODI system for optimal performance and lowest operating cost.

Without looking at your water quality report you may end up wasting money.

I completely disagree, respectfully.

Every RO housing that takes a standard membrane, is made the same.
Every filter housing that takes a standard cartridge is made the same.

It’s all simply water in, and water out.

I’m sure these companies that try to sell the exact same product at a premium price definitely would disagree with this, why would they not.

Are there quality and application differences in booster pumps, Bracket, Fittings? Filters, Check valves, Etc? Sure.

I’d even argue that these “companies who specialize in water treatment” likely use the same cheap Housings from Asian countries that the other companies use.

Now industrial applications are quite different, and there IS a difference from unit to unit there as the prices of those units should tell you. In fish tank hobbies? Nope.

[solitude127]

Originally Posted by robcaba

Wow! Well I’m already surprised. I thought these systems just pump water through the filters and exits from another end to a bucket. I guess up to $300. I really just want something simple to set up...plug and play if you will.


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Here's a decent unit within your budget.
http://spectrapure.com/RO-RODI/RODI-...D-RO-DI-System
There are still a lot of unknowns about your water. You'll need to know if you water district uses chloramines and what your water pressure is out of your tap. Ratings are usually based on 50 PSI (I believe).

[benjammin03]

Originally Posted by Bent

I completely disagree, respectfully.

Every RO housing that takes a standard membrane, is made the same.
Every filter housing that takes a standard cartridge is made the same.

It’s all simply water in, and water out.

I’m sure these companies that try to sell the exact same product at a premium price definitely would disagree with this, why would they not.

Are there quality and application differences in booster pumps, Bracket, Fittings? Filters, Check valves, Etc? Sure.

I’d even argue that these “companies who specialize in water treatment” likely use the same cheap Housings from Asian countries that the other companies use.

Now industrial applications are quite different, and there IS a difference from unit to unit there as the prices of those units should tell you. In fish tank hobbies? Nope.

I would agree that the housings are all pretty much the same, but the filters you use in the housings can vary greatly. It seems like we are confusing the RODI housing with the filters. They are really 2 separate things.

I would get the cheapest housing you can find that covers all the stages you want to have, but don't go cheap on the filters you use in the housing. Use a quality sediment filter so your carbon blocks don't burn out as quick. If your water has chloramines, get a carbon block designed for that. Use an RO filter with a higher rejection rate so you don't burn through DI resin. It's the filters that you really have to spend time researching.

[tkeracer619]

I fail to see how arguing about country of origin or generic filter housings is helpful to the OP. I seriously doubt the OP is about to order empty housings and separate components. At this point nobody has enough info to recommend anything but whatever brand it is they use.

robcaba, let's start with your water source. Where do you live and who sends you a water bill? We need to look at the water quality report to determine if a standard setup will work for you. It likely will but if you are one of the 30% or so of people with chloramines and even worse with chloramines and a high ph you will need to take other steps to get the right system.

How much water are you going to need per week?

How will you store the water?

I too would go with either Spectrapure or Buckeye Hydro. Both are valued RC sponsors that have proven over the years to have excellent product and customer support.

[benjammin03]

I bring up the empty housings because the best bang for the buck is to buy a used system and then buy new filters. If you are ok with used equipment I would look for a 5-6 stage unit and then you can get advice for what kind of filters to buy once you can provide the information that tkeracer asked above.

[tletourneau]

I'd look at one of these.

https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/bulk-...s-systems.html

[slief]

Originally Posted by tkeracer619

I disagree. They are not all the same...

If you have chloramines running a standard system may or may not suffice and at minimum will likely burn DI rapidly. At worse you can kill your system.

If you have chloramines and an incoming PH of 7.5 or higher a standard RODI will fail in short order.

Not sure why people all of a sudden think they are all the same. I'm sure companies who specialize in water treatment would disagree with that. There are a plethora of variables that can change how you setup your RODI system for optimal performance and lowest operating cost.

Without looking at your water quality report you may end up wasting money.

+1. They are all NOT the same. While the housings may be the same to a certain extent, the cartridges are not. And for the record, the housings are NOT all the same. Some use cheap Chinese housing that are known to crack. Some of the Vertex RODI’s have had this issue. Just ask my buddy Marco who is a forum member. Others have had that issue as well. I’ve never heard of a Spectrapure one having that issue. And the cartridges are not all the same either. Good quality cartridges will last much longer than cheap cartridges. A good quality RODI with a booster pump will result in much improved cartridge longevity as well. In my experience, Spectrapure has the best turn key systems in large part because they use some of the best membranes you can buy and they make their own DI cartridges. Yes, they do make their own DI cartrdidges. Their better systems usually include .5 micron prefilters. yes .5 prefilters as opposed to the 5 micron found on most other RODI’s which goes a long way in increasing cartridge longevity and their 99% rejection membranes are as good as you can get.

Your water quality report can be very telling. If your municipality uses chloramines, then having a chloramine prefilter is a great idea. I use a Spectrapure 1:1 UHE unit that produces nearly 100 gallons a day. My incoming TDS ranges between 475 and 575. Our municipality uses chloramines in our water. I recently added a couple chloramine cartridges ahead of my RODI along with a 5 micron prefilter. Prior to adding the chloramine cartridges, I was getting nearly 1000 gallons of RODI water before my first DI membrane started showing any TDS. My second DI membrane would go 2000 gallons or so. Since adding the chloramine pre-filters, my first DI went over 2000 gallons. God knows how long I will go before needing to replace my 2nd DI let alone my 99% rejection RO membrane. That said, I make upwards of 300 gallons of DI water every month. I make 60-70 gallons a week in one batch. I also live in a drought stricken area so a UHE unit that wastes only 1 gallon of water for every gallon I make was important. The booster pump on my system increases my water pressure to 80 PSI which really improves rejection rations and cartridge life. My system has an automatic flush which also improves cartridge live. So does making larger batches. What you don’t want to do is run 5-10 gallons at a time.

Anyhow, point is that not all systems and cartridges are created equal. You spend more up front and you will save more in the long run because you won’t be buying cartridges as often.

[Pslreefer]

Originally Posted by slief

+1. They are all NOT the same. While the housings may be the same to a certain extent, the cartridges are not. And for the record, the housings are NOT all the same. Some use cheap Chinese housing that are known to crack. Some of the Vertex RODI’s have had this issue. Just ask my buddy Marco who is a forum member. Others have had that issue as well. I’ve never heard of a Spectrapure one having that issue. And the cartridges are not all the same either. Good quality cartridges will last much longer than cheap cartridges. A good quality RODI with a booster pump will result in much improved cartridge longevity as well. In my experience, Spectrapure has the best turn key systems in large part because they use some of the best membranes you can buy and they make their own DI cartridges. Yes, they do make their own DI cartrdidges. Their better systems usually include .5 micron prefilters. yes .5 prefilters as opposed to the 5 micron found on most other RODI’s which goes a long way in increasing cartridge longevity and their 99% rejection membranes are as good as you can get.

Your water quality report can be very telling. If your municipality uses chloramines, then having a chloramine prefilter is a great idea. I use a Spectrapure 1:1 UHE unit that produces nearly 100 gallons a day. My incoming TDS ranges between 475 and 575. Our municipality uses chloramines in our water. I recently added a couple chloramine cartridges ahead of my RODI along with a 5 micron prefilter. Prior to adding the chloramine cartridges, I was getting nearly 1000 gallons of RODI water before my first DI membrane started showing any TDS. My second DI membrane would go 2000 gallons or so. Since adding the chloramine pre-filters, my first DI went over 2000 gallons. God knows how long I will go before needing to replace my 2nd DI let alone my 99% rejection RO membrane. That said, I make upwards of 300 gallons of DI water every month. I make 60-70 gallons a week in one batch. I also live in a drought stricken area so a UHE unit that wastes only 1 gallon of water for every gallon I make was important. The booster pump on my system increases my water pressure to 80 PSI which really improves rejection rations and cartridge life. My system has an automatic flush which also improves cartridge live. So does making larger batches. What you don’t want to do is run 5-10 gallons at a time.

Anyhow, point is that not all systems and cartridges are created equal. You spend more up front and you will save more in the long run because you won’t be buying cartridges as often.

I bought a cheap water general rodi off eBay. It’s lasted 10 years so far. No leaks, cracks, etc. it has a flush out and I get 50psi out of my laundry connection without a booster.

Think I bought it for like $100.

This is the exact one I have.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Watergene...&wl13=&veh=sem