Water Filter Suggestions Please!

[Jeremy0322]

Its been a while, school is kicking my butt but today was wisdom teeth removal so i have some free time, sadly. Anyways, with Christmas coming up family is looking for gift ideas, and since i am tired of driving to wal-mart for my water i figured it may be a good time to get an Ro-Di water filter. The major problem is that where i live we use well water, which gives you very little water pressure, so I was wondering if there was a system out there which would work with this type of water setup. So, anyone with this type of water have a working ro-di filter, and if so what kind are you using? Thanks for the help

 

[richhershey]

AirWaterIce has a pressure booster for $130, here's the link:
Booster Pump System Power Station for Reefkeepers

I have the Typhoon III and it's great.

Are you near Lancaster?

 

[Jeremy0322]

For the time being I am on the Ohio border in a small town called West Middlesex, about an hour north of Pittsburgh. And i am looking for something remotely inexpensive, i only have a 55 gallon tank so I dont need much water at all, the ones with like 100 gallons per day would be a waste of money to me. What part of PA are you from? Im assuming Lancaster but i could be wrong.

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

Hey what's up man, I'm from Stewartstown.. it's in the middle of bum {BLEEP} nowhere but it's about 5 minutes from the MD-PA border and about 15 minutes south of York.

Do you already have a RO/DI unit or are you getting one of those too? I'll suggest you get this one: KMD eCommerce Crop.

It's $87 with no shipping right now and it works great for me. Also, I know it may not be common, but you could possibly already have enough pressure. Most systems will operate under the listed PSI, but they just won't chug out water as fast or as clean as if they were at the proper settings. Before dropping over a hundred bucks on a water pump, I'd say try to get some sort of flow meter to indicate how much pressure you do have going.

 

[richhershey]

I'm near Lancaster. I have a 75 gallon tank and my RO/DI has a 75 gpd membrane. Whichever one you get, make sure you get a TDS meter to make sure your water is pure. Most people with wells have enough pressure, and I would recommend buying your filter and giving it a shot before buting a booster.

Stewartstown isn't too far away. I've been looking for local reefers to swap / buy frags, but have not run into many people around here.

Just a heads up, the filter will produce about 3 gallons of waste water for every 1 gallon of filtered. My research found that all units work this way. That was the most surprising thing to me.

 

[JOSEPHLB]

Yes.. your RO/DI may work with the low well pressure... but here is something to keep in mind: the best rejection rate of your RO membrane will take place with the higher pressure.

Also that $87 RO/DI unit posted above looks like garbage.. looks like its made of cheap canisters and housings.. sediment filters look like sponges.. Guarantee an $87 RO/DI unit does not have a very good RO membrane either;
Considering a good 75gpd membrane (with 98% rejection) is $45, alone.

Also, if your RO/DI is of a 50 gpd or lower variety.. here is a booster pump rated for that use:

AQUATEC 6800 ..toward the bottom of the page.. Aquatec's are damn good booster pumps. They are cool running and totally silent operation.
Booster Pumps

 

[BobBursek]

RO/Di's are rated with a combination of water preasure and temprature, they are rated at 60psi @ 70* for there rating, well water is 57* so you will have more rejection rate, and do not buy that junk, go to Thefilterguys.biz and talk to Jim, or Bukeyefieldsupply.com I think they are a sponsor here too. Pay more up front and save over the long run!!!!!!!!

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

Also that $87 RO/DI unit posted above looks like garbage.. looks like its made of cheap canisters and housings..
Booster Pumps

I can't say in the long run, but for now it works fine. My tap water is about 170-180 ppm and the first 10 gallons it's made has been about 2-3 ppm. Especially over the Internet, it's not really fair to knock something just because it looks cheap. Yeah, it's probably not as good as $200 or $300 dollar unit, but that's why it's not $200-$300.

Stewartstown isn't too far away. I've been looking for local reefers to swap / buy frags, but have not run into many people around here.

Nice. I only plan on doing mushrooms and ricordea til I get some more experience, but once I start housing corals I'd be glad to trade frags any time.

 

[JOSEPHLB]

I can't say in the long run, but for now it works fine. My tap water is about 170-180 ppm and the first 10 gallons it's made has been about 2-3 ppm. Especially over the Internet, it's not really fair to knock something just because it looks cheap.

Actually.. you've just confirmed to me and anyone that knows something about a good RO/DI unit that the unit you are touting is complete garbage. They advertise it as an all mighty 6 stage unit with dual DI's... I'm sure they've sucked alot of customers in to thinking these units are the real deal. The reality is, all that is needed is a good 4-stage unit.

Your tap water of 170-180 ppm TDS is pretty low for tap water.. which is good... and you are only getting 2-3 ppm of pure water, out of a 6 stage, dual DI unit? You should be getting 0 TDS out of any good RO/DI unit. And No.. you do not have to spend $200-300 for a good RO/DI unit. Actually.. you should be close to that 2-3 ppm, before it even reaches the DI canisters. Assuming a good RO membrante (180 ppm - 98% rejection = ~3.6 ppm estimate).


Edit ** addition**

Are those first ten, 2-3 ppm gallons, after you've flushed the unit, or the very first ten gallons?

 

[mordibv]

I don't know if this would work but I use a Kent DI unit . It has a carbon block and 2 mixed bed resin cartridges . I hated my water bill with all that reject water even though I had a good ro/di unit (was spectra pure ) . The Kent unit works well for me . There is no waste water and it does not need a lot of pressure to run like a RO unit . I make my water once a week and don't have to wait half a day to make water .I get pretty get longevity out of the cartridges too . A simple thing to do is to try the ones you can add on . If that wears out in no time then add the ro unit and run the di behind it . It just really depends on how bad the water in your area is .

Good luck ..

 

[BuckeyeFSupply]

Some things to look for in a good system for this hobby:

Standard-sized prefilters, membrane, and DI cartridge
Brand name, high-rejection membrane
Specifications provided for each stage
Pressure gauge after the prefilters and before the membrane
Thermometer
DI bypass
Vertical DI stage
Refillable DI cartridge
Aluminum bracket
Quick connect fittings
Flush valve
Clear housings
High-quality instructions
Customer support after your purchase

We seem to do a steady flow of business reworking the type of system linked to above once people understand what it is they bought.

Russ

 

[ReefGuy69]

Chipmunkofdoom i got what you were saying. Its a very affordable Ro unit. It isnt by no means the best. But it also beats putting tap water in your tank. It doesnt look like its made of expenisive cartridges or filters, but like you said its not like your expecting that when your paying $87. It probably will need to be replaced down the road. and maybe it might not be. Joseph he was giving his personal experience with the unit. He can speak alot more for it since i believe he is the only one in this thread that actually owns the unit and can speak first hand. Jeremey if you have little funds and really need one get it. if you can afford more then check out the sponsors.

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

Actually.. you've just confirmed to me and anyone that knows something about a good RO/DI unit that the unit you are touting is complete garbage. They advertise it as an all mighty 6 stage unit with dual DI's... I'm sure they've sucked alot of customers in to thinking these units are the real deal. The reality is, all that is needed is a good 4-stage unit.

Your tap water of 170-180 ppm TDS is pretty low for tap water.. which is good... and you are only getting 2-3 ppm of pure water, out of a 6 stage, dual DI unit? You should be getting 0 TDS out of any good RO/DI unit. And No.. you do not have to spend $200-300 for a good RO/DI unit. Actually.. you should be close to that 2-3 ppm, before it even reaches the DI canisters. Assuming a good RO membrante (180 ppm - 98% rejection = ~3.6 ppm estimate).


Edit ** addition**

Are those first ten, 2-3 ppm gallons, after you've flushed the unit, or the very first ten gallons?

Listen, if you don't want to use a cheap unit, then don't, but don't pretend it's not an option just because it's cheap. If this unit hadn't been so affordable, I'd still be dumping tap water into my tank.

 

[miaskies]

why don't u just buy drinking water from wal-mart- it is 74 cents per gallon and it says on the jug that it has been treated by reverse osmosis.

 

[Jeremy0322]

Thats what i have been using but it gets expensive when you are using about 15 gallons a week for water changes and top off, a unit would more than pay for itself in long run.

 

[BentMyWookie]

I just got the typhoon 75 gpd ro/di from air water and and am very impressed, i have no idea about membrane quality but my tds readings went from almost 300-0 and the unit was VERY easy to setup.

they have a 50gpd mighty might ro/di system for $110 and there is a coupon for 10% off if you go to Air water ice vendor section of RS. (again i have no idea about the quality of this system, maybe someone with more knowledge could tell ya).