ro/di questions

[PiscesGirl]

okay...got an rodi unit
I bought one from my lfs...it says WaterGeneral on it and it's an RD-102. Anyone know much about this type of ro unit?

[DrHank]

Water General is one of the brands that you find often on e-bay. They work fine.

[PiscesGirl]

hmmm fine. hope that means better than tap.

[PiscesGirl]

they probably bought a bunch off e-bay and marked it up huh...

There was a sticker on the front that was ripped off...then on the back it has a WaterGeneral sticker on it.

[DrHank]

That's one way (not the best) to do business. Fine is tremendously better than tap water. You really need a TDS Meter to see how much. Mine initally went from 227 to 2.

[PiscesGirl]

I"m just assuming that's what happened...just appears that way.

Okay I don't want to get a tds meter from the same place...any suggestions on where to buy one?

[goldenmean]

TDS Meters

Many on-ling aquarium stores also have them.

[AquaFX]

Just wanted to give you a heads up about the "stages" question

Sometimes you run 2 canisters with the same media in a row, for instance Chloramine Blasters, this is often referred to as 2 additional stages (instead of one). A double DI at the end also often referred to a 2 additional stages.

There seems to be no standard on how much media is needed to be a complete stage. Some units have a smaller inline DI (about 1/3 of a full canister) and the DI is still called a stage.

I guess what I am trying to say is speak to a pro and let them know your needs and your initial water quality.

Marianne

[PiscesGirl]

Thanks Marianne,
I'm wondering if I shouldn't have bought this and went through someone like the filter guys and told them what my TDS was and they could help me out.

Hmmm
This is the exact one I got for 150
eBay: AQUARIUM (2) 110GPD RO+2DI REVERSE OSMOSIS water FILTER (item 120141834897 end time Jul-16-07 14:06:48 PDT)

Don't know if that link will work

[PiscesGirl]

Well, I'm happy with what I got. I think it will work out just fine.

[HowardW]

Originally Posted by PiscesGirl

okay...got an rodi unit
I bought one from my lfs...it says WaterGeneral on it and it's an RD-102. Anyone know much about this type of ro unit?

Yes......I think those units come with the GE membranes which require higher water pressure (60 psi) to work correctly then the Dow Filmtec membranes which are pretty much the standard for reefkeepers and drinking water. They also use horizontal inline DI cartridges which are not as effective (channeling and bypass) and hold less media then the standard vertical units. I believe they also use less expensive off brand pre filters and don't have the John Guest type push in fittings. If you have an inline pressure guage, check the pressure between the pre filters and membrane, if it's too low you may need to buy a auxillary pressure pump for that GE membrane to work correctly. Also, after those 2 X 10" inline DI cartridges are expended, replace them with a standard vertical cartridge.

[BuckeyeFSupply]

You'll want to orient your two DI housings vertically, with bottom up flow.

No one manufacturers a 110 gpd membrane, so you likely have a 100 gpd membrane.

Russ

[luhlar]

Stupid beginner question time. Really REALLY beginner question, like, I'm doing research and planning before even STARTING my aquarium. I have a 125 gallon freshwater tank. I hope to make the switch, but want to know what I really am getting into, first. I want a RO unit, because I have crappy water. Now for the ignorant butt question -

I know that it purifies so many gallons per day. Other than the initial fillup I would expect 10 percent, then 20-25 percent water changes. So we are talking 12.5 to about 30 gallon changes. (Sub-question = if you have a bunch of live rock in it, displacing say 1/3 of your water, is a 10 percent change still 12.5 gallons of water based on tank's capacity for 125 gallons or is it based on gallons of water really in the tank? I'm used to eyeballing the water line as I make changes.) What gallons per day rating should I get?

You know, call this a series of ignorant questions -

Also, do I mount these little filters under my aquarium in the cabinet or under my bathroom sink?

Am I just attaching a hose to the sink that runs through these filters then through another hose into a bucket for use that day? So it's just "in-use" when I'm actually running water through it (you know like when you're vacuuming gravel using a siphon that attaches to your sink faucet, like the python brand does, with a fresh water tank)?

I'm so confused. But reefs are so beautiful I will figure it out

Help? Sorry, I *know* how basic these questions are, but at least I'm educating myself BEFORE set-up lol

Laurel

[Anselth]

You can do it a number of different ways. You can mount it under your sink, with the feed tube permanently plumbed into the water supply and the waste plumbed into your drain.

As far as gallons per day, you'll want to get enough gpd to make the time it takes producing water for your water changes tolerable. And I would change based on the tank capacity, not on actual water volume.

[garret]

it is also a good idea to put a flush valve on the unit it will expand the life of the membrane