Anion burning quick

[rhitee93]

My anion refills only last me about 150 gallons because of carbon dioxide in my water. The cation and the mixed bed resin after the cation/anion stages seem to last forever.

I burn thru anion as well, I have them split out in to two canisters. I don't mind, and the rodi unit produces 0 TDS water.

I did buy a 3d printed packer, as doing this by hand is messy, and I'm hoping this might help a little.

I bought one of these a while back, and it made a huge difference. Well worth the price.

 

[Ryan - Serious Reefs]

My experience is the following.

1) issue with the membrane and high TDS coming out of it. Sometimes something as simple as leaving the flush kit open, low water pressure or poorly seated membrane. Measure the TDS and confirm before you do anything else.

2) really high Co2 . There are solutions but they are often not worth the effort or cost more than the resin.

3) a misunderstanding. The anion resin very often burns way faster than the cation resin. On my water sorce it is like 5:1. that’s a mix of the cations greater capacity mixed with a co2 issue.

 

[thelonereefer1]

I was able to combat this by off gassing the CO2 in the water before running it through the resins. As Randy stated high levels of CO2 is often the culprit

 

[Aaron75]

I was able to combat this by off gassing the CO2 in the water before running it through the resins. As Randy stated high levels of CO2 is often the culprit

How did you do that?

 

[thelonereefer1]

I re routed the water to run into a brute trash can after going through the membrane sediment and carbon filters. I put a pump to circulate the water in the trash can and let this go for usually 12-24 hours. (No particular number here this time frame just works for my schedule) and from there I’ll pump the water through the resins. Honestly I just re run it through the entire system as that was easier than re running extra tubing

 

[KStatefan]

How did you do that?

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/diy-co2-degassing-chamber-for-ro-di.212587/

 

[ScottD]

I re routed the water to run into a brute trash can after going through the membrane sediment and carbon filters. I put a pump to circulate the water in the trash can and let this go for usually 12-24 hours. (No particular number here this time frame just works for my schedule) and from there I’ll pump the water through the resins. Honestly I just re run it through the entire system as that was easier than re running extra tubing

When you say you run it through the system again, are you talking about running it through the pre filters and membrane again? If so, are you getting waste water out the membrane again?

 

[Ryan - Serious Reefs]

If CO2 turns out to be the cause, another option could be to recharge the resin. While I haven't personally done this, I've seen a friend do it. The challenging part was separating a mixed bed resin, but since the Anion resin is already separated, this method might be cheaper and easier than the gas-off approach.

https://reefkeeping.com/issues/2008-09/nftt/index.php

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

City water, not a well

Cities can get water from wells. :)

 

[Aaron75]

Cities can get water from wells. :)

Haha looked it up, my water is supposedly pumped from deep wells and supplemented with surface water from Folsom lake.

 

[thelonereefer1]

When you say you run it through the system again, are you talking about running it through the pre filters and membrane again? If so, are you getting waste water out the membrane again?

I have run it through the entire system again before because it was easier that way initially when getting started and it did produce waste water again. Right, so I was essentially getting 2x the waste as a trade off for not burning through ions and resins. I’ve since adjusted my plumbing to where it goes through the membrane, carbon and sediment, then off gassing in a brute can and from there I pump it through the resins

 

[ScottD]

When you say you run it through the system again, are you talking about running it through the pre filters and membrane again? If so, are you getting waste water out the membrane again?

I have run it through the entire system again before because it was easier that way initially when getting started and it did produce waste water again. Right, so I was essentially getting 2x the waste as a trade off for not burning through ions and resins. I’ve since adjusted my plumbing to where it goes through the membrane, carbon and sediment, then off gassing in a brute can and from there I pump it through the resins

I was wondering about degassing it before running through the membrane. What does your setup look like for doing that?

 

[thelonereefer1]

I was wondering about degassing it before running through the membrane. What does your setup look like for doing that?

Hmmm I actually never thought about degassing it before running it through the membrane. But now you got me thinking…i’ll get some pics of my setup to follow

 

[ScottD]

I was wondering about degassing it before running through the membrane. What does your setup look like for doing that?

Hmmm I actually never thought about degassing it before running it through the membrane. But now you got me thinking…i’ll get some pics of my setup to follow

Haha oops I read that wrong, guess because I was already thinking it I read it as you had it before the membrane. I tried doing it after but trying to gravity feed it didn’t work out well. Project has been on pause until I figure out a new way.

 

[thelonereefer1]

Haha oops I read that wrong, guess because I was already thinking it I read it as you had it before the membrane. I tried doing it after but trying to gravity feed it didn’t work out well. Project has been on pause until I figure out a new way.

After I degass it from the brute tub I just use a pump. Honestly not even sure what size I just know it’s not a tiny one to push water through the resins and it has worked fine for me the last 6 months. I wouldn’t think gravity to have enough pressure for that if I’m understanding correctly

 

[ScottD]

Haha oops I read that wrong, guess because I was already thinking it I read it as you had it before the membrane. I tried doing it after but trying to gravity feed it didn’t work out well. Project has been on pause until I figure out a new way.

After I degass it from the brute tub I just use a pump. Honestly not even sure what size I just know it’s not a tiny one to push water through the resins and it has worked fine for me the last 6 months. I wouldn’t think gravity to have enough pressure for that if I’m understanding correctly

Ya gravity is not enough, it was just a slow drip. My guess is there’s too much friction loss in the tubing for it to work.

I had a thought about putting a couple tees and valves on my booster pump to be able to use it for either normal operation or for pumping the degassed water through the resin. My only concern is that the booster pump pressure will be too much for the cartridges.

 

[thelonereefer1]

Ya gravity is not enough, it was just a slow drip. My guess is there’s too much friction loss in the tubing for it to work.

I had a thought about putting a couple tees and valves on my booster pump to be able to use it for either normal operation or for pumping the degassed water through the resin. My only concern is that the booster pump pressure will be too much for the cartridges.

Do you think there would be any harm aside from extra water wasted by running it through the entire system a second time for sake of simplicity? I would think having passed through once it wouldn’t be putting as much stress on the membranes

 

[ScottD]

Ya gravity is not enough, it was just a slow drip. My guess is there’s too much friction loss in the tubing for it to work.

I had a thought about putting a couple tees and valves on my booster pump to be able to use it for either normal operation or for pumping the degassed water through the resin. My only concern is that the booster pump pressure will be too much for the cartridges.

Do you think there would be any harm aside from extra water wasted by running it through the entire system a second time for sake of simplicity? I would think having passed through once it wouldn’t be putting as much stress on the membranes

I was t talking about running it back through the whole setup again, just using the booster pump to pump it through the resin cartridges only. But if memory serves me right, I believe those cartridges will only hold 35 psi.

 

[DanP-SD]

My experience is the following.

1) issue with the membrane and high TDS coming out of it. Sometimes something as simple as leaving the flush kit open, low water pressure or poorly seated membrane. Measure the TDS and confirm before you do anything else.

2) really high Co2 . There are solutions but they are often not worth the effort or cost more than the resin.

3) a misunderstanding. The anion resin very often burns way faster than the cation resin. On my water sorce it is like 5:1. that’s a mix of the cations greater capacity mixed with a co2 issue.

I agree with this. The TDS going into the resin is too high. Your RO membrane isn’t cutting it. Either it’s underrated or needs replacing. If it’s newer, then I’d consider whether your sediment and carbon filters are cutting it. You might also benefit from a piggyback RO membrane so the water goes through two membranes.

Based on the TDS into the resin, it seems the resin is doing its job and is burning out fast because it’s a big job.