First RO/di System

[oKrazyii]

So I ran into a problem recently with my tap water having high levels of phosphate causing quite a lot of cyano in my tank, so to help with that I’m looking into getting my first ro/di system to install. My question is does anyone have any recommendations on a good ro system to start with? I currently have a 30g tank but am looking to upgrade to an 125 or something soon so I’m really looking for something that isn’t $300+ but at the same time can give me more than 5g every 4 hours I would prefer something that I can possibly add onto in the future but if not possible it’s not the biggest deal, I definitely need something soon though so I can fix this problem, thank you.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Do you know what kind of TDS you are getting from your water? I use the AquaFX 4 Stage RO unit and have been very satisfied with it

 

[RocketEngineer]

I personally like the BRS RODI systems. They have a wide range of options from 4 stage basic (bare minimum needed) to 7stage premium. Because they use standard canisters, you can easily replace parts, even if you get them somewhere else. And they offer expansion options for future additions. No proprietary BS to deal with.

 

[oKrazyii]

Do you know what kind of TDS you are getting from your water? I use the AquaFX 4 Stage RO unit and have been very satisfied with it

honestly no clue lol, im looking into buying a tds tester to figure that out

 

[Fish Fan]

I also have a BRS system I've had for years now.

But I want to give a shout out to @Buckeye Hydro who is an active R2R member who may be able to help you here. I'd give them a look for sure.

Good luck!

 

[Buckeye Hydro Verified Sponsor]

Feel free to give us a call when you are in front of the system.
Russ
513-312-2343
[email protected]
www.buckeyehydro.com

 

[Floyd-]

I have the BRS 4 stage 200gpd water saver model and its fantastic! I can get 5 gallons in maybe 40 minutes with this unit.

 

[Buckeye Hydro Verified Sponsor]

Never a good idea to plumb two membranes in series in an effort to "save water" UNLESS you have soft water.

 

[Floyd-]

Never a good idea to plumb two membranes in series in an effort to "save water" UNLESS you have soft water.

I have no clue if I have soft water. Saving water from the discharge was really nice though. Ive had this unit for about 4 years and its worked flawless.

 

[Malum Argenteum]

Never a good idea to plumb two membranes in series in an effort to "save water" UNLESS you have soft water.

I think I agree with you, but could you explain the reasons why this is a bad idea?

 

[Buckeye Hydro Verified Sponsor]

This configuration is common/routine in commercial RO systems. These RO systems also, if you read and understand the system manual, require that hardness be removed from the RO feedwater. We feel it is poor practice to recommend to users, with zero knowledge of their feedwater chemistry, that they plumb two membranes in series.

Membrane manufacturers (Filmtec) state their residential membrane specs at 15% recovery - that is about a 5.5:1 concentrate to permeate ratio. If you have hard water - can you run it with less concentrate flow? Sure you can - but you'd best be prepared for deposition of scale inside the membrane and a shortened membrane life span. When you plumb two membranes in series, and don't change the flow restrictor - you're doing exactly that.

For example - let's say you plumb two 75 gpd membranes in series and you have factory (Filmtec) specs of 50 psi and 77F. And you have hard water. What you've essentially created is a single 150 gpd (394 ml/min) membrane. With a 150 gpd membrane - to get the desired 4:1 ratio for a reasonable membrane life, you'd use a flow restrictor rated at about (4*394=) 1576 ml/min. But instead, what is suggested by a certain vendor is to user is to use a flow restrictor rated at less than half that.

You'll get scale deposition inside the membranes (especially the second membrane) and you'll be coming back to the vendor of a replacement sooner that would be the case if the system was configured appropriately.

If all you want is less concentrate flow - regardless of the membrane lifespan, simply install a tighter $4 flow restrictor - there's no need for a second membrane.

 

[Fish Fan]

This configuration is common/routine in commercial RO systems. These RO systems also, if you read and understand the system manual, require that hardness be removed from the RO feedwater. We feel it is poor practice to recommend to users, with zero knowledge of their feedwater chemistry, that they plumb two membranes in series.

Membrane manufacturers (Filmtec) state their residential membrane specs at 15% recovery - that is about a 5.5:1 concentrate to permeate ratio. If you have hard water - can you run it with less concentrate flow? Sure you can - but you'd best be prepared for deposition of scale inside the membrane and a shortened membrane life span. When you plumb two membranes in series, and don't change the flow restrictor - you're doing exactly that.

For example - let's say you plumb two 75 gpd membranes in series and you have factory (Filmtec) specs of 50 psi and 77F. And you have hard water. What you've essentially created is a single 150 gpd (394 ml/min) membrane. With a 150 gpd membrane - to get the desired 4:1 ratio for a reasonable membrane life, you'd use a flow restrictor rated at about (4*394=) 1576 ml/min. But instead, what is suggested by a certain vendor is to user is to use a flow restrictor rated at less than half that.

You'll get scale deposition inside the membranes (especially the second membrane) and you'll be coming back to the vendor of a replacement sooner that would be the case if the system was configured appropriately.

If all you want is less concentrate flow - regardless of the membrane lifespan, simply install a tighter $4 flow restrictor - there's no need for a second membrane.

Could I ask what you consider hard water? I recently tested my tap water for a freshwater tank, and this is what I got:
Ammonia: 2.0 ppm
Nitrite: 0.5-1.0 ppm (I had a hard time reading the test)
Nitrate: ~30.0 ppm (again, I had a hard time reading the result)
pH: 8
KH: 10 degrees
GH: 10 degrees
TDS: 240 ppm

Thank you for your help here!

 

[Buckeye Hydro Verified Sponsor]

10 dKH equates to 10.4 grains per gallon, which would put you in the "Hard" category - and almost in the "Very Hard" category. Both are too hard to feed directly to an RO if you have the concentrate choked off in one way or another to something near a 1:1.

 

[Fish Fan]

10 dKH equates to 10.4 grains per gallon, which would put you in the "Hard" category - and almost in the "Very Hard" category. Both are too hard to feed directly to an RO if you have the concentrate choked off in one way or another to something near a 1:1.

Thank you for your reply! I have always thought of my water as hard, but this confirms it.

 

[Buckeye Hydro Verified Sponsor]

Thank you for your reply! I have always thought of my water as hard, but this confirms it.

Let us know when you're ready for a whole house softener!

 

[Fish Fan]

Let us know when you're ready for a whole house softener!

lol! Will do!