Frankenstein RO/DI Build

[PPBlimpy]

Looking for some guidance from you all with more experience then me.

I want this to be the end all of water filtration. That when I have to replace filters i wench in fear. etc

The reason i am going overkill is I recently had the tank crash and I am 90% certain it is from a neighbor who treated their well and we are on the same water table.

I have been running my tanks on well water for nearly 3 years and finally going to get away from it.

I have collected a bunch of equipment and looking to build a monster of a Rodi.

Tds from my well is around 375 last I measured with a handheld TDS meter.

The house has a 3 stage 2.5x20" filter prior to my RODI that holds a 5 micron sediment, and 2 CTO Carbon filters. Not sure if I should be running something else here but our water taste fine. These filters are being replaced this weekend and plans are to replace them yearly. I just recently realized the hose spigot we use for all outside watering was plumbed in after this whole house filter. That includes filling horse troughs, watering the garden, filling our pond etc. That is being replumbed this weekend.

Equipment I have available

BRS value 75 GPD 4 stage - 2 channel inline tds - 5m sed - carbon - carbon
Brs triple DI Saver - 3 channel inline tds -resin C - A - mixed
Aqua Barracuda 75 GPD 4 stage - 2 channel inline tds - 5m sed - carbon -
a gutted chassis with 3 canisters - currently with sediment filters
a 20 micron Prefilter

I do not know what carbon blocks these units have currently but when I need to change them what do you all suggest?

Individual equipment I have extra
3 channel inline TDS
2 channel inline TDS
5x pressure gauges with inline adapters - PG
50G holding vat
air bubbler
brs flush kit
550 residual valve
I have replacements for the sediment canisters on the shelf

My idea is to separate the 75 GPD membranes from the BRS and barracuda chassis
stages 1-3 running at house water pressure @ 45 psi

1st- 20 micron sediment- has PG ( pressure gauge before and after) - should never really clog since there is 5 micron prior to this.
2nd - T fitting and run both the Barracuda and BRS 3 stage chassis in parrallel as follows 5micron sediment / PG / carbon / carbon - PG - out
2nd alt - Gutted chassis with 10m / 5 m / 1m sediment filters T to both Barracuda and BRS chassis running parrallel w/ catalytic / coconut / Gac Carbons - PG - out
3rd - T back together into a Auto shutoff block.

4th - to a booster pump set at 80psi
5th- plumb both RO membranes in series - running 550 residual valve and a flush kit
6th - to the 50G holding vat with bubbler and float switch - to remove C02
7th - with a small ATO pump similar to tunze or pmup will be turned on to run thru the DI Saver and into my 65G saltwater mixing station.

Holy Crap that is kind of a lot.

 

[Utubereefer]

Were you using rodi before the crash?

 

[PPBlimpy]

Were you using rodi before the crash?

nope, straight well water. Have been for years. I recently bought a number of tanks / systems and acquired this stuff in the deals. Finally looking to implement. Starting a new tank that I want to be sps/lps and kind of want to start on the right track. In the past I just throw whatever I have together and do a mixed reef with lps softies and nems etc.

I am almost to the point of needing water so this project is becoming more urgent.

I will be putting the 3 channel inline TDS in between the two membranes and then after each membrane to check the TDS coming out of each.

I wanted to run in series to help with waste reduction but with more research if one is bringing it down enough I may run in parrallel if the boost pump is up for the flow.

In series the Second membrane takes a beating and life is much shorter.

 

[PPBlimpy]

Got it mostly plumbed last night and running. Looks like crap but I want it to work and then will work on cleaning up the install.

I have not added the 50G c02 degassing tank or DI media yet.

Last night before I called it quits for the evening I got everything running and found after filters and ROs I was getting an output of 220 tds. I was tired and decided to leave it for the evening and look at it again today.

fast forward - Did some testing this morning and decided to bypass the second RO membrane and TDS were down to 35.
Now this was only running for 2-3 minutes and no back flush or anything prior. So hoping this comes down further after a 10-15 minute backflush with use as I feel this will still exhaust DI rather quickly.

That being said- I have no problem running 35 TDS water directly into my mixing station without running DI at all and being done considering I have been mixing/topping off with straight out of the tap, well water @320+ for years. Will be a huge improvement in water quality. If I go the route of No DI I will still ad an air pump and stone to my Clean water reservoir of the mixing station to help with any C02 from my well.

I am assuming the RO membrane in the Barracuda is bad. I have had the unit for about a year just sitting. I am guessing it dried out. I will be replacing with a new Membrane

will continue to update- yes it’s ugly, filters will be replaced once I replace my whole house filters- should be here today.

So things should only get better right?

 

[afboundguy]

Holy Crap that is kind of a lot.

Not compared to my setup LOL

So things should only get better right?

I got a kick out of these two endings to your big posts! As a fellow over-the-top RODI guy (150 and 80 micron mesh pre-filters, 20 micron prefilter, followed by sediment and carbon block sets of 5 micron, 1 micron and 0.5 micron, 2 75GPD RO membranes, and triple stage resin stages) I enjoy these types of posts!

I have about 300-350 TDS going into my RODI setup and my only suggestion would be to definitely keep the triple stage resin setup with a single cation stage, single anion stage and then mixed resin stage. This will save you money in the long run as typically one resin gets used up faster than the others.

I apologize if you mentioned this already but I would suggest running two RO membranes in series (check BRS' water saver upgrade kit) to increase production. With my setup I am getting 0-3 TDS after my double RO stages. I am going to be adding a 150 GPD Smart Buddie soon (when I have some free time) and also setting up an automated TDS creep flush that will run for 1-2 minutes after the Smart Buddie runs it's flushes to get even more efficiency with the resin stages.

 

[afboundguy]

@PPBlimpy ironically I have been showering FB marketplace for super cheap RODI systems to possibly add more stages as I know there are 0.2 micron filters!

 

[PPBlimpy]

Filters / carbon are cheap to replace, a 99% membrane will run you $65. Wish I would have done this years go.


Got the full system up and running today. I will be ordering some new filters.

In the sediment housing I plan to run a 5/1/.5 and then will eventually swap the carbons for .5 carbon blocks. And then will swap the RO membranes for 99%

As of this morning I was starting with 350tds well and getting 12-14 tds out of the single membrane.

0 after DI.

But realistically I am not sure I will keep running the DI. I am perfectly happy running under 30tds water. Especially since for the past couple years I have been running 300+

I now have 50g RO (degassing), 60g Rodi, and 60 gallon mixed salt.

In a emergency as long as I keep my resevoirs full I can do a 75% water change on my big tank in a matter of hours

 

[PPBlimpy]

Not compared to my setup LOL

I got a kick out of these two endings to your big posts! As a fellow over-the-top RODI guy (150 and 80 micron mesh pre-filters, 20 micron prefilter, followed by sediment and carbon block sets of 5 micron, 1 micron and 0.5 micron, 2 75GPD RO membranes, and triple stage resin stages) I enjoy these types of posts!

I have about 300-350 TDS going into my RODI setup and my only suggestion would be to definitely keep the triple stage resin setup with a single cation stage, single anion stage and then mixed resin stage. This will save you money in the long run as typically one resin gets used up faster than the others.

I apologize if you mentioned this already but I would suggest running two RO membranes in series (check BRS' water saver upgrade kit) to increase production. With my setup I am getting 0-3 TDS after my double RO stages. I am going to be adding a 150 GPD Smart Buddie soon (when I have some free time) and also setting up an automated TDS creep flush that will run for 1-2 minutes after the Smart Buddie runs it's flushes to get even more efficiency with the resin stages.

So I did have the RO in series but it was waste of the first into the input of the second. The second was taking a higher concentration of tds and trying to filter it. I actually think that membrane had dried out and the reason that system wasn’t working properly. Currently only running 1 RO. I plan to replace with a 90 gps/ 99% membrane into the first spot and then use the old (good one) as the secondary.

Booster pump @90 psi feed directly into the RO
And is after my mechanical filter/carbons.

The sediment and carbons are running at 40%

Have a tunze ATO pump pulling from the degass tank thru the triple DI into my 65g Rodi tank.

Flow is about the same between the two seperate systems. Both on float valves if one outpaces the other.

 

[PPBlimpy]

Not compared to my setup LOL

I got a kick out of these two endings to your big posts! As a fellow over-the-top RODI guy (150 and 80 micron mesh pre-filters, 20 micron prefilter, followed by sediment and carbon block sets of 5 micron, 1 micron and 0.5 micron, 2 75GPD RO membranes, and triple stage resin stages) I enjoy these types of posts!

I have about 300-350 TDS going into my RODI setup and my only suggestion would be to definitely keep the triple stage resin setup with a single cation stage, single anion stage and then mixed resin stage. This will save you money in the long run as typically one resin gets used up faster than the others.

I apologize if you mentioned this already but I would suggest running two RO membranes in series (check BRS' water saver upgrade kit) to increase production. With my setup I am getting 0-3 TDS after my double RO stages. I am going to be adding a 150 GPD Smart Buddie soon (when I have some free time) and also setting up an automated TDS creep flush that will run for 1-2 minutes after the Smart Buddie runs it's flushes to get even more efficiency with the resin stages.

My system is very similar to yours currently and even closer once I order new filters.

The final plan will be

20m pre (may change to a 10 since this is all installed after my whole house filter)

5/1/.5 in the sediment housing

Then I have 2 housing running carbon in parallel
I think I will go with .5 cto/gac /cat

Booster pump @ 90psi

RO membranes -will be in series one way or another

550 fr

Degassed tank

Triple Di

 

[Panda Jerk]

I’m on a smaller scale but automated the pre-use flush using Hydros solenoids to dump the first 2 minutes of a run to waste water, then flips to permeate line for ATO. The ATO sensors trigger the run/stop. It’s been flawless 2+ years. I eventually decided to upgrade to dual DI but still running the media mixed. I forget the TDS in the feed water but it’s softened city water. 5 leaving RO and 0 leaving DI. Also, RO feeds a tank for ice maker

 

[PPBlimpy]

I’m on a smaller scale but automated the pre-use flush using Hydros solenoids to dump the first 2 minutes of a run to waste water, then flips to permeate line for ATO. The ATO sensors trigger the run/stop. It’s been flawless 2+ years. I eventually decided to upgrade to dual DI but still running the media mixed. I forget the TDS in the feed water but it’s softened city water. 5 leaving RO and 0 leaving DI. Also, RO feeds a tank for ice maker

I like that! Exactly what I am looking to do. Or very similar.

 

[MasterClassReefs]

Got it mostly plumbed last night and running. Looks like crap but I want it to work and then will work on cleaning up the install.

I have not added the 50G c02 degassing tank or DI media yet.

Last night before I called it quits for the evening I got everything running and found after filters and ROs I was getting an output of 220 tds. I was tired and decided to leave it for the evening and look at it again today.

fast forward - Did some testing this morning and decided to bypass the second RO membrane and TDS were down to 35.
Now this was only running for 2-3 minutes and no back flush or anything prior. So hoping this comes down further after a 10-15 minute backflush with use as I feel this will still exhaust DI rather quickly.

That being said- I have no problem running 35 TDS water directly into my mixing station without running DI at all and being done considering I have been mixing/topping off with straight out of the tap, well water @320+ for years. Will be a huge improvement in water quality. If I go the route of No DI I will still ad an air pump and stone to my Clean water reservoir of the mixing station to help with any C02 from my well.

I am assuming the RO membrane in the Barracuda is bad. I have had the unit for about a year just sitting. I am guessing it dried out. I will be replacing with a new Membrane

will continue to update- yes it’s ugly, filters will be replaced once I replace my whole house filters- should be here today.

So things should only get better right?

Goodness that is quite an arsenal of filtration. How many gpd are you producing? Looks costly and labor intensive.

 

[PPBlimpy]

Goodness that is quite an arsenal of filtration. How many gpd are you producing? Looks costly and labor intensive.

I technically have only $80 into this system..

I buy and part out tanks and systems. These are all left overs of tanks I have pulled. These only thing I have bought is the booster pump.

Once setup the only labour will be adding salt and monitoring via my phone hopefully

Only 75gpd as I don’t care about speed of output. Most of it is redundant filtration making sure things last a long time

 

[PPBlimpy]

Well this is crappy. Burned 1/2 a cartridge of Anion in 45g

Need to get the other a 99% Ro membrane and maybe more air for the degass chamber.

Not sure. I don’t have a problem running 10 TDS water either just don’t want to pay $20 for every 100g I make. Will be using 7g+ a day when the second tank is up and running with the AWC

 

[afboundguy]

So I did have the RO in series but it was waste of the first into the input of the second. The second was taking a higher concentration of tds and trying to filter it. I actually think that membrane had dried out and the reason that system wasn’t working properly. Currently only running 1 RO. I plan to replace with a 90 gps/ 99% membrane into the first spot and then use the old (good one) as the secondary.

Thats how I have mine set up (waste from first into input of second). I know the second RO membrane gets a bit dirtier water in theory but who knows. I have thought of splitting the input line so it goes into both but I am guessing the waste water savings wouldn't happen then.

I actually have a few extra TDS meters and maybe I'll hook one up to see what the TDS is on the waste/feed to the second RO membrane.

I’m on a smaller scale but automated the pre-use flush using Hydros solenoids to dump the first 2 minutes of a run to waste water, then flips to permeate line for ATO. The ATO sensors trigger the run/stop. It’s been flawless 2+ years. I eventually decided to upgrade to dual DI but still running the media mixed. I forget the TDS in the feed water but it’s softened city water. 5 leaving RO and 0 leaving DI. Also, RO feeds a tank for ice maker

I have the Hydros setup to flush as well and before that I had a DIY version that flushed at begining and every hour.

I like that! Exactly what I am looking to do. Or very similar.

I would suggest getting the Smart Buddie. I just picked one up and plan to add a custom post RO auto-flush for the TDS creep.

Well this is crappy. Burned 1/2 a cartridge of Anion in 45g

Need to get the other a 99% Ro membrane and maybe more air for the degass chamber.

Not sure. I don’t have a problem running 10 TDS water either just don’t want to pay $20 for every 100g I make. Will be using 7g+ a day when the second tank is up and running with the AWC

I am sort of shocked you have that high of TDS after the RO membranes. Even after a flush with the TDS creep my TDS going into resins isn't that high and we have about the same level of incoming TDS and I don't have a booster pump setup yet so I am assuming it'll be even lower TDS after the RO membranes.

 

[afboundguy]

@PPBlimpy I know you said your neighbor did a treatment that could be leaching into your well water. Have you tested for chloramines by any chance? Curious if that could be causing your issues.

I'd also be curious to see what an ICP test of your RODI water shows. I know the Reef Moonshiners ICP tests come with a vial to test RODI water.

 

[PPBlimpy]

That chlorine treatments was done back in Oct. My tank crashed the following week. As I had filled my mixing station with 120g the day after the treatment.

Now I do not guarantee that is exactly the cause of the crash. But it’s the only thing that makes sense. Now I know this is a hobby that “stuff” happens for no reason.

Zoas closed, 40 heads of hammer pulled in and start showing skeleton within 24hrs. Duncan’s were gone. Mushrooms shrunk and the biggest sign of chaos was the 50+ BTA I had in the tank shrinking and letting go of the rocks and just floating around.

Fish showed no signs of issues.
I added a crap ton of carbon, took as many corals as I could and tried to put them in my 13.5g which was a bad idea. Corals were already on the way out and crashed that tank.

That next day my neighbor(not the one that treated the well) asked if our water tasted funnier. We do not generally drink our water but do cook with it. . It’s actually not bad tasting. Just my wife prefers a water dispenser and I refill 5g jugs at the grocery store.

That’s when it dawned on me and started dumping Prime in the tank. It was either heavy metals or chlorine. That is when things started turning around, got 60g water from a local reefer, bought more salt and dosed 4x prime daily for a week.

Sorry this got really long.

I have never done ICP tests. I have been letting the tank run, water changes etc. just started adding corals again a month or two ago.

Just now struggling restocking a 210g 7ft tank from scratch is painful. I had started with the 13.5 and upgraded multiple times as things filled in.

It’s gotten to the point I am setting up a 54g tank to run as a sps/lps coral tank and going to run the 210 as a fish tank with a big carpet and some softies.

 

[PPBlimpy]

Thats how I have mine set up (waste from first into input of second). I know the second RO membrane gets a bit dirtier water in theory but who knows. I have thought of splitting the input line so it goes into both but I am guessing the waste water savings wouldn't happen then.

I actually have a few extra TDS meters and maybe I'll hook one up to see what the TDS is on the waste/feed to the second RO membrane.

I have the Hydros setup to flush as well and before that I had a DIY version that flushed at begining and every hour.

I would suggest getting the Smart Buddie. I just picked one up and plan to add a custom post RO auto-flush for the TDS creep.

I am sort of shocked you have that high of TDS after the RO membranes. Even after a flush with the TDS creep my TDS going into resins isn't that high and we have about the same level of incoming TDS and I don't have a booster pump setup yet so I am assuming it'll be even lower TDS after the RO membranes.

I do not know the history of these Rodi units. Unsure of how they were treated or how many gallons clean thru them. Now that it’s up and working i am going to start replacing filters and membranes.

 

[afboundguy]

I do not know the history of these Rodi units. Unsure of how they were treated or how many gallons clean thru them. Now that it’s up and working i am going to start replacing filters and membranes.

Guessing that will make a big difference...

 

[PPBlimpy]

Guessing that will make a big difference...

Yes it should. I am pretty happy with where I am currently at with the equipment I started with