REMINDER! Your corals will thank you!

[TX_REEF]

Every 6 months or so, my corals remind me of a maintenance item that I hate doing - can you guess what it is?

That’s right, CHANGE YOUR RODI CANISTER FILTERS!

Change out your particulate, carbon and DI resin every 6 months or so - it’s best to be proactive. I can visually tell the difference when my corals start sensing minor contaminants in the water - less polyp extension, more micro algae especially.

And while you’re at it, spray and wipe out the slime in those RODI holding tanks and ATO reservoirs!

 

[Reefer Matt]

Thanks for the reminder! I’ve never cleaned out my rodi containers before, now I’m curious.

 

[TX_REEF]

Thanks for the reminder! I’ve never cleaned out my rodi containers before, now I’m curious.

You would think “pure” water means no residue, but enough time passes and minor gunk still shows up eventually!

 

[UncommonSense]

There’s actually an empirical measurement for each stage of the system, determining service lifespan of the stage in question!

Sediment: visible pressure drop in a pre-Membrane pressure gauge

Carbon: free and total chlorine test of RO waste water; if any chlorine or Chloramine is present

RO membrane(s): product water TDS creeping up over time

DI resin: any mixed bed resin stage with output TDS >0ppm


This is to say, I typically replace my sediment filter every 6-12 months, carbon every 12-ish months, and RO membranes every 2-3 years…

My DI resin is two stage (mixed bed), stage 2’s DI resin cartridge gets swapped into DI resin 1’s housing when stage 1’s cartridge output is >0ppm TDS, stage 1’s cartridge has resin replaced, and is installed in stage 2’s housing… this maximizes resin lifespan, and minimizes general waste!

 

[slingfox]

Every 6 months or so, my corals remind me of a maintenance item that I hate doing - can you guess what it is?

That’s right, CHANGE YOUR RODI CANISTER FILTERS!

Change out your particulate, carbon and DI resin every 6 months or so - it’s best to be proactive. I can visually tell the difference when my corals start sensing minor contaminants in the water - less polyp extension, more micro algae especially.

And while you’re at it, spray and wipe out the slime in those RODI holding tanks and ATO reservoirs!

What about your RO membrane sir?

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Thank you for the reminder! I need to check mine whenever I get my unit hooked back up!

 

[TX_REEF]

What about your RO membrane sir?

Great question; I aim for every 2 years on the membranes (my unit has 2).

For a more concrete indicator, if the TDS on your inline meter going IN to your DI canister shows elevated (versus normal for your system) TDS even with new particulate and carbon filters, it might be time to change membranes - likewise, if your brand new DI resin is not yielding 0 TDS, it may also be time to change membranes.