RODI Equipment, Commercial grade vs. BRS

Weasel1960

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My standard disclaimer...just getting started and doing my homework... For the record I live in rural Wisconsin and I am on a 325 foot deep well.

Just bought an Orapaxi pH, TDS, EC, and Temp tester and instructions say to calibrate with DI water. No problem called the Culligan man. Of course being the salesman that he is he wanted to know what I needed it for and told him, then he asked what I planned to make my RODI water with. I have been scoping out the 5 stage 2x membrane from BRS for better yield and lower waste. He said he doubted these units perform as advertised and I would go thru filters, DI, etc. like water through a comb. In his next breath he said for $65 per month...enter sales pitch here...

This is the second sales pitch I have gotten, the other was from a Culligan competitor. So here are my questions to the group.
1. How many gallons of water do you get through your Stage 1 and 2 RO membranes before you have to replace them?
2. How many gallons for your DI Resin before replacement?
3. I am guessing if my total planned tanks and sumps is 175 gal I will need about 700 gallons thru the startup and curing process, after that maybe 125 a month?
4. What has every bodies experience been with BRS or other aquarium retailer brands?
5. Before writing this post I searched RODI posts on R2R, there are several BRS models being sold in the forum lately, wondering why?
6. Any other tidbits about experience with smaller or larger commercial systems?

Culligan man was closed before I could get into town to pick up some DI water for calibrating my meter so I don’t know yet what I am starting with.

Thanks in advance.
 

Snoopy 67

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The problem with a well is there is CO 2 in the water. It has to be de-gassed or it will ruin your di REAL FAST.
People hold it in a container before pushing it through the DI.
NOW, nothing wrong with the BRS unit BUT, I would contact Buckeyye Hydro or Spectrapure, both will get you set up RIGHT THE 1ST TIME.
 
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Weasel1960

Weasel1960

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The problem with a well is there is CO 2 in the water. It has to be de-gassed or it will ruin your di REAL FAST.
People hold it in a container before pushing it through the DI.
NOW, nothing wrong with the BRS unit BUT, I would contact Buckeyye Hydro or Spectrapure, both will get you set up RIGHT THE 1ST TIME.
Thanks for the advice...much appreciated.
 

Pistondog

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am ignorant of rodi on wells. But had a few amazon rodis, then bought one from brs and will not buy anything different for my application.
I'd think it would work ok for you if you prefiltered and degassed 1st.
 

WIReefer

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I am unsure about numbers one and two, but I myself have a brs unit and can make a nice amount of water before I start producing 1 tds if I flush the ro system properly before each use. I would personally stay away from commercial places like that one time purchase for the brs unit and when it’s time to replace filters it’s a breeze and fairly inexpensive. I don’t think you will need much initial water just to fill tank and keep topped of since many people do not do much water changes until tank is cycled. I would recommend a brs ro/di unit.
 

vetteguy53081

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Air ,water and ice who make the Typhoon units may be a good information source also.
I cant say what useage I get out of cartridge as I replace as needed as it varies both when i make water and and how many gallons I need when I do produce water.
 

Chibils

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My first RO/DI was an Air, Water and Ice unit. I intermixed name-brand filters with BRS brand filters for years with no issues. I also have a 3 stage undersink drinking water filter (2 sediments and a chlorine carbon block) that runs entirely on BRS parts, and I've been quite happy with it.

For better or worse the success of BRStv means that they wield an outsized influence on our hobby, and you can easily see that on the forums here. They really shape perceptions of products and practices, and I don't doubt they benefit from it. On the other hand, they seem to be a pretty good company in an industry frequently plagued by sketchy players. I even got an email reply from Ryan himself one time when contacting their support team.

Their filters may not last quite as long - I've never measured it - but they're cheap enough that I don't worry about it.
 

Tiki Reef Joshua

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Spectrapure. Hands down. I’m on well water. I run a softener and prefilter with a mineral that drives up the PH. Then into a 5 stage. Email spectrapure with a budget. They will get you in the right direction.
 
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Weasel1960

Weasel1960

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My first RO/DI was an Air, Water and Ice unit. I intermixed name-brand filters with BRS brand filters for years with no issues. I also have a 3 stage undersink drinking water filter (2 sediments and a chlorine carbon block) that runs entirely on BRS parts, and I've been quite happy with it.

For better or worse the success of BRStv means that they wield an outsized influence on our hobby, and you can easily see that on the forums here. They really shape perceptions of products and practices, and I don't doubt they benefit from it. On the other hand, they seem to be a pretty good company in an industry frequently plagued by sketchy players. I even got an email reply from Ryan himself one time when contacting their support team.

Their filters may not last quite as long - I've never measured it - but they're cheap enough that I don't worry about it.
I would agree that they are an influence and they tend to lean heavy on the popular brands for most of their reviews. I wish they would provide more tech data on products like pump curves and par charts for lights etc.
 
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Weasel1960

Weasel1960

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Thanking all for your input....adding to the endless list if homework.

Next step getting a CO2 test kit, and doing water tests on my home water supply.
 

RobB'z Reef

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It really comes down to what your gonna battle from your particular well. I use BRS rodi currently and I've used spactra pure before that. Both were on well systems, but not the same well systems. Spectrapure is and always has been in my mind the golf standard in water purification. That's what they do. They aren't in the space for Aquatics, but obviously they benefit from it. I've found neither to perform better. I guess I'm saying BRS for the money is the way to go. CO2 is typically the beast you'll battle on a well. It's what I struggle with currently. You can degass, you can set up DI cartridges with anion resins that deal with that over mixed beds etc. There's no scam in this space in my opinion.
 

RobB'z Reef

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Now that I think about it I should also add that I currently use Culligan for my household water treatment with regards to water softening, iron treatment etc as I live in western Wisconsin which is known for hard water and iron/acidic water. I've received for free cuz I talked geek speak to the technician who was coincidentally at my house servicing my filters, some di cartridges used by Culligan and his words were, 'I've got tons of these, they never keep track of them'. They were an exact fit to the BRS system (which is an industry standard). Honestly I found them to perform no different at all. In my opinion it just comes down to the reality of the hand you're dealt with regards to the water you're processing.
 

Anubisxii

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I will say this much I can't answer your well concerns but my brs 4 stage system works like a champ I run it at 90 psi and get almost double the gph it claims it can put out and tds has always been zero. I run it often and nowhere near having to replace any filters yet. I've seen other more expensive set ups and honestly I think brs is the best bang for your buck. They will always answer to help and always have replacements in stock. It comes pre assembled, took me 5 minutes to hook it up and start flushing. I have plenty of things to worry about in my tank my rodi has been set and forget.
 

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Being on well water, the 2nd stage isn't as important for you. The only job of the first 2 stages is to protect the ro membrane. The sediment filter pulls out larger undissolved particles and the carbon filter takes out chemicals that would harm the ro membrane, mainly chlorine. Unless you are adding chlorine to your water you don't have to worry about it. Your carbon filter will probably last a lot longer than us folks on city water unless you have some other high concentration of other chemicals. Usually well water people have to worry about one or more of these 3 things: low water pressure, high tds and high co2.

It is impossible to know how long your prefilters will last. It is different for each person. The rule of thumb is change every 6 to 9 months. A more precise way is to add a water pressure gauge to your setup and once the pressure starts dropping after the prefilters you know they are getting clogged up and it is time to change them.
 

ingchr1

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I'm on a well and was going through resin too quickly. What solved it for me was adding separate cation and ion chambers before the mixed bed.

The anion is getting used but the cation has yet to change any color. The anion has lasted much much longer than I was going through mixed bed. Out of the separate chambers I have 0 TDS into the mixed bed. When it creeps up to or close to the input TDS (out of the membrane) then I'll replace the anion as I would have gotten the most use out of it as I could.

I have a Air, Water and Ice unit with RO storage tank and permeate pump. I use BRS resins. I've had the unit for around 8 years or so. Got it originally for RO for brewing water, with the DI knowing I would someday get a reef tank. Which was two years ago.

I would think any of the brands mentioned would be good as the quality of parts are probably all about the same. I doubt one would have better housings, tubing, fittings, membrane than the other. Just find the best price on a unit that has the filtration components you need.

To added, I have a sediment filter and softener on my well. The TDS into the RO is 400-500, the TDS out if the membrane is 10-20. Usually closer to 10.
 
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Weasel1960

Weasel1960

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I'm on a well and was going through resin too quickly. What solved it for me was adding separate cation and ion chambers before the mixed bed.

The anion is getting used but the cation has yet to change any color. The anion has lasted much much longer than I was going through mixed bed. Out of the separate chambers I have 0 TDS into the mixed bed. When it creeps up to or close to the input TDS (out of the membrane) then I'll replace the anion as I would have gotten the most use out of it as I could.

I have a Air, Water and Ice unit with RO storage tank and permeate pump. I use BRS resins. I've had the unit for around 8 years or so. Got it originally for RO for brewing water, with the DI knowing I would someday get a reef tank. Which was two years ago.

I would think any of the brands mentioned would be good as the quality of parts are probably all about the same. I doubt one would have better housings, tubing, fittings, membrane than the other. Just find the best price on a unit that has the filtration components you need.

To added, I have a sediment filter and softener on my well. The TDS into the RO is 400-500, the TDS out if the membrane is 10-20. Usually closer to 10.
Thanks. I have a 60 micron prefilter on the line in from the well, change it every 4 to 6 months and I have a water softener as well. House pressure stays pretty consistent at about 72psi. Thanks for the info.
 
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