RODI System for 125 gallon, upgrade from a RO Buddie?

[Scott Ulrich]

I've used the Aquatic Life RO Buddie for 3 years and it has worked great for my 40 gallon + 20 gallon sump system. I have high pressure coming out of my tap and get about 4-5 gallons per hour. I use the 4 stage and my city does not add chloramines. In 3 years I've replaced the carbon/sediment filters a couple of times and replaced the DI resin about every 8-9 months. I test with a TDS meter and get 0 tds as long as I don't run the resin filter too long.

Now that I have a 125 gallon + 20 gallon sump, I'm assuming that will be a little more than double that output. But considering the RO Buddie is $60 and a resin cartridge is <$20, for under $100 a year, I could get a new system every year + 2 extra resin cartridges (replace every 4 months) and just replace the whole system every year.

So, I guess my question: is it worth it to upgrade if the RO Buddie is easy and works? Is there any other reasons to switch if I'm getting 0 tds?

Thanks,
Scott

 

[T-J]

I used to have the RO Buddie system. They work. But here's why I switched: I exhausted their DI cartridge really fast. And you have to buy their type of filters. They aren't universal. The $$$ started to add up.

I switched out to a BRS 5 stage 75gph system for my two tanks (I have a 120g and a 40g). I installed it in the first week of January, and haven't changed any filters yet. I'm getting <4 TDS going into the DI resin. My city water TDS is over 450. I get 0 TDS out of the DI. I installed a triple TDS meter on the setup myself (cheaper through Amazon).

What I like is that their filters seem to last a lot longer. They are also the 10" canisters, which allows you to shop around for filters if you'd like. I also have the refillable DI container, so I purchased the BRS DI resin in bulk, which saves me $$$. In more than 4 months of use, my resin is finally changing color, and I'll probably be changing it out in the next month (estimate).

 

[Jekyl]

I upgraded to the BRS 5 stage and am glad I did.

 

[Scott Ulrich]

Thanks to you both!

If I don't have chloramine, is there any reason to get the 5 stage over 4 stage? I'll retest my city water when I'm home, but if I remember correctly we are under 200 tds.

 

[T-J]

Thanks to you both!

If I don't have chloramine, is there any reason to get the 5 stage over 4 stage? I'll retest my city water when I'm home, but if I remember correctly we are under 200 tds.

I'm in the "better safe than sorry" zone. I live in the Phoenix area, and I can smell the chlorine in my water. I like the double carbon filters. It can't hurt, even if you don't need them. I'd rather spend a few extra bucks on a filter than hundreds or thousands on replacing dead corals.

 

[Scott Ulrich]

I'm in the "better safe than sorry" zone. I live in the Phoenix area, and I can smell the chlorine in my water. I like the double carbon filters. It can't hurt, even if you don't need them. I'd rather spend a few extra bucks on a filter than hundreds or thousands on replacing dead corals.

Makes sense, I don't keep any sps, just some lps and softies...

However, I went to check my water, which obviously I should do way more often.
Tap: 220
Waste: 320
After filter: 52

Uh oh. I thought that because I had switched the di resin not too long ago I was okay, but obviously my other filters need replaced badly and the di resin can't keep up.

I just filled this with about 30 gallons from the old tank and over 100 gallons newly made... I can only hope that it was closer to 0 when I started corals and fish seem okay though.

Anyway here's a picture. I'm going to order the 5 stage brs filter today

 

[Scott Ulrich]

Ordered and estimated to arrive Wednesday:

5 Stage Premium Plus 75 GPD RO/DI System

Makes up to 75 Gallons of RODI Water Per Day! BRS 5 Stage Systems are our most popular systems and are great for a majority of wells, along with city water that is treated with chlorine, or small amounts of chloramines. The single Color Changing DI stage comes on its own bracket allowing you to...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

I went ahead and ordered the 5 stage 75 gpd "plus" since obviously I'm too lazy to test my tds often enough and the inline TDS meter is needed. The membrane flush valve and pressure gauge are a bonus.

Thanks T.J. for the advice. Hopefully my upcoming algae bloom from that water won't be too painful. I moved the fish/corals with the old water and was slowly adding only about 4-8 gallons each day (mixing overnight) over about 2 weeks so hopefully any chlorine that got in was diluted and dissipated before the next day water add...

 

[Biglew11]

The nice thing about these is you can add stages later if you want or need to.

I started with a 4 stage and it's now 7 stages with 3 di stages 1st cation 2nd anion and the 3rd is the standard mixed bed. The only one I've changed in 1.5 years has been the 2nd stage anion.

 

[Scott Ulrich]

The nice thing about these is you can add stages later if you want or need to.

I started with a 4 stage and it's now 7 stages with 3 di stages 1st cation 2nd anion and the 3rd is the standard mixed bed. The only one I've changed in 1.5 years has been the 2nd stage anion.

Good point, I can definitely see the advantage of an extra DI stage or 2. Do you rotate the DI filters?

Going to go throw a bag of carbon in the sump inflow now and see if it can help manage this a little.

 

[Biglew11]

Good point, I can definitely see the advantage of an extra DI stage or 2. Do you rotate the DI filters?

Going to go throw a bag of carbon in the sump inflow now and see if it can help manage this a little.

Using just the mixed beds its about a 50/50 ratio of anion and cation resin so you end up wasting unused ressin in the mixed bed. By having them separate you only need to change the one that's used up.

I have a couple extra refillable resin cartridges that I refill when one is getting close to used up.

But the order of the cartridges remains the same cation 1st anion 2nd mixed 3rd.

If your getting very clean water 2 3 tds between the ro and di stage I wouldn't worry about it at first I used mine as a four stage unit for about 2.5 years before starting to add on. And it was mostly because I felt like it not that I needed to.