So what's everyone's Tap TDS and how do you handle it?

[Finhead]

For me I have 240 TDS and 85psi coming from the street here in Calgary. 75GPD 4 stage Spectrapure with a BRS water saver upgrade kit (plumbed in series) and 3 stage TDS meter, gets me 2 TDS after the Dual RO filters and 0 after single DI. I love my system and the only thing I'd add is another DI stage, toyed with the idea of adding another RO stage just to see what it would do.

Wow thought you guys had better tap water down there, here in Edmonton at least my tap is 160. I use a 5 stage but I want to upgrade that to a dual membrane and booster in the near future.

BTW off topic but will you be going to the Aquaticon on Saturday, few of us are driving down from Edmonton to check it out.

 

[Bronx19]

In San Fran I have 40-60 but I'm on a hill so low water pressure.
I run a sps tank and just use the tap water with prime.

Heathen.

 

[JoshH]

Entire home. There's a reducing valve on the inlet to the house. It was set at 60 when we moved in, when I installed the RODI I played with it and it will max out at 74. I set it at 68.

I just use a basic four stage, 1 micron sediment, two micron carbon, 100gpd membrane and DI. The filters and DI last a long time.

That's pretty interesting they'd install a reducer, never seen that before. And I bet they last quite a long time with that kind of TDS, I just replaced mine 1 year in, I'm sure they could have gone longer with no color left in the DI and how cheap it was it was easier to do them all but the membranes.

In TDS has been around 180-190. I run a 6 stage RODI, and change out the resin about every 3 months so far.

Do you have dual RO and DI?

I'm making water right now and my source TDS is 3. The highest I've ever seen it is like 10. I guess we're fortunate to have good source water.

Pfft 3? That's Awesome and atleast it seems like you're not alone which is always a good thing!

Wow thought you guys had better tap water down there, here in Edmonton at least my tap is 160. I use a 5 stage but I want to upgrade that to a dual membrane and booster in the near future.

BTW off topic but will you be going to the Aquaticon on Saturday, few of us are driving down from Edmonton to check it out.

The dual membrane is DEFINITELY worth it especially with lower TDS than me. And unfortunately I can't make it, work obligations . You gotta let me know how it is though!

 

[JoshH]

In San Fran I have 40-60 but I'm on a hill so low water pressure.
I run a sps tank and just use the tap water with prime.

Have you considered running a booster pump to get you up to where you need to be pressure wise? Or is the PSI just that low where you're at?

Oh and on a separate note, for all those lucky ducks with less than 15 TDS, have you played with the idea of just running sediment with DI and skipping the RO all together??

 

[MTBake]

Incoming tds is 450-500 from my city supplied water. Psi is 82. I use a 4 stage ro/di from buckeye hydro. After the 75gpd membrane, I'm at 24 tds. After my single stage di, 0. I replace my prefilters and di resin about every 3 months.

 

[JoshH]

Incoming tds is 450-500 from my city supplied water. Psi is 82. I use a 4 stage ro/di from buckeye hydro. After the 75gpd membrane, I'm at 24 tds. After my single stage di, 0. I replace my prefilters and di resin about every 3 months.

That's pretty decent longevity for the TDS you're working with, I love those 75GPD RO filters, they have such an excellent rejection rate.

 

[KIRBLIT]

I have a well and my TDS is usually 55-60 out of the tap. I never used to use a RO/DI until about 2 years ago when I decided to change my FOWLR to a Reef.

I have a BRS 150G 4 stage that I got locally for under a 100 that was very lightly used. Came with everything that is included in the box from BRS. Still had original filters and 2 extras

Can't tell 100% from the pic but it looks like you have a copper valve on your container. You may want to switch that out to plastic or you may end up with some copper dissolving in your ro water.

 

[DangerDave]

I'm on the southern end of the Jersey Shore. I get 45psi and 35 tds right in front of my rodi. I use a booster pump, which brings it 104psi. The pump made all the difference in the world. It also flushes the membrane automatically each time the solenoid opens and lets the water flow.

Dave

 

[madweazl]

Typically 0-2 out of the tap but occasionally goes higher. Think I saw 14 once.

 

[Kershaw]

360-390 tds. 5 stage 50gal per day cheap eBay unit. Brs filters
I change all filters once a year and di resin about every 4 to 6 months. For zero tds

 

[MTBake]

That's pretty decent longevity for the TDS you're working with, I love those 75GPD RO filters, they have such an excellent rejection rate.

I had a 100gpd and was changing resin out every 6 weeks. It was terrible. The 75gpd made a huge difference. The resin will last just over 4 months now.

 

[Potatohead]

Have you considered running a booster pump to get you up to where you need to be pressure wise? Or is the PSI just that low where you're at?

Oh and on a separate note, for all those lucky ducks with less than 15 TDS, have you played with the idea of just running sediment with DI and skipping the RO all together??

I have thought about it but for the cost of a membrane I would go through a lot more resin which doesn't make financial sense. I have though about ditching the DI portion but sometimes I will register 1-2 TDS coming out of the membrane for whatever reason so I'd rather just leave it on. I last changed my resin probably a solid six or seven months ago, I make about 15 gallons a week of product water, so I have probably run about 400 gallons roughly through the DI and maybe the bottom 1.5" has changed color.

I had a 100gpd and was changing resin out every 6 weeks. It was terrible. The 75gpd made a huge difference. The resin will last just over 4 months now.

The DOW 100 is not very good. There are some others on the market that are much better. I think the DOW 100 is only 90% rejection @ 50 PSI/77°F. I am using the AquaFX TFC unit which is 98.6%

 

[Fudsey]

Can't tell 100% from the pic but it looks like you have a copper valve on your container. You may want to switch that out to plastic or you may end up with some copper dissolving in your ro water.

Nope, plastic

 

[JoshH]

I have thought about it but for the cost of a membrane I would go through a lot more resin which doesn't make financial sense. I have though about ditching the DI portion but sometimes I will register 1-2 TDS coming out of the membrane for whatever reason so I'd rather just leave it on. I last changed my resin probably a solid six or seven months ago, I make about 15 gallons a week of product water, so I have probably run about 400 gallons roughly through the DI and maybe the bottom 1.5" has changed color.



The DOW 100 is not very good. There are some others on the market that are much better. I think the DOW 100 is only 90% rejection @ 50 PSI/77°F. I am using the AquaFX TFC unit which is 98.6%

Yeah definitely not worth it for your amount of TDS.

 

[Mystical_Knight]

My well water is around 23 tds, only problem I have is I need to get a booster pump still (only around 45 psi)

 

[Forsaken77]

I live in NY, Long Island... Don't know what the psi to the house is, but after the water heater, sinks, shower, apartment we rent, washing machine... My psi was 75 before the membrane, but recently dropped to 60 with clean filters. I'm thinking the 2 year old membrane needs replacing even though the rejection is still 97%.

TDS to the unit fluctuates from 75-130. For some reason it's lower overnight, but I get yelled at if I make water at night because it makes the water heater work more to heat the house. After the membrane it's usually 3, and 0 after DI.

I assembled my own unit by buying the parts separately. A 0.6 micron sediment filter, 1 micron carbon, 150 gpd membrane (1 membrane, not 2), and Spectrapure Silicabuster DI resin.

Lasts a while and my membrane is always flushed before & after use without going through the resin (use a 3-way ball valve so all water from the membrane goes to the drain before I switch the product water back to the DI stage). That ball valve keeps the DI lasting much longer.

 

[JoshH]

My well water is around 23 tds, only problem I have is I need to get a booster pump still (only around 45 psi)

That's pretty good water coming from a well, and better get on that booster pump They seem to have a lot of benefits for those with lower pressure.

I live in NY, Long Island... Don't know what the psi to the house is, but after the water heater, sinks, shower, apartment we rent, washing machine... My psi was 75 before the membrane, but recently dropped to 60 with clean filters. I'm thinking the 2 year old membrane needs replacing even though the rejection is still 97%.

TDS to the unit fluctuates from 75-130. For some reason it's lower overnight, but I get yelled at if I make water at night because it makes the water heater work more to heat the house. After the membrane it's usually 3, and 0 after DI.

I assembled my own unit by buying the parts separately. A 0.6 micron sediment filter, 1 micron carbon, 150 gpd membrane (1 membrane, not 2), and Spectrapure Silicabuster DI resin.

Lasts a while and my membrane is always flushed before & after use without going through the resin (use a 3-way ball valve so all water from the membrane goes to the drain before I switch the product water back to the DI stage). That ball valve keeps the DI lasting much longer.

Dropping from 75 to 60 is quite significant. Did it happen all of the sudden?

 

[Forsaken77]

That's pretty good water coming from a well, and better get on that booster pump They seem to have a lot of benefits for those with lower pressure.



Dropping from 75 to 60 is quite significant. Did it happen all of the sudden?

Pretty much. I even shortened the feed hose by 7ft from the washing machine from 10ft to 3ft. That's why I think it's the membrane getting clogged up, even though its rejection rate is still good. We have hard water so it's probably scaling. Because even though I flush it after use down to 7 tds, the creep raises it back between 60-140, depending how much water I made in one shot. The more water, the more creep. But none of that touches my DI resin when I flush it.

 

[Dan I]

I get around 12-15 TDS coming out of the tap. My friend who lives three cities down has around 145 TDS, I am fortunate enough for the low TDS.

 

[JoshH]

Pretty much. I even shortened the feed hose by 7ft from the washing machine from 10ft to 3ft. That's why I think it's the membrane getting clogged up, even though its rejection rate is still good. We have hard water so it's probably scaling. Because even though I flush it after use down to 7 tds, the creep raises it back between 60-140, depending how much water I made in one shot. The more water, the more creep. But none of that touches my DI resin when I flush it.

Interesting... well a replacement membrane might do the trick, atleast they aren't crazy expensive not sure a clogged membrane would reduce pressure though. I flush down to my 1-2 range before switching over to DI myself but that's to meet what I know it's usual output is. I haven't had to experience a clogged membrane yet myself so I'm not sure on the typical "Symptoms" one would see

I get around 12-15 TDS coming out of the tap. My friend who lives three cities down has around 145 TDS, I am fortunate enough for the low TDS.

Very fortunate, crazy you can only be a few towns away and have such a drastic difference in TDS. What kind of system are you running? Standard 4 stage?