How far to chase RO water for a high-end SPS tank.

[Reefer1978]

How important is 0 tds? New Jersey water is pretty hard, close to 500 coming into the house, tds coming out of DI is 2, but burning through DI media. Is investment into a high end RODI worth it? Currently takes 2 full DI cannisters to make 55g.

For some details:

• 5 stage RO, all brand new filters
• 2 stage DI
• Checked pre-DI Co2, and it doesn't seem too bad, 7.8 Ph coming out of RO, 7.96 Ph after de-gassing outdoors, so I suspect that's not what's eating through the resin.
• City Water TDS: 500
• Pre-DI TDS: 60
• Post-DI TDS: 2
• Operating pressure: 70 (safe number) PSI
• Membrane: 500GPD

 

[Tamberav]

Could it be chlorine or chloramines making it through the carbon stage and eating your membrane and next destroying your DI?

Just a theory.

You can buy distilled water technically though that means hauling jugs.

 

[Reefer1978]

Could it be chlorine or chloramines making it through the carbon stage and eating your membrane there for next destroying your DI?

Per town water report, 0 chloramines (not used), Chlorine is at 0.3 ppm average through the year, Chloride Range = 128 - 360 ppm.

You can buy distilled water technically though that means hauling jugs.

Not for the size of the tank

 

[Tamberav]

What is t he TDS after the membrane? Just wondering what TDS number is eating your DI.

I will say the spectra pure stuff is a lot nicer than the BRS crap that my guess is rebranded whatever they buy in bulk. My spectrapure stuff lasts a lot longer but is more expensive.

 

[Reefer1978]

What is t he TDS after the membrane? Just wondering what TDS number is eating your DI.

I will say the spectra pure stuff is a lot nicer than the BRS crap that my guess is rebranded whatever they buy in bulk. My spectrapure stuff lasts a lot longer but is more expensive.

60 per inline TDS meter, backup hand-held getting delivered today. I am looking at Spectrapure and AquaFX. Something odd is going on with Spectrapure, all their larger store-use systems were discontinued, the higher end unit is sold out everywhere and is only available on spectrapure site for 20% price increase, so I am hesitating and looking at AquaFX.

 

[billyocean]

What stage rodi do you run? Could try 7 stage with sediment, carbon, carbon, membrane, anion, cation, mixed. Either cation or anion will exhaust faster than the other..I forget which one.

 

[srobertb]

You’re going to get a lot of “I pulled water from the creek behind my house for years and my corals did just fine” anecdotes with this question.

Best practices, which is the baseline when caring for living creatures, is 0 TDS. You have an obligation to provide the best opportunity to organisms when you control their environment to this extent.

You can chase even better than that with specialized testing but that’s a rabbit hole most don’t want to go down.

0TDS obtainable, even in N Jersey.

Get a cheap Lowes or Amazon test kit for tap water so you can see what you’re dealing with so you can see what you’re fighting.

I live in a new subdivision (not in NJ) which means low incoming TDS but the trade off is that there is a ton of chloramines in our water. Look for “chloramine buster” filters which are geared to removing chloramines without eating through filters as quickly.

You can also separate your Resin into two chambers, Cation and Anion. You may find one goes before the other which will save money (you only need to replace the depleted resin as opposed to all of it).

Get a booster pump if you don’t have one. This will increase your efficiency and improve performance.

“Only 2TDS” is an argument but you don’t know what that “2” is. Chloramines? Iron? Lead? Copper?

 

[rtparty]

What stage rodi do you run? Could try 7 stage with sediment, carbon, carbon, membrane, anion, cation, mixed. Either cation or anion will exhaust faster than the other..I forget which one.

Anion exhausts much quicker.

The DI order is Cation, Anion, Mixed for the 7 stage

 

[rtparty]

How important is 0 tds? New Jersey water is pretty hard, close to 500 coming into the house, tds coming out of DI is 2, but burning through DI media. Is investment into a high end RODI worth it? Currently takes 2 full DI cannisters to make 55g.

For some details:

• 5 stage RO, all brand new filters
• 2 stage DI
• Checked pre-DI Co2, and it doesn't seem too bad, 7.8 Ph coming out of RO, 7.96 Ph after de-gassing outdoors, so I suspect that's not what's eating through the resin.

For $45 you can send in an ATI ICP test that will test your tank and RO water. Find out what that 2 TDS is.

CO2 is the number one destroyer of DI resin. You may have to try off gassing a bunch of water and and run it through the DI. See if it still eats it.

I have roughly 200-400 TDS at my house and use a BRS 7 stage unit. I bet I have well over 500 gallons of made water since changing out my anion resin and it’s only halfway used up. Cation and mixed are still brand new looking.

My old Spectrapure unit leaked from day one and it was some of the worst service I’ve ever received. All the service agent did was explain to me how bad everybody else was. It was odd and never helped the leaking issue. Come to find out the threads to hold the canister on were cracked and Spectrapure blamed me for it and wouldn’t replace it.

 

[Reefer1978]

What stage rodi do you run? Could try 7 stage with sediment, carbon, carbon, membrane, anion, cation, mixed. Either cation or anion will exhaust faster than the other..I forget which one.

That's on the list of considerations.

You’re going to get a lot of “I pulled water from the creek behind my house for years and my corals did just fine” anecdotes with this question.

Best practices, which is the baseline when caring for living creatures, is 0 TDS. You have an obligation to provide the best opportunity to organisms when you control their environment to this extent.

You can chase even better than that with specialized testing but that’s a rabbit hole most don’t want to go down.

0TDS obtainable, even in N Jersey.

Get a cheap Lowes or Amazon test kit for tap water so you can see what you’re dealing with so you can see what you’re fighting.

I live in a new subdivision (not in NJ) which means low incoming TDS but the trade off is that there is a ton of chloramines in our water. Look for “chloramine buster” filters which are geared to removing chloramines without eating through filters as quickly.

You can also separate your Resin into two chambers, Cation and Anion. You may find one goes before the other which will save money (you only need to replace the depleted resin as opposed to all of it).

Get a booster pump if you don’t have one. This will increase your efficiency and improve performance.

“Only 2TDS” is an argument but you don’t know what that “2” is. Chloramines? Iron? Lead? Copper?

All of that is valid. RO is already boosted. Do you have a specific test recommendation? I ran an ICP test years ago, but I doubt it's relevant anymore.

Anion exhausts much quicker.

The DI order is Cation, Anion, Mixed for the 7 stage

Agreed.

 

[Reefer1978]

For $45 you can send in an ATI ICP test that will test your tank and RO water. Find out what that 2 TDS is.

Attaching last report

CO2 is the number one destroyer of DI resin. You may have to try off gassing a bunch of water and and run it through the DI. See if it still eats it.

I mentioned in the first post I already tried off-gassing and Ph difference is tiny, also water is not acidic our of the RO.

I have roughly 200-400 TDS at my house and use a BRS 7 stage unit. I bet I have well over 500 gallons of made water since changing out my anion resin and it’s only halfway used up. Cation and mixed are still brand new looking.

My old Spectrapure unit leaked from day one and it was some of the worst service I’ve ever received. All the service agent did was explain to me how bad everybody else was. It was odd and never helped the leaking issue. Come to find out the threads to hold the canister on were cracked and Spectrapure blamed me for it and wouldn’t replace it.

Thanks... exactly why I am thinking of staying away.

 

[rtparty]

I wouldn’t worry at all about the 2TDS number seeing that report.

Trying to find what is eating your resin might make you pull your hair out

 

[Tamberav]

It doesn't matter what unit you use. They are just housing, it is what media is in it that matters and if you have enough stages.

I personally have had no issues with spectrapure and they helped me set up so I could it for drinking water (RO) and tank water. Again it is just a housing and it is no different then the housing of another band I had... plastic canisters with push connect fittings.


Edit: I wonder if your membrane is shot already with 60 coming out, 500 in and 60 out would be 88% rejection.

 

[Reefer1978]

I wouldn’t worry at all about the 2TDS number seeing that report.

Trying to find what is eating your resin might make you pull your hair out

Agreed, but at my current usage, I am looking at $40 per month on Resin.

 

[ManWithAClam]

im in jersey as well with the same issue. my TDS in is about 600 and the out is 0 - 2 with my brs 5-stage, but yeah the resin burns out after about 30 - 40 gallons which fills my brute can, at the moment i just keep DI on hand until i find a better solution. Following.

 

[Reefer1978]

It doesn't matter what unit you use. They are just housing, it is what media is in it that matters and if you have enough stages

60 does not sound right to me. If you calculate the rejection rate of your membrane, I bet it isn't 60.

I personally have had no issues with spectrapure and they helped me set up so I could it for drinking water (RO) and tank water. Again it is just a housing and it is no different then the housing of another band I had... plastic canisters with push connect fittings.

Second TDS meter is coming today (come on Amazon delivery, get here already), so I will confirm everything.

im in jersey as well with the same issue. my TDS in is about 600 and the out is 0 - 2 with my brs 5-stage, but yeah the resin burns out after about 30 - 40 gallons which fills my brute can, at the moment i just keep DI on hand until i find a better solution. Following.

Welcome to the club.

 

[Tamberav]

I used a online calc and your rejection rate is only 88% assuming the TDS is correct anywho.

It may be you need more prefilter stages to keep your membrane working with 500 TDS.

I use a 5 stage as well but TDS is only 135 and I got 6 years out of my last membrane and two years out of the max super DI whatever spectra crap. Pre filters are always changed every 6 months to protect the membrane. Your situation would dive me batty lol

 

[Reefer1978]

I used a online calc and your rejection rate is only 88% assuming the TDS is correct anywho.

It may be you need more prefilter stages to keep your membrane working with 500 TDS.

I use a 5 stage as well but TDS is only 135 and I got 6 years out of my last membrane and two years out of the max super DI whatever spectra crap. Pre filters are always changed every 6 months to protect the membrane. Your situation would dive me batty lol

I already have 3... so any additional would simply be doubling up on existing ones. But given they are new, I am not convinced it will help.

 

[Tamberav]

I already have 3... so any additional would simply be doubling up on existing ones. But given they are new, I am not convinced it will help.

perhaps a dual membrane then?

and the pressure is okay?

 

[MarsReefer]

Putting 60 tds through resin is going to burn through quickly.

I have 400 TDS water and I get 3-5 tds after the membrane. You’ll never reduce resin consumption with such high tds after the membrane.

I’d look at getting a second carbon block, BRS has some videos on setting up carbon like that. I’d also check that your membrane is still good, 88% is really low for a membrane.