RO/DI Filter Opinions

[Xler8n]

I wasnt sure where to post this thread so i just put it here cuz i have about 10 frags of SPS. In my county the tap water is pretty good but theres nothing better then RO/DI filters for the reef aquarium. I am about to buy one but im not sure where to get it from. I was looking at the ones at Purewaterclub.com and also the ones at Filter guys. I was looking at the 150 GPD from purewaterclub.com and the 75G GPD one at filterguys. I heard that the ones at purewaterclub are not that good and that u should throw away the whole unit after about 5 years. A cold sterile is too expensive for me right now so what do you guys think. What are your experiences with these two companies. I am looking to spend about $100-$150. I have a 75 gallon tank so i dont really need one thats enormous. Need help and advice. Thanks

[Xler8n]

Here are the two systems im looking at.....

http://www.purewaterclub.com/catalog...roducts_id=166
(6 Stg 150 GPD $101.00)

http://www.thefilterguys.biz/ro_di_systems.htm (Ocean wave 5 stg 75GPD $135.00)

[OneDummHikk]

Of those two, I would get the 5 stage from the filter guys. The only difference between two units that produce different amounts of water is the RO membrane and the flow restrictor. The rest is the same. Even the RO housing. Get the 75gpd unit, have a good solid unit that is going to last. Then if you end up needing the 150gpd you can change the flow restrictor (10 dollars or so) and the membranes and have a 150gpd unit. If you do it when it is time to change filters anyway, you can upgrade from the 75 to the 150gpd setup for the cost of the flow restrictor.

[OneDummHikk]

Addition: The ONLY reason I would choose the filter guys is because of the thread you are referring to where there were leaks and generally bad quality. Although I am curious why they say to throw it away. Whether its the membranes, the fittings, or some other reason they say to throw them away.

[Xler8n]

Yea i read that thread and it spooked me. Tony has the 150 GPD from purewaterclub and thats where he reffered me cuz i asked him the same question.. Then i read the tread.. Although he said he hasnt had any problems with his and since iver been watching the site for a couple of months they have sold out of the 150 GPD system twice. I have heard great things about filter guys. But why is the 5 stage 75 GPD system about $30 more than the 150 GPD system from purewaterclub. It also seems that the one from purewaterclub comes with more things such as a shut off valve as the filterguys charge extra for that.

[OneDummHikk]

"You get what you pay for" is the first thing that comes to mind. If they are sacrificing quality (for whatever reason) then you get a cheaper product. If they have issues with them leaking, and you went through the unit and replace every fitting in it to get good fittings with a seal, you can easily spend 75-100 dollars just on the fittings that you are replacing. Then it becomes a more expensive unit.

But, to give the devil his due, Tony has had his for about a year and doesn't have any issues with it leaking. I have had mine for about that long without issue but mine came off Ebay and I paid around 150 for it.

[Loverotties]

E-bay has some nice ones too!

[Fat Tony]

I think they may have switched suppliers or something if people are having leaking issues. I have had absolutely "0" issues. I have had more issue with the quick connect ballvalves from airwaterice than I have had out of my RODI units fittings. But FWIW, I could replace every fitting on the unit for like $20

Also, whomever is having a leaking issue... Every fitting on the airwaterice booster pump and "cube" i just installed at the local science center leaked.. I had to take every fitting off and retape and tighten to stop the leaks....no big deal in my book personally, as I am pretty picky about how teflon is applied to threads anyhow..

[Mr.Peanut]

Xler8n, I am sorry to have "spooked" you. It is not a bad unit. In fact I just recommended one to a friend.

Originally Posted by Fat Tony

Also, whomever is having a leaking issue... Every fitting on the airwaterice booster pump and "cube" i just installed at the local science center leaked.. I had to take every fitting off and retape and tighten to stop the leaks....no big deal in my book personally, as I am pretty picky about how teflon is applied to threads anyhow..

Fat Tony, I feel as if I have offended you in some way and that was not my intention. I was just honestly reviewing the filter. Correct me if I am wrong, I take that last thing you said as a dig towards me.

It is no big deal in my book either to replace some teflon tape. But if there are no threads to begin with....teflon tape wont do much. Probably why they recommend 2 part epoxy.

Originally Posted by OneDummHikk

Addition: The ONLY reason I would choose the filter guys is because of the thread you are referring to where there were leaks and generally bad quality. Although I am curious why they say to throw it away. Whether its the membranes, the fittings, or some other reason they say to throw them away.

Randy here is a scan of the instructions explaining why you should junk the filter after 5 years.

[Fat Tony]

Certainly no, you didn't offend me in any way. That's the thing about message boards, you dont have face time to see when someone is speaking

I was simply making the comment that I am pretty picky about how I like to wrap the threads with Teflon.. no dig..I promise, and I apologize if it seemed that way...

[Dnazta]

Ive posted about this before and as I said before I have the 150gpd unit from purewaterclub for a few months now and have had absolutely no issues. It came with everything I needed and been running since the day I got it in.

[OneDummHikk]

Peanut, the funny thing is, I have told people that myself. And for almost the same reasons. I disagree about the membrane swelling up but if you have to replace the membrane, filters and DI, its definitely cheaper to buy a new unit than it is to replace all the filters.

The wording does look like it was written in Honk Kong or China though.

[Mr.Peanut]

Originally Posted by Fat Tony

Certainly no, you didn't offend me in any way. That's the thing about message boards, you dont have face time to see when someone is speaking

I was simply making the comment that I am pretty picky about how I like to wrap the threads with Teflon.. no dig..I promise, and I apologize if it seemed that way...

Whew....Thanks Tony, for clearing that up. And no need to apologize.

For the record, I will absolutely recommend purewaterclub to people in the future.

[OneDummHikk]

NOTE: The link above that is labeled a 150gpd unit is linked to a 100gpd unit.

I had to know for myself.

http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/RO/DI-...duct_info.html

Get 5 people together, you get them for 40 dollars each. Thats 2 sediment filters, 2 carbon blocks and 2 DI resins.

75gpd RO membrane: 75gpd Membrane 30 dollars if more than 5
150gpd RO membrane: 150gpd membrane 40 dollars if more than 5.

If you are replacing filters/membranes on a 150gpd unit, and buying it in bulk (at least 5 people) then you will pay 400 dollars plus shipping to replace the filters on 5 units. I added it all to my shopping cart and let them do the math

20 dollars shipping and you have roughly 85 dollars per person in the filters.
I can't find the 150gpd unit but if memory serves me the 150gpd unit was 92 dollars including shipping.

So, to replace the entire unit will cost you an extra 7 dollars and keep you from having to find 4 other people to do a bulk buy with. What you get for that 7 dollars is the entire unit. You can either replace the entire unit or simply replace the filters in the existing unit.

Yeah, I HAD to know for myself

[reeffanatic247]

srry to steal but what can i use for 36 bow i mean im using ro water and stuff but still got problems with phospate maybe ciuz of food or w/e any1 got a very cheap small ro unit or w.e