city water not to bad

[tellycoleman]

OK im new in the Reef Game
but
I read alot
one things thats very important is water quality. (and TDS which u want at 0 ). Thats cool so i went out and bought a nice R/O DI unit cost me about $160 bucks. then i went to my LFS to get extra tubing. upon arrival they told me that where I live Lavergne (suburb of nashville)
i dont need a DI unit. Still didnt believe them so today i bought a TDS meter from them.
wow they were right.
TDS straight outta the tap is 82
TDS after R/O is 1 (probably due to the inline carbon water filter it goes threw as a last step for taste)
TDS after DI is 0 of course

my question is this
1)The manufactor instructions say replace cartridges every 6 months and membrane every 18 mounths
since my TDS is so low can i not wait longer to do these costly changes?
2) when i removed the last in line carbon filter from the R/O unit my TDS was 0. So do i need to still run the DI unit? Does the DI process accomplish something more?
3) Anyone want a DI unit?? it is new

[scootingblenny]

replacement times are just estimates, you'll want to replace the filter media when your TDS goes above 0. If your getting a TDS reading of 0 without the DI then i think your good to go.

[tellycoleman]

thank you scootingblenny

[Hop]

This is why a pressure gauge before the membrane is a good idea. You can tell when the pressure drops too much and you will know when to replace the prefilters. DI is still a good idea IMO and in theory, you should deplete the media less quickly. So I wouldn't say you wasted money, nor that you recieved bad advice from the LFS. Basically running a RO/DI in your case, you are a head of the game and prepared for any inconsistencies in your towns water treatment regimine

[hng]

Originally Posted by tellycoleman

TDS straight outta the tap is 82
TDS after R/O is 1 (probably due to the inline carbon water filter it goes threw as a last step for taste)
TDS after DI is 0 of course

my question is this
1)The manufactor instructions say replace cartridges every 6 months and membrane every 18 mounths
since my TDS is so low can i not wait longer to do these costly changes?

The carbon is removing chlorine and will need to be replaced every six months or so. If chlorine gets to the membrane it will shorten the lifespan.

2) when i removed the last in line carbon filter from the R/O unit my TDS was 0. So do i need to still run the DI unit? Does the DI process accomplish something more?

It will help remove anything that makes it past the membrane. It certainly doesn't hurt anything to keep it inline.

3) Anyone want a DI unit?? it is new

[Doug1]

Originally Posted by tellycoleman

OK im new in the Reef Game
but
I read alot
one things thats very important is water quality. (and TDS which u want at 0 ). Thats cool so i went out and bought a nice R/O DI unit cost me about $160 bucks. then i went to my LFS to get extra tubing. upon arrival they told me that where I live Lavergne (suburb of nashville)
i dont need a DI unit. Still didnt believe them so today i bought a TDS meter from them.
wow they were right.
TDS straight outta the tap is 82
TDS after R/O is 1 (probably due to the inline carbon water filter it goes threw as a last step for taste)
TDS after DI is 0 of course

my question is this
1)The manufactor instructions say replace cartridges every 6 months and membrane every 18 mounths
since my TDS is so low can i not wait longer to do these costly changes?
2) when i removed the last in line carbon filter from the R/O unit my TDS was 0. So do i need to still run the DI unit? Does the DI process accomplish something more?
3) Anyone want a DI unit?? it is new

82 is not bad, lucky you, the last stage Carbon filter has Nothing to do with that, low TDS going in and a good DI stage are whats making you good water,
The DI will remove trace stuff the membrane cant get, so keep it intact, change the Carbon filter every 6 months, look at the sediment filter and if its funky replace it