RO or RO/DI? Which is best? Brand?

[bfish5150]

I am considering purchasing an RO unit or RO/DI unit for my 100 gallon starter reef set-up. Any brands recommended? Brands to stay away from? Which one is best value for price and quality? I've looked at Aqua FX Barracuda 4-stage RO/DI - 50 gpd. I've also looked at filters from Kent Marine. Any advice much appreciated. I'm looking to set this up in my apartment, probably running it off the kitchen sink. I'm getting tired of going out and filling 5 gal. water jugs at a grocery store to get RO/DI water. I understand the importance of water quality and want to stay away from city water as much as possible.

[Doug1]

I use a Kent 24 gpd with a Tap Water Puriier behind it.
If I redo it I will get a 50 or bigger with DI setup. The membranes are fairly inter changeble so shop the best deal

[cyberchef]

Check out this place. http://www.airwaterice.com/

I got mine from them, ebay auction, and it's been great. From what I understand, they are all basically the same internally, so it just becomes a matter of preference vs cost. There are only one or 2 companies making the membranes and except for cosmetics and names, the rest of the components are pretty simple and basic. Fiber filter (wound cotton) seem to pretty much be the same, I bought my last replacements from Lowes and they looked identical to the ones that came with my RO/DI originally... HTH

Also do a search in the general reef discussion for RO?DI and read some of the threads that come up, there have been a few good ones fairly recently. when you do the search just go back 3-6 months at most.

[bfish5150]

Thanks everyone for giving the advice on the filters, I'll be doing my research and looking for the best buy.

[bfish5150]

cyberchef, I can't believe how cheap the prices are on the Typhoon series RO/DI filters from airwaterice.com! I couldn't believe how the prices are half off from the other manufacturers I've looked at so far. I was looking at an Aqua FX Barricuda 4-stage RO/DI - 50 gpd and it was retailing for $224.95! For $25.00 less I can get a 100 gpd unit from airwaterice.com that is a 5-stage RO/DI unit. Were you able to purchase even the DI filter and the carbon block filters from Lowe's or did you have to order those online as well? Thanks for your advice.

[cyberchef]

I purchased the sediment (wound cotton fiber) filter and the carbon filter from lowes when I needed replacements. Just either take them with you or look at them very closely to make sure you get the same ones...

[Junkzoo]

My Favorite, only cuz , i've used them for 10 yrs. is:
www.rosystems.com
out of Fla., used them for over 10 yrs. on house water, and ro/di,,,,good prices, great customer service

[SAT]

I strongly recommend Aquatic Reef Systems. Their customer support is extraordinary, they're cheaper than the big name brands, and there's no reason to believe their product isn't just as good. If you don't know what you need, just tell Bryan what you're trying to do and he'll recommend something.

Regarding RO vs. RO/DI... RO/DI water is purer than just RO. However, RO by itself removes ~95% of anything you care about. If your water is reasonably clean to begin with and you want to save a few bucks, you can get by without the DI stage.

[bfish5150]

Stuart, thanks for the advice. Sounds like quite a few reef keepers use the RO/DI equipment from manufacturers that may not be necessarily brand name so-to-speak, and that's great if the products are quality. I'm just nervous having not been in this market for a while and don't want to buy a lemon. Thanks and I will definitely check out the site you recommended. Any issues replacing filters from Aquatic Reef Systems RO/DI units? Can you purchase the filters locally at most hardware stores or do you have to special order them?

[SAT]

I've heard of people being unhappy with customer service with some vendors (not ARS or a name brand), but I've never heard of a product quality issue. I think there are only a small number of component manufactures and the different brands vary mainly in the packaging (various bells and whistles) and marketing. There are claims that one unit is better than another at removing silicates or that one has higher throughput than another, but IMO that's all noise.

Note that the primary purpose of these units is to produce drinking water, so all the manufacturers have to worry about EPA standards.

All the brands use standard housings, so in principal you can get filters from anywhere. Whether the ones you get from a hardware store are as good as ARS, for example, I can't tell you for sure, but chances are they're OK as long as you match the specs. In any case, the sediment/carbon filters only need to be replaced about every 6 months and cost no more than $20 a set. The RO membrane should last several years.

DI resins do vary, so I would make sure you get that from someone selling it for aquarium use. Besides, I doubt any hardware store sells DI resin.

By the way, RO water is excellent for drinking. It tastes a lot better than most tap waters and is probably better for you. I bought the drinking water kit (pressure tank, fittings, and extra filter for taste) as an add-on for my system and we've been drinking nothing but RO water ever since.

[bfish5150]

Stuart, I sent an email to Byran at Aquatic Reef Systems regarding his RO units. I'm very interested, after researching on his website, in the Triton 3 Stage RO 50 GPD unit. It's on sale right now for $135.00. Basically, I'm down to two units that I'm debating over. The Triton vs. the Typhoon 5 - Stage RO/DI 100 GPD for $149.99 offered by http://www.airwaterice.com/typhoon.htm Each unit has its advantages it appears. Triton has a lifetime warranty whereas the Typhoon has only one year. Triton has a pressure gauge, the Typhoon does not. The Typhoon offers dual carbon filters, which they state apparantly gets rid of 100% chlorine contamination on the RO membrane, thus doubling the life expectancy of their RO membrane. The Triton has one carbon filter. They both use DOW chemical company brand TFC RO membranes, only diff is output in GPD. The Typhoon has an auto shut off valve included, the Triton does not. Neither one includes a backflush kit, which I am interested in for extending filter life. The water in the city I live in is especially clean and pure, but an RO is still necessay, but a DI I don't think is needed. Have you heard of airwaterice before? They are based out of Florida. They've got some pretty hyped up marketing scheme on their website and I almost find it a little obnoxious, but their prices are almost the best I've found aside from Aquatic Reef Systems. Thanks again for your help.

[Junkzoo]

Just my 2 cents, had my RO/DI unit for 8 yrs,(I Have changed the membrane /filters ,,,LOL) got it from :www.rosystems.com always been happy with it , use the DI for the reef , the RO for the FO , and drinking/cooking/ dogs/ birds.mines probably on every other day, making 5-10 gallons of RO or DI ,,,when it is not used to re-fill the 55g barrel for water changes,,,great company, always friendly,,,,,i order new filters every 6 months, , a new membrane every yr,,,no complaints,,,,

[SAT]

bfish, I have no experience with airwaterice, so I really can't comment on them as a company. I doubt they will match ARS for customer service simply because ARS sets an extremely high standard. ARS is also a TRT sponsor. I must say, however that $150 for a 100gpd RO/DI seems very inexpensive.

I think you want a pressure guage. It will give you clues about how the system is operating. Also, it will tell you if your input pressure is low. If it is, adding a booster pump will greatly increase system performance.

I don't know if a 2nd carbon stage will increase the membrane life or not. Chlorine will damage the membrane, which is why you need to keep the carbon active. I always assumed, however, that the dominant factor is clogging of the pores. That being the case, a finer sediment filter or a flush kit would have more effect.

BTW, if you buy from ARS make sure you mention you're a TRT member. You may get a discount.

[cyberchef]

I originally posted about airwaterice, and they have excellent customer service. When I first bought my RO/DI unit, one of the valves leaked. I called them and told them about it and he sent one out that same day to replace the bad valve. I have the 2.5 gallon undersink tank on mine and we use it for drinking water, and the DI for the Reef. We produce anywhere from 10 gallons per day on up between drinking/cooking water and make up water for the reef tank. Except for the one valve leaking, I've had no problems with thier product and its worked great. Also before I bought the unit I called the guy at airwaterice and talked to him for about 20 minutes about thier products and I also told him right up front that I saw it on Ebay and was watching the item. My unit is only a 50 G/day and it does produce 50 gallons in a 24 hr period (we have good water pressure). I have thought about contacting them to see what it would take to upgrade to a 100 G/Day as there are times when the added capacity really would be nice.

One thing to consider is how much water will you go thru on a regular basis for water changes and such. If your going to need to produce 20 - 50 gallons at a time on regular basis, then a 100 G/day might be worth it. In usually turn mine on right before I go to bed and by morning the 32 gallon trash can is full. Only down side is it's at least another 30 minutes to an hour before there is enough water in the tank to use for drinking water. Plus if your making more water on a regular basis then a 100 g/day unit will last longer and hold up better before you'll have to replace the membranes.

[Spanky]

Only down side is it's at least another 30 minutes to an hour before there is enough water in the tank to use for drinking water.

Don, you're using RO water for drinking water right? and it's filling up the drinking water storage tank.

Shouldn't you have some sort of anti-back flow - check valve thing between them so your tank stays pressurized? Ours does.

Jerel