Help me understand when is best to change which filters on my RODI unit please.
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The system has to be designed for that, a basic rodi unit is not.
The ones designed for lower ratios, like 1:1, often are Microprocessor Controlled, like the octopus and spectrapure uhe. Even the spectrapure uhe says depending on your source water a 1:2 ratio may be necessary.
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fishbox
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So here goes another update, but first let me thank BRS and @Zack@BRS. They were kind enough to send me out another membrane housing and both the 550 and 600 flow restrictor flush kits.
The first thing I did was changed the flow restrictor flush kit. I put in the new 550 restrictor and left the old membrane housing on. This did not seem to help at all as I was still getting 28 TDS after the membrane and I was getting 625 ml of Wastewater to 300 ml product water. This is still a 2:1 ratio.
So then I tried the 600 restrictor kit and I also left the old membrane housing on for this one too. This also did not help at all. Once again I was still seeing 27 TDS after the RO membrane and I was getting 1000ml of Wastewater to 450 ml of product water. Once again this was still a 2:1 ratio.
Since that didn't help out I went ahead and replaced the membrane housing and ran the test with both the 500 and the 600 restrictor kits. This seemed to help out a bit but I'm still getting a 2:1 ratio.
With the new membrane housing and the 600 restrictor kit I was now getting 17 TDS after the RO with 950 ml of Wastewater and 400 ml of product water. So with this instance my TDS dropped almost 50% after the RO but still a little high in my opinion and I'm also still seeing that 2 to 1 ratio.
The results with the new membrane housing and the 550 restrictor kit were pretty similar. I got 18 TDS after the RO membrane with 750 ml of Wastewater and 375 mL of product water. So once again the TDS is down almost 50% after the RO but I'm still seeing that 2 to 1 ratio here as well.
I did find some water reports for my area but I have no idea what they're saying. I'll post them up here in a second after I find them in my phone.
Should I just run with the best numbers I have above and quit overthinking this?
The first thing I did was changed the flow restrictor flush kit. I put in the new 550 restrictor and left the old membrane housing on. This did not seem to help at all as I was still getting 28 TDS after the membrane and I was getting 625 ml of Wastewater to 300 ml product water. This is still a 2:1 ratio.
So then I tried the 600 restrictor kit and I also left the old membrane housing on for this one too. This also did not help at all. Once again I was still seeing 27 TDS after the RO membrane and I was getting 1000ml of Wastewater to 450 ml of product water. Once again this was still a 2:1 ratio.
Since that didn't help out I went ahead and replaced the membrane housing and ran the test with both the 500 and the 600 restrictor kits. This seemed to help out a bit but I'm still getting a 2:1 ratio.
With the new membrane housing and the 600 restrictor kit I was now getting 17 TDS after the RO with 950 ml of Wastewater and 400 ml of product water. So with this instance my TDS dropped almost 50% after the RO but still a little high in my opinion and I'm also still seeing that 2 to 1 ratio.
The results with the new membrane housing and the 550 restrictor kit were pretty similar. I got 18 TDS after the RO membrane with 750 ml of Wastewater and 375 mL of product water. So once again the TDS is down almost 50% after the RO but I'm still seeing that 2 to 1 ratio here as well.
I did find some water reports for my area but I have no idea what they're saying. I'll post them up here in a second after I find them in my phone.
Should I just run with the best numbers I have above and quit overthinking this?
I'm a scab picker and would want to known why it's not the correct ratio and get it operating properly.
While 17-18 is better you will still be going through di resin almost 3 times as fast then if it was 6 or 7..
I think I would take @Zack@BRS up on his offer to send them the unit and let them troubleshoot and figure it. I think he mentioned a faulty asov could allow some water mixing, wonder if that could have affects the ratio too?
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fishbox
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Yeah, I just hate to keep bothering him as he has done so much already, but I guess it doesn't hurt to try. As I mentioned earlier in the thread this has been a problem since day one of owning this unit. Unfortunately I made the mistake of thinking that the reading on the TDS meter was of the incoming tap water. As far as the a ASOV goes I did block off the product water line and it shut off the waste water line after about a minute. So I don't know what that tells us.
Yeah, I understand. But I'm sure that they would want you to have a properly working unit and be satisfied.
Its not lile you are demanding them refund you, or send a new unit or anything unreasonable. And I'm sure you would be sending all the parts they have provided to this point, with the unit. Any product can have a dud for whatever reason, and it seems to me that BRS has built their reputation, in part, on excellent customer service so I don't think they would be upset about continuing to help you get this sorted.
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I didn't read this entire thread but for the purpose of this thread I dusted off my TDS meter and tested the RO/DI water. I get a reading of 8 which to me is perfect. My tap water reads 90. A reading of 6 or 8 is "almost" the same as zero. As soon as you add any type of food to your tank the TDS in your tank will go up anyway. For an out of work college student, I would do nothing except maybe borrow fifty bucks for a bottle of Grand Marnier and take a shot. This hobby is full of "exact" measurements that almost everyone will advise you to keep your tank at. Temperature, nitrates, phosphates, silicates etc. There is a very wide margin that you can keep all those parameters at with no effect on algae or the health of your inhabitants.
That measurement of 6 is not making your algae grow. As I said mine is 8 and my nitrates are 160 and I have no algae. That parameters causing algae is an old wives tale that I heard from an old wife. If it were true, I should be able to open up a produce stand in front of my tank. Algae grows by using nutrients as well as many other things. Bacteria and viruses run our tanks which is why you can have zero nitrates and phosphates and still have algae on everything. Just search for nusience algae and you will find hundreds of examples of that. Some people change water every day to eliminate algae, does that ever work? No it doesn't.
But I realize I am in the vast minority with this so listen to all the advice and do what you have to. I am just trying to save you money and time as I have been doing this over 60 years.
That measurement of 6 is not making your algae grow. As I said mine is 8 and my nitrates are 160 and I have no algae. That parameters causing algae is an old wives tale that I heard from an old wife. If it were true, I should be able to open up a produce stand in front of my tank. Algae grows by using nutrients as well as many other things. Bacteria and viruses run our tanks which is why you can have zero nitrates and phosphates and still have algae on everything. Just search for nusience algae and you will find hundreds of examples of that. Some people change water every day to eliminate algae, does that ever work? No it doesn't.
But I realize I am in the vast minority with this so listen to all the advice and do what you have to. I am just trying to save you money and time as I have been doing this over 60 years.
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fishbox
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I didn't read this entire thread but for the purpose of this thread I dusted off my TDS meter and tested the RO/DI water. I get a reading of 8 which to me is perfect. My tap water reads 90. A reading of 6 or 8 is "almost" the same as zero. As soon as you add any type of food to your tank the TDS in your tank will go up anyway. For an out of work college student, I would do nothing except maybe borrow fifty bucks for a bottle of Grand Marnier and take a shot. This hobby is full of "exact" measurements that almost everyone will advise you to keep your tank at. Temperature, nitrates, phosphates, silicates etc. There is a very wide margin that you can keep all those parameters at with no effect on algae or the health of your inhabitants.
That measurement of 6 is not making your algae grow. As I said mine is 8 and my nitrates are 160 and I have no algae. That parameters causing algae is an old wives tale that I heard from an old wife. If it were true, I should be able to open up a produce stand in front of my tank. Algae grows by using nutrients as well as many other things. Bacteria and viruses run our tanks which is why you can have zero nitrates and phosphates and still have algae on everything. Just search for nusience algae and you will find hundreds of examples of that. Some people change water every day to eliminate algae, does that ever work? No it doesn't.
But I realize I am in the vast minority with this so listen to all the advice and do what you have to. I am just trying to save you money and time as I have been doing this over 60 years.
Thanks for chiming in Paul. I'm not so concerned with the parameters as it may/may not relate to algae. The end result after my DI resin is 0 tds. Which I'm grateful for. I'm more concerned with the fact that after the ro membrane before the DI resin my numbers are high with a bad product water to wastewater ratio. Which means my DI resin is depleting alot sooner than needed. Which in turn means spending more money on the resin.
And if I borrow $50 I'm buying a cheap $10 bottle of Vodka and putting some gas in my clunker [emoji12]
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fishbox
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No it was not resolved. I'm still getting the same numbers. The only difference between now and then is that I'm no longer a non-working student. So it doesn't hurt as bad to have to replace the resin a little sooner. However, I'm currently on the 8th month of using this resin batch. I think because I packed it alot better than it came from factory. But it would last longer if the issue was resolved
I’ve flipped through this thread and am still a bit lost on when to change media. BRS 5 stage. I’d link various conflicting info but it wouldn’t help my result. My setup is only a month old and has filled only 30 gallons thus far.
Does sitting stagnant hurt it if running and checking tds with 2 meters before stocking?
Is it time line or water volume that dictates filter change ?
Sorry if covered but I didn’t see so.
Thank you
Does sitting stagnant hurt it if running and checking tds with 2 meters before stocking?
Is it time line or water volume that dictates filter change ?
Sorry if covered but I didn’t see so.
Thank you
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@NoWaiAma Generally a little bit of sitting unused is no issue. Extended period of more than a few weeks can run the risk of allowing bacteria to develop on the membrane. Biofouling can be an issue, so I generally recommend running the unit, even if just for a little bit, at least every couple weeks.
Volume of water processed will be a bigger factor than time. Sediment filters will vary a lot based on your water, as some people have more dirt in their water and see the sediment filters clog faster, while others have very low sediment water and see very little pressure drop. Pressure loss will dictate when to change the sediment filter. Chlorine/chloramine getting past the carbon blocks will tell you when to change those out (this can be tested with some basic free + total chlorine test strips). Carbon blocks will be affected more by the volume of water processed, as their capacity for chlorine/chloramine removal is somewhat fixed. The DI should be changed out when the color change is at about 90% or you begin to see any TDS breakthrough on the final line.
To play it safe, many people will replace the pre-filters every six months or so, but ultimately keeping tabs on the performance of each filter is the best gauge.
Volume of water processed will be a bigger factor than time. Sediment filters will vary a lot based on your water, as some people have more dirt in their water and see the sediment filters clog faster, while others have very low sediment water and see very little pressure drop. Pressure loss will dictate when to change the sediment filter. Chlorine/chloramine getting past the carbon blocks will tell you when to change those out (this can be tested with some basic free + total chlorine test strips). Carbon blocks will be affected more by the volume of water processed, as their capacity for chlorine/chloramine removal is somewhat fixed. The DI should be changed out when the color change is at about 90% or you begin to see any TDS breakthrough on the final line.
To play it safe, many people will replace the pre-filters every six months or so, but ultimately keeping tabs on the performance of each filter is the best gauge.
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