RO/DI filter.

Hey guys, Ive been looking for a good RO/DI system for my home. I was wondering if this one was worth it? I have a 150G tank.

I think the fact that it can also produce drinking water might be easier to persuade my parents to let me get it lol what do you guys think? Worth the price or is there somthing better out there for cheaper or same price?

BRS 5 Stage Water Saver PLUS RO/DI System - 150GPD - Bulk Reef Supply

 

If yhou want to use the RO side for drinking, icemaker, etc., it'll need a storage tank. That is run thru the DI resin for the final - Reef- 0 tds product.

They make systems that come with it all in one kit, with a small tap for the kitchen sink, etc.

I've been suing one like that system for almost 2 years now- off of Ebay- for about $100 shipped to my door. I think it was 75g a day system.

If he hasn't posted yet- the board water guru will tell you spectrapure probably makes one of the best systems, and he's probably right, he is right.

 

I don't think this would be a good choice for drinking water use,like Todd said it is simply not equipped for that.It appears to be a basic 75gpd system with an extra membrane piggybacked on and an extra carbon filter in place of the DI which is added in a separate cannister.I don't know how this would produce less waste water as claimed since there are two membranes that need to be flushed.

 

Hmm, Im really not sure about it. The drinking water part is really not necessary. However, It would be a plus.
My LFS has an RO system that has the drinking water tank with it. I wasn't sure whether to get it from him or not.

 

Any reef quality RO/DI system can have a drinking water kit added for les than $75 and you will have the best of both worlds. There are also some vendors who sell a reef quality RO/DI with the kit already installed like here:

SpectraPure® Totally Refurbished 90-GPD 5-Stage Combination RO-DI Reef & Drinking Water System

http://www.buckeyefieldsupply.com/showproducts.asp?Category=171&Sub=166

or you can buy a $130 refurbished RO/DI from Spectrapure and add a drinking water kit from here for $59:

http://www.purelyh2o.com/index.php?...ng water kit&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=106

As long as you have a check valve between the RO drinking water and the reef DI water it works great.

 

Well I did add a last inline carbon, mainly to get rid of anything that went through the RO and the DI, maybe particles of the DI resin if they somehow made it into the water. Even though I did, I'm pretty sure it makes zero difference. XD
That filter, with the clamps to hold it in place, costs less than $20, and will possibly live forever with the quality of the water going through it.

As for the tank, I couldn't add one if I wanted, as I'm renting, and drilling through the sink is not allowed. And besides, I question its usefulness. Upon starting up the system, I usually waste 5 minutes of water to make sure everything is fine. The first minute that comes out tends to have a TDS above 0. And I store the drinking water in gallon flasks in the fridge, so I always have cold water.
The check valve is another device that can go wrong, and the tank adds the possibility for the water to spoil... So nah, not for me.

 

Even though it is not harmful, you don't want to drink DI water as it is more expensive to make than RO only and it does not taste refreshing. By adding an inline check valve esigned for RO systems (about $5-$10 depending on vendor) you isolate the DI from the RO so you have excellent tasting RO water for drinking and RO/DI for the reef. If you look at the diagram here you see how it separates the two so you do not waste DI resin on drinking water and can actually flush the RO to waste with the DI bypass and further extend the DI life.
http://spectrapure.com/huds/4-STAGE-DWK-RODI-NAG.pdf

 

FWIW, I have the same unit, with a drinking water kit. I have been using it for 15 months now. I see 96-97% rejection rate (usually around 100 TDS influent, 3-4 TDS effluent), and I love that it only take ~7.5 minutes to make a gallon of water (I do have 85 PSI at the tap, which helps as well).