Ro/di for dummies (me)

New filters should be installed one at a time and flushed individually when replacing them. Too bad more vendors don't tell you this important step. You should also disinfect the system when changing filters and they neglect to telkl you that too, thats why I stick with reputabl companies like Spectrapure who has been doing this for 25 years or others like Buckeye Field Supply and AWI.
DI resins are plastic beads and quite durable so should not break down. You ar probably seeing carbon dust, do you have a worthless taste and odor filter on the end? Again something they sell you you don't need and should not have on a reef system.

 

yeah i do have that at the end and was wodering about that also. I was thinking of removing and putting another di daisy chain the other di. I am also getting very fine dust like particles that settle at the bottom but the water looks clean except what has collected at the bottom. I have ran my system for 6 hours now and have gotten about 6 gallons of water and I am still getting the carbon like particles. It is a greyish color. I probably know the answer to this but will ask anyway. If all the greyish particles are on the bottom could I still use the clean water on top. and just pump the clean water in another bucket and then mix my salt or dont use the water at all. I am measuring 10 ppm on my tds meter. I am not sure but I thought needed to be 0 ppm to use water. A little advice please. thanks!!!

 

desert rat

how do you disinfect the system?????


:-/

 

Take the post DI carbon off and throw it as far as you possibly can. This is another ebay vendor touting the word "stages" like it is the best thing sinc sliced bread when in fact their systems are low quality and they try to make them sound fantastic by adding useless "stages". Two low quality carbons don't equal one good one just as two low quality horizontals don't even come close to a good 20 oz vertical DI. 6 or 7 stages of junk, inefficient or low quality filters don't equal 4 stages or efficient filters. I really hate seeing people getting taken in by their shady or downright dishonest sales techniques and misrepresentation.

OK, over my rant. Get rid of the taste and odor filter, you do not want it since it adds TDS back into the water you worked so hard to rmove that TDS from. Next, what did you install for a prefilter and carbon(s)? Some are about as effective as a screen door when it comes toi treatment and wear RO membranes out prematurely since they don't trap much and it ends up on th membranes surface. If the carbon is granular get rid of it, the dust you are seeing also fouls or plugs a membrane just like it contaminates the finished water. Did I mention I hate ebay systems?
You want a single prefilter in the 1 micron or less range, a single carbon block in the 0.5 or 0.6 range, again no larger than a 1 micron but the finer the better to protect the RO membrane. A Dow Filmtec 75 GPD or GE Water 100 GPD RO membrane and a full size vertical 20 oz refillable DI canister and cartridge. Thats it in most cases. If you want to improve upon it add a second DI and monitor the TDS between the two DI stages. When you start to see TDS out of the first DI, toss the resin, move the second DI to first place and add the new cartridge in the second position. This way you get maximum life out of the DI and are assured of 0 TDS water.

If any of the words are missing the letter E above, I got a new wireless keyboard and the E key is defective, waiting for a replacement. Spell checking is getting tim consuming and I know I am missing some.

 

desert rat thanks for all the good info. I am going to go ahead and just junk this and invest in a spectrapure system.

 

can you just rinse the new filter with tap water before installing them to get rid of any dust?

 

You need to rinse them one at a time in the housings so the water flows through and not around the filter.