Looking for RO/DI advice

[Beetlebug515]

Good evening all. I've been contemplating setting up a self filling RO/DI storage system bucket thing. The plan is to use a large brute trash can, a float valve, auto shutoff valve and an ro unit. I'm sure I could plumb all this together in a matter of minutes. my only concern is the RO unit itself. Looking at this one:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0043FYJ8M/ref=ox_sc_sfl_title_12?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3HE69KJLXIPR4

My tap TDS is around 500-600 depending on when I measure it. Liquid rock. Right now I'm going through about 300 gallons of RO water a month. With how much water I need to make, and how high my TDS is, I feel like I would be blowing through DI filters really fast. Do you guys think I would be fine with this one? Or should I look for something beefier?

 

[SHARK13]

Look on ebay. There is a comany called filters direct. For about the same price you can get a generic 150gpd 6 stage ro/di unit. Much better deal imo. Has 1 micron, 2 carbon blocks, 1 membraine, and 2 di chambers. That is what I am running currently. I picked up an inline tds meter and booster pump from them as well. If you are on a well and your house psi is below 60, you are going to want to get a booster pump.

 

[butchie]

Brs or bulk reef supply is where tons of reef guys get their ro unit,and yes we usually use the brute for storage with the wheels on it. 300 gallons/month is really a low amount. Most of the units are 75 to 150 gallon/day so you should be fine. I probably have my old ones laying around in the garage somewhere but it would probably be prohibitive to ship. Man I'm glad to be done with reef tanks lol. Like shark said an inline tds is important if water quality matters.

 

[Beetlebug515]

Thanks guys. So my hard water won't make me go through filters quickly?

 

[butchie]

Thanks guys. So my hard water won't make me go through filters quickly?

I can't tell you exactly but with the amount you are producing i would say maybe once a year. Twice at most. I had 2 units going non-stop and i rarely changed filters maybe once a quarter at most but i really don't recall exactly. I was using 4 of the largest brute trash cans. I'm in central Florida and our water tds was horrible but I don't remember the number.

 

[Pomatomus]

I hear good things about barracudas but how much DI resin you use isn't so much a matter of your brand of filter but how much DI resin is used up by your water. Either way you will exhaust the resin at the same rate. At this point you don't know how much of your TDS is stuff that will be removed by the resin (i.e. not the other stages), so you will just have to see. If you want a unit with a larger container of resin so you don't have to change it as often then that's one thing, but your usage is what it is. Any refillable canister would be your best bet so you can buy resin in bulk.

I also live in FL and have really hard, alkaline water. I make about 700 gallons per year of RO water per year (with my RO buddie) and I don't even use DI. My corals like the extra minerals. When I did aquarium maintenance in Tampa we just used Hi-Flo filters (just carbon and sediment, no RO membrane and no DI) for the coral tanks. Carbon will pull out copper and you can make over a gallon of water per minute when you have no RO membrane!

 

[Beetlebug515]

So a large refillable resin chamber would be the best way to go. I actually need to strip all of the minerals for my Uaru Fernandezyepezi so carbon only isn't really the way to go for me. Thanks for the advice guys.