Reverse Osmosis Questions

[silverado61]

Lately I've been considering getting an RO unit.

Here's an idea of what I have to go through: I drive to the store about once a week with 4 to 6 five gallon buckets, sometimes more. Carry those buckets into the store. Sometimes wait in line for the water dispenser. Fill 4 to 6 buckets of water (all the while answering questions like: "What's all the water for?" "Oh, it's for fish? What do you do with them after you catch them?" "Why not just use water from the sink?" The list goes on and on.). Then I load those 4 to 6 buckets into 2 shopping carts. Then I have to pull the carts through the store and stand in line waiting to check out (Answering the same questions I answered at the dispenser. I'm thinking of printing out flyers and just handing them out.). Then pull those two shopping carts through the parking lot (even if it's raining or snowing). Load those blasted 5g buckets into the back of the pickup. Strap the buckets down so they don't slide all over or tip over. Drive them home. Carry them inside the house and down stairs to the basement. I think you get the picture by now.

My question is: So I don't go overboard and buy a 7 stage RO unit when I don't have to, are there certain tests that I can run so I can find out how bad my tap water is or if it's even bad at all?

 

[Bryce E]

Yeah.. just a $20 TDS meter will tell you the amount of total dissolved solids there are in your water. Not that everything in your water is going to be bad but certainly the lower the number the better off your water is going to be. Oh and if your water is treated then you may also have Chloramine, Chlorine and Chlorine dioxide in it to kill pathogens. And using stuff like tap conditioners to break the bonds of those chemicals.. doesn't actually "remove" anything but increases the total dissolved solids in your water.

I have done what you're talking about and there's no way I could still go through that today. So I commend you sir.

It ended up making my tanks suffer too. It caused me do less water changes because I always had made excuses to myself as to why I "couldn't" make a trip for water right now.. lol

 

[snakeblitz33]

A TDS meter will give you a good idea of how dirty your tap water is. Remember that your goal is zero TDS.

A TDS meter will also not tell you what's in your water, it just shows how conductive your water is. Pure water does not conduct electricity, therefore there is 0 conductivity.

Contact your local water utility company. They generally have info on what kind of "junk" is in the tap, and it's public information. Depending on your county (my parish), they could be using all different kinds of chemicals and stabilizers.

My parish uses monochloramine and chlorine to disinfect the water. It also comes out of either a bayou or an aquifer. My TDS reading in the past has been past 999 and unreadable. Now it averages between 400-500. That's why I have a 9 stage system.

Be aware that if you aren't using sufficient filtration, small neutrally charged particles like pesticides and herbicides can leach through and not get trapped in the DI resin. I prefer two stages of catalytic carbon because the first gets the obvious chemicals and the second gets the rest.

I have an article or two around here discussing it all in detail.

 

[silverado61]

A TDS meter will give you a good idea of how dirty your tap water is. Remember that your goal is zero TDS.

A TDS meter will also not tell you what's in your water, it just shows how conductive your water is. Pure water does not conduct electricity, therefore there is 0 conductivity.

Contact your local water utility company. They generally have info on what kind of "junk" is in the tap, and it's public information. Depending on your county (my parish), they could be using all different kinds of chemicals and stabilizers.

My parish uses monochloramine and chlorine to disinfect the water. It also comes out of either a bayou or an aquifer. My TDS reading in the past has been past 999 and unreadable. Now it averages between 400-500. That's why I have a 9 stage system.

Be aware that if you aren't using sufficient filtration, small neutrally charged particles like pesticides and herbicides can leach through and not get trapped in the DI resin. I prefer two stages of catalytic carbon because the first gets the obvious chemicals and the second gets the rest.

I have an article or two around here discussing it all in detail.

Do me a solid and let me know what forum your artical is in then bump it to the top of the list so my lazy butt can find it. I also need to figure out cost.

 

[silverado61]

Seth, i found the water report and sent it to my computer at home. As soon as I get home from work I'll post it here. Since your the chemist I'd appreciate it if you'd read it and tell me what you think.
Geridoc, if you read this, I'd welcome your opinion as well.

 

[silverado61]

No offense Bryce.

 

[silverado61]

Here you go professor.

Tell me what you think and how far I should go with an RO unit.

 

[snakeblitz33]

Here yah go.

https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/c/index.php/articles/content/reverse-osmosis-deionization-units-and-maintenance.140

 

[seecrabrun]

Sweet baby chipmunks man! How did you last this long doing the bucket thing?

I lasted about 3 months, if that LOL!

I have a 4 stage from buckeye hydro. I have 75-100 TDS tap and 0 after DI. I have 55-70 PSI depending on certain conditions. I got the 75gpd and put a 36gpd restrictor on it. I get about a 2:1 ratio of waste to pure, and 3.5 gallons per hour of pure.

I recently installed an auto shut off kit and built a reservoir on a stand for easier dealings. I think it is a great investment!

 

[snakeblitz33]

Looks like they use chlorine as the main disinfectant but there is other stuff as well. The main thing that concerns me is that their most recent tests are three years old.

Either way, I would run at least one refillable catalytic carbon filter, one 5micron sediment filter, a 75gpd membrane and a Refillable DI resin. A basic system at this point. Gotta know your TDS readings to know how much more beefed up your system needs to be.

 

[silverado61]

I just ordered a TDS meter. Guess I'll have to wait for that to get here before I go any farther. Thanks Seth.

When I figure out which RO unit to go with I'll also install an inline TDS meter.

 

[snakeblitz33]

That's the way to go! I like my in-line meter.

My sediment filters I can buy at just about any Walmart for $3 or less. Almost every hardware store sells the standard 12" versions as well. I don't trust the GEM coconut carbon blocks because if they don't absorb chloramines, then what else don't they absorb? Medications?

I use my purified water for more than just the fish tank. I drink it, I make coffee with it. (Makes great coffee!!) I cook with it and I mix stuff with it. I really like my RO setup.

 

[seecrabrun]

I also use mine for more. I use the RODI in some water based applications around the house such as the humidifier when we are sick or the weather is too cold and dry, or this water based air purifier I have from the Rainbow company who makes the water based vacuum cleaners.

Using the pure water keeps that crusty white film from showing up as the water evaporates. I used to have to clean the mechanism in my humidifier after every few days of running it, not anymore.

 

[Bryce E]

No offense Bryce.

None taken Silverado. I certainly don't know the science behind it. I'm just confident that the water I use now is better than what I used to use. And it's so much more convenient to make your own.

 

[bang guy]

That's the way to go! I like my in-line meter.

My sediment filters I can buy at just about any Walmart for $3 or less. Almost every hardware store sells the standard 12" versions as well. I don't trust the GEM coconut carbon blocks because if they don't absorb chloramines, then what else don't they absorb? Medications?

I use my purified water for more than just the fish tank. I drink it, I make coffee with it. (Makes great coffee!!) I cook with it and I mix stuff with it. I really like my RO setup.

What carbon do you use for chloramines? Our tap doesn't have chloramine but I'd like to start getting my advice right for people that do.

 

[chrisely24]

My TDS here in savannah Ga is around 149.
I bought a spectrapure 4 stage unit refurbished from them for about 149.00 and it seems to work good.
I also bought a digital TDS meter off ebay for about 25 dollars.

 

[snakeblitz33]

Catalytic carbon removes chloramines. Those GEM coconut carbon blocks do not. You can buy catalytic carbon for cheap- usually around $10 and you can buy refillable filters for about the same.

 

[snakeblitz33]

If it's monochloramine its a smaller molecule than Di or Trichloramine and is harder for it to get trapped through the first pass of catalytic carbon. That's why I have two carbon filters on my unit. My local utility switched to monochloramine and I didn't know about it.

 

[silverado61]

I just got my TDS meter in the mail yesterday and tested it today. WOW! The RO water I get from Walmart read 207tds. My tape water read 154tds. Whats up with that? My tank water right now before a water change is 365tds. Now I've never tested my tank for tds before. Is this ok or something I should worry about?

 

[snakeblitz33]

Your tank water is saltwater, so it is highly reactive. Tank water is not read in parts per million, but parts per thousand - which is salinity - and measured by a refractometer. (such as 35ppt salinity) or 1.026 specific gravity.

Walmart needs to replace their filters. Apparently they aren't maintaining it properly.

Your tap water reading of only 154ppm or mg/L is actually not that bad. Mine is over 400 on average.

I put my tap water at 400ppm into the three stage BRS unit with a 10 micron sediment filter, a 5 micron GEM coconut carbon block and a 1 micron sediment filter and just with those filters, it came down to 147ppm TDS. So that's roughly 250ppm TDS that those filters alone took care of. The problem with my water is that it uses monochloramine, which needs catalytic carbon blocks (preferably two of them) to be able to get rid of it all.

Since your tap water uses chlorine as its main disinfectant and is only putting out 154ppm TDS, I would suggest the Typhoon III from AirWaterIce - and still replace the GEM coconut block with catalytic carbon, in case your city switches disinfectants, like they did to me.

You can probably get by with a four stage unit and a membrane that has a 98-99% rejection rate.. (that doesn't mean you only get 1 gallong of water for every 99g of water wasted... it means that it rejects that much TDS.

While you are in the buying mood, you could invest in additional filters and replace them after the TDS starts to creep instead of waiting to order them after it does.