reverse osmosis question

[small-fish]

hi everyone,

it's about time i got a r/o unit. i was wondering what the initials Hi-S, TFC, or CTA stood for in the KENT and CORALife units? also for someone who is on a budget, which r/o unit is the best bang for the buck? thank you.

[srgtkoons]

If you have a small tank or even an average sized one you might want to check out www.nano-reef.com. Chris now has RO units that are fairly cheap in price. They are intended for use by people who have nano-reefs, but i believe the units have 2 or 3 stage filtration and put out around 35 gallons per day. They are decent cheaply priced units for someone on a budget. As for the initials I am not sure. One is for use with chlorinated water and one is for use with unchlorinated water. Which one is which i cannot remember.

[botp2k1]

I think these stand for...

Hi-S - high silicate removal
TFC - thin film composite membrane
CTA - cellulose triacetate membrane

I do not know if hi-s is a marketing gimmick or not but you do want to get the tfc over the cta. If the choices are between Kent and Coralife, get the Kent. Also protect that tfc from chlorine as I hear chlorine is really bad for the tfc membrane.

Your system depends on your preferences. Keep in mind what ever flow rate you decide on may be less depending on your pressure and water temp. at home, etc. So if you are looking at a 50 gpd system, it may produce far less than that.

Do you need di after the ro? It depends how far you want to get it down and what your water quality is to begin with. See if you can check your water with a TDS tester, then with that info in hand you can decide which is better for you, ro or ro/di.

Example, my tapwater quality is 150-180 ppm in total dissolved solids, after just the RO, I end up with 5-8 ppm. Great water, with a DI after that, it is 0 ppm. So for my water, DI is not really needed.

The cheapest I have seen for a 50 gpd is 140 for just ro and 180 for ro/di. You want to try to find one that has a pressure gauge, JG quick connects or similar, clear housings, and flush kit if possible. Also, a tds tester to confirm quality of water out of the unit and for testing when to change the di and ro parts.

[small-fish]

hi botp2k1, why is chlorine bad for the TFC units?
if my city tap water has chlorine in it, will that be a problem?
i am making a final decision then on the Kent TFC Bare Bones- CLear Canister 24gpd, cost 129.99. all i can afford at this time. just ro/ no di. my fish will have to live with that.

also i have a question on how to use reverse osmosis.
how do you connect it and if it is not is use do i disconnect it?
thank you.

[botp2k1]

small-fish, the chlorine attacks the membrane from what I have read. You do not have to worry though, the bare bones unit as well as probably all units have a carbon filter before the membrane to remove the chlorine first.

The bare bones unit does not have any clear housings. You do not need the clear housings, it is just nice to see, for me anyway. The bare bones unit should have a dual sediment/carbon prefilter and is connected by a 3/4" garden hose adapter. Kent states their prefilters are 10 microns. The prefilter is not the best due to the system being a small and low budget system. The lower the better filtration, but to a point. Too low and you change more frequently, typically the ratings are 0.5, 1, 5, 10 microns with 1 micron being the preferred.

For a little more you can be better prepared for upgrades. I have Reef Pure's 100gpd tornado unit. They also have a 50gpd unit with separate sediment and carbon filters, clear housing, JG quick connects, pressure gauge, and your choice of adapter ( I recommend the faucet diverter adapter, this allows you to have the unit connected at all times, just a pull of the pin to divert water flow to the filter). Add a TDS tester for a little more and you have a unit that you can upgrade easily. A TDS tester is recommended regardless of which system you look at. The frame is large enough for a di add on mounted right on it if you like and upgrading flow rate is easy.

With the bare bones unit, I do not think you can upgrade to higher flow rate, not because of the membrane but because of the sediment/carbon filter before it.

My opinions only, I am only a customer of RP, my order was not problem free but the people there have addressed any issues I have and worked through them quickly.

Just keep in mind the flow rate, water temperature and pressure plays a big part of how much you get. The colder the water going in and the less pressure going in, the slower the unit will produce water.

I do recommend you look into a unit that is not as basic as the bare bones unit.

Good luck.

[Joaco]

Here is a guide that will help you:

http://www.kentmarine.com/ezstep.html

Moving this post to the equipment forum

Joaco

[botp2k1]

Joaco, thanks, I think you just answered 90%+ of small-fish's questions on one line.

The question I am asking myself is why didn't I see that on Kent's site, duh! ;)

[small-fish]

thanks everyone
my dang fishes now will officially eat and drink better than me.