[Aquatic reef systems]

This is a funny thread.
They say that the reason DI water is no good for you is because it takes alll of the TDS out of the water and this TDS is needed to balance the pressure on the cell walls in the body.

OK well Hmmmmm,
Im willing to bet that the majority of us consume a whole lot more in our diets than our RO water.
So that really washes away that theory IMO.

The truth of the matter is that it is sort of like soda without the sugar.
We all know and love sugar and are able to identify the taste of it.

Our drinking water is much the same, Those elements in the water DO alter the taste, the only difference is that we can not identify these minerals with our taste buds.
So water without any minerals in it would actually taste "sugar free"

though getting back into the real reasons why the DI is not really intended for drinking.
#1 the DI used for aquarium water filtration is not the same DI that would be used in a kidney dialasis situation, Close but no cigar!
The color change resin used in aquaria apps is not rated as potable!
It is not rated unpotable, just not potable.....hmmmm
The answer here is that there is a resin that is potable and it is NON color change resin.
So just to be on the safe side for all of you who are really thinking about drinking the DI water. It probably wont kill ya but why bother.
Just T in before the DI and drink the RO.
The DI really does taste bad so there is no benefit to it that I can see.
I hope this helps!
Take care
Bryan Crenshaw

[mortman]

I bought one of these RO units and have it hooked up @ my kitchen
sink. I also plan on running the RO thru a twp. I bought a new
cartrige for the TWP and I'm hopeing to get a lot of water from
it with just 5 stage RO water going thru it.

Forget the soda drink beer------------->LOL

Mortman

[reefdope]

Ran ouwta pop...and Be...eeer and am inta da skatch nooow!! ::hick:: Here, fishy...fishy...fishy...

[mortman]

LOL@reefdope

[Unresistible Blue]

Mortman - Many reefers use only RO - that is, they don't use a DI. Many others use an RO/DI system.

I'd suggest that if you buy the unit consider upgrading the sediment cartridge and carbon cartridge to 1 micron units.

If you'd like, you can add on a DI unit to that system pretty easily.

[Unresistible Blue]

Just found this old post of mine - mortman it might help you a bit:

Within reason, most of the RO/DI units that you can buy retail are made up of stock parts that are assembled by the folks we buy from.

That said, first do a little research to understand, for instance:

- you want a 1 micron sediment filter and carbon block cartridge rather than one with a larger pore size
- you want a carbon block cartridge, not a granulated carbon filter if you want that cartridge to act as a sediment filter as well
- determine the number of gallons per day you'd like to produce, increase that number by some multiplier (25? 50?) depending upon how patient you are, and that's what capacity RO membrane you should get
- if you don't get color indicating DI resin, you must also buy a TDS meter (around $30-$35 typical), if you get color indicating DI resin, you should use a TDS meter but you can get by w/o it (I don't recommend this - spent DI resin ADDS TDS to the water - you will want to know if/when this happens)
- etc...

Do a little shopping and you'll see prices that vary by hundreds of dollars for essentially the same units with different labels.

When I bought my RO/DI I remember not being able to gather the criteria I should use to evaluate one system vs. another. I wish someone had told me:

1. Compare first on how many gpd the RO unit will produce. This is the primary constraint on water flow through your system.

2. Decide if you want a DI or not. With typical tap water, an RO might remove ~90% of the TDS - take your water down to ~10-20 ppm. If you want cleaner water, buy the DI too.

3. Get a unit with standard 10" housings, unless you've got a specific reason not to. It will be easier to get replacement filters, etc later.

4. Get a unit with a flush valve. You can add this later for nearly free if you'd like.

5. Get a unit with a needle valve to adjust the produced water:waste water ratio. You can add this later for nearly free if you'd like.

6. Get a unit that comes with a refillable resin cartridge so you can buy inexpensive resin when you need a refill later. You can buy a refillable cartridge by itself if it's more convenient.

7. Get a unit with clear housings - I like to be able to see my filters.

HTH, Blue

[smackwater]

unresitable blue,

any reason why you recommend 1 micron sediment filter.

I have always used point.5 micron. Which is what my spectrapure was shipped with. I run a 5 micron sediment infront of the r/o di also.


Back to the original subject soda pop, or was it drinking di water?

I just went though owners manual for the r/o di. Keep in mind that it is 4yrs old so some updates may have taken place. On page 7 under application it states-at the top of the list
household
(drinking water etc....)
carwashes
hospitals
restaurants
bottled water
the list goes on
shouldnt the manufacterers warned us of these horrible monsters?
I've been drinking and cooking with it for yrs. I dont feel like im having a cellular brake down? and to think I used it to make my home brew.
-smackwater

[Unresistible Blue]

Smack - the smaller the micon rating, the better the filter will protect your RO membrane. 1 micron has become somewhat of a standard trade off between price and quality for systems used in our application.

Relative to a 1 micron filter, the 0.5 micron filter will cost a little more, and will have a shorter useable life. You have a 5 micron prefilter in front of that to screen out the larger crud before it has a chance to plug the 1 mic filter. This set up addresses the "life of the filter" issue, but is more expensive all in all.

A duel filter setup like you have, regardless of whether the second filter is 1 micron or 0.5 micron is good if you have lots of crud in your water - the 5 micron prefilter is relatively cheap, is readily avaailable at places like HD/Lowes, and again, assuming the water is "dirty," will need to be replaced often.

UBlue