Anyone use a SpectraPure RO system?

BummersReef · Jun 3, 2016

AZDesertRat said:
It is not a ton of waste but it will be 3 to 4 times the amount of RO/DI you make. You probably send more down the drain from the toilet and a couple showers than it will produce in a months time. The drain recharges the groundwater supply so not a bad option really.
You could also run the waste line outside in warmer months and water the garden or landscape as long as you prop the end up so it cannot suck anything back in the line.

Something you need to keep in mind is it takes a minimum of 40 psi to operate a RO system and often domestic well systems are set to operate at around 35 psi. You may need a RO booster pump, which is much cheaper to operate thay trying to adjust your well systems pressure switch up. RO membranes become more efficient the higher the pressure is, I run my booster pump at 95-100 psi.

You guys/gals are SO HELPFUL it's crazy! we had a well guy out a few months ago and I will look up the paperwork, he should have the psi listed on that.

Naiad · Jun 3, 2016

BummersReef said:
our Internet is sooooo slow. But we have deer and turkey in the backyard all the time! Are you in the metro Detroit area? you have a lot of LFS over there!

Yes. I live in Waterford.

glassguy · Jun 3, 2016

Go Spectrapure, local company for me, great support. Have many systems from them and have been doing business with them for almost 20years!

CoralNerd · Jun 3, 2016

Make sure you get the 99% Rejection Membranes. They are the only way to go.

BummersReef · Jun 3, 2016

CoralNerd said:
Make sure you get the 99% Rejection Membranes. They are the only way to go.

What is that?? Oh I am a confused newbie but with the best intentions ... Truly. We are serious wanna be reefers. Not lame - responible reefers. We want to do this right! Too darn old and in full responsibility of the seriousness of what what we are undertaking

fab · Jun 4, 2016

My Spectrapure UHE operates at a 1:1 ratio, producing as much RODI water as is "wasted." As a result that particular unit does not produce the amount of waste that other RODI units do. My other 2 units are not UHE, ultra high efficiency, so they operate with more waste water production, a bit over 2:1, which is still pretty good.

When I lived in a rural area on well and septic systems, I collected the so-called grey water from RODI production in a reservoir from which I pumped it outside to water a vegetable garden. I did that separately from RODI production, using a regular pump inside the reservoir to pump it outside. Rarely was I shy on water for the plants. I did have some excess when it was actually freezing outside in winter.

I did have a booster pump to get my water pressure up to about 45-50 psi for the whole house so I did not have a low pressure problem as @AZDesertRat quite correctly cites.

CoralNerd · Jun 4, 2016

Here's a link that will help you with the 99% rejection membrane. I had a normal membrane and had to buy this one as the standard one didn't provide enough filtration for the water my city provides. These membranes are tested by the manufacturer. Link http://spectrapure.com/NEW-99-percent-rejection-SpectraSelect-Plus-Tested-90-GPD-RO-Membrane I hope it's ok to post this link.

fab · Jun 4, 2016

Another thing to reckon with is the recurring cost of operating RODI production. Calculate it for your water in terms of $ per gallon of RODI produced. The two dominating costs will be the cost of water that you input to your RODI system and the cost of the media you will use.

For a given water source with a known TDS level coming in at a known pressure and temperature, the media will process a predictable number of gallons of water and yield a predictable amount of 0 TDS RODI water. After that the media will be exhausted and have to be replaced. The calculations are easy ones. Likewise, for the same input pressure, temperature and TDS level, the RO membrane should last for a predictable number of gallons passed through it. Electricity costs will be between 0 and not much.

Spectrapure will help you figure these cost metrics for their various models. I would think that other manufacturer's of American made RODI systems would also help for their products.

BummersReef · Jun 4, 2016

this forum rocks. so many people willing to help with info and advice and well I just want to say a huge thank you. I read it all very carefully and I am learning SO much.

AZDesertRat · Jun 4, 2016

The 99% membrane is something only Spectrapure offers. It is a membrane that has been specially treated with a proprietary process the individually tested by hand and guaranteed to produce 99% rejection rate versus most membranes on the market that test out at 96-97% under the same conditions. Most vendors give you a dry, off the shelf untreated and untested membrane so you get what you get.

Spectrapure treats all of their RO membranes then either batch tests them as in most of their systems or hand tests them for the higher end systems or if you order that specific membrane which is only a few$$ more and more than worth it as it will return the cost in no time in DI savings. For every 2% you can increase the rejection rate you double your DI life. Those membranes that don't pass the 99% are used in other systems like hydroponics or drinking water where TDS is not as critical as reefkeeping.

Read their FAQ section at the bottom left of their web page and also read their educational and technical sections and watch some of their videos, they will help you a lot even if you already own a system.

BummersReef · Jun 5, 2016

Just checked our gauge ... It's says 42 psi which is passable from what I am hearing

AZDesertRat · Jun 5, 2016

40 is about bare minimum.

BummersReef · Jun 5, 2016

well we done bought it (with peace of mind thanks to all your input here). We got the higher end one (the basic one did not have the DI part) The one we got has a "tds meter" and "better" filters but it is still a manual flush. They didn't have an auto flush one. But it does have the 99% membrane and we checked the "freshness" date and the unit was manufactured in April so I think it's pretty fresh. Hubby is down there drilling and installing it now. Got two 32 gallon bin things to hold the water etc. TDS meter has 3 lines ... would it make sense to run one line in sump once we set that up?

AZDesertRat · Jun 5, 2016

No the TDS of saltwater in the sump is somewhere over 32,000. The inline TDS meter tops out at 999.
The 3 probe TDS meter should either be tap TDS, RO only TDS and final RO/DI TDS or if you have dual DI, RO only TDS, first DI TDS and final RO/DI TDS. I highly recommend a ATC temperature compensated handheld TDS meter like the HM Digital TDS4-TM as it is much more accurate than inlines and can test anywhere including your ATO storage and water change water. I let my inlines batteries die, never used them.

BummersReef · Jun 5, 2016

AZDesertRat said:
No the TDS of saltwater in the sump is somewhere over 32,000. The inline TDS meter tops out at 999.
The 3 probe TDS meter should either be tap TDS, RO only TDS and final RO/DI TDS or if you have dual DI, RO only TDS, first DI TDS and final RO/DI TDS. I highly recommend a ATC temperature compensated handheld TDS meter like the HM Digital TDS4-TM as it is much more accurate than inlines and can test anywhere including your ATO storage and water change water. I let my inlines batteries die, never used them.

ok ... duhhh ... I get it. I imagine the salt might up the TDS quite a bit!

Siasl · Jun 5, 2016

SpectraPure is the way to go. I have had the 90GpD 1:1 system (with the pump included) running for 4 years. TDS has been 0 for three states (NY, AZ, IL). Simple to plumb, simple to maintain, and this one is set and forget (and change filters about annually or less).