Extremely High DI usage

[Davy Jones]

Looking for help on fixing my DI usage issue. I run the BRS RODI, with the following: 1 Sediment filter- 2 carbon blocks - 2 RO membranes - 2 Mixed bed DI chambers and a booster pump.

On top of that, I have a Springwell whole home water filter, and water softener system. Which has a large carbon block, prefilter and then the water softener. My RODI is hooked up AFTER these items.

My inline TDS meter shows 2 TDS going into the first DI canister and 0 coming out, however, BOTH canisters are exhausted in 80-120 gallons or so of clean water. (not each, but combined total of 80-120 gallons)

Sediment filter was just replaced before this, and carbon blocks are less than 6 months old. RO membranes are about 1-1.5 years at max.

What can I do here? I am looking for any and all suggestions.

TIA

 

[2Wheelsonly]

What's the pressure? I have a home water softener and my pressure isn't great. I use a booster pump to increase my pressure into my unit and all my problems went away... (I was going through DI like crazy with the lower pressure)

You want to target around 80-100 psi for these things.

 

[Davy Jones]

What's the pressure? I have a home water softener and my pressure isn't great. I use a booster pump to increase my pressure into my unit and all my problems went away... (I was going through DI like crazy with the lower pressure)

You want to target around 80-100 psi for these things.

I picked up a booster pump due to low pressure months ago, I push about 85-90 psi through the unit. I love the increased water output, but my DI still lasts almost nothing

 

[Mical]

I had similar situation my TDS from tap is almost 400+. Through sediment filter, 1m carbon block then dual membranes into separate cation, anion & mixed bed resins and TDS is 0 (after dual membranes TDS is 4) I run a booster pump at 90psi.

We have city treated well water and I was "cooking through mixed bed resins monthly. Even running dual mixed bed resin I was still going through alot. When I switch to cation, anion & mixed bed - I get almost 4 mos out of anion and have yet to change out cation or dual bed resins since the change over and that was April 2020

 

[Davy Jones]

I had similar situation my TDS from tap is almost 400+. Through sediment filter, 1m carbon block then dual membranes into separate cation, anion & mixed bed resins and TDS is 0 (after dual membranes TDS is 4) I run a booster pump at 90psi.

We have city treated well water and I was "cooking through mixed bed resins monthly. Even running dual mixed bed resin I was still going through alot. When I switch to cation, anion & mixed bed - I get almost 4 mos out of anion and have yet to change out cation or dual bed resins since the change over and that was April 2020

Thank you, I will give the pro series resin a try this go around. I originally messaged BRS asking if this would change my usage and they said if it is c02 related, it would still burn through it

 

[Saltyreef]

Thank you, I will give the pro series resin a try this go around. I originally messaged BRS asking if this would change my usage and they said if it is c02 related, it would still burn through it

Have you tried airating the water due to c02?
I airate in a 20gallon brute for 24 to 48h prior to running through the DI and i dont have anymore resin issues.

 

[Brew12]

You might have better results putting your unit before your water softener. I think it is likely that the the chloride ions from your water softener are what is burning out your DI resin.

 

[Sweet Reef Corals]

You might have better results putting your unit before your water softener. I think it is likely that the the chloride ions from your water softener are what is burning out your DI resin.

Hey there, can you elaborate on this? A friend and I both are having issues with burning thru DI resin. I run 2 mixed bed resins and I get about 80-100g of water out of 1 cartridge. He is running an anion/cation/mixed setup and is only getting 50g of water out of a cartridge (I don’t know which is depleting quickly).
I DO have a whole house water softener and my RODI is behind it. I have the ability to bypass it and run straight city water but I’d just like to know more about why you think the softener might be the issue, if you don’t mind. Thanks!

 

[Brew12]

Hey there, can you elaborate on this? A friend and I both are having issues with burning thru DI resin. I run 2 mixed bed resins and I get about 80-100g of water out of 1 cartridge. He is running an anion/cation/mixed setup and is only getting 50g of water out of a cartridge (I don’t know which is depleting quickly).
I DO have a whole house water softener and my RODI is behind it. I have the ability to bypass it and run straight city water but I’d just like to know more about why you think the softener might be the issue, if you don’t mind. Thanks!

Most of the stuff in city water is rejected by the RO filter. Most water softeners do an ion exchange using salt (chlorides) which are not efficiently removed by an RO filter. This leaves your DI resin to do the work of removing the elevated chlorides.
At least, that is my best understanding of how this works.

 

[Sweet Reef Corals]

Most of the stuff in city water is rejected by the RO filter. Most water softeners do an ion exchange using salt (chlorides) which are not efficiently removed by an RO filter. This leaves your DI resin to do the work of removing the elevated chlorides.

At least, that is my best understanding of how this works.

Thanks, I may look to re-route it if I can’t figure out another potential cause.
How many gallons do you get out of a standard DI resin?

 

[Saltyreef]

Have you tested for c02?

 

[Brew12]

Most of the stuff in city water is rejected by the RO filter. Most water softeners do an ion exchange using salt (chlorides) which are not efficiently removed by an RO filter. This leaves your DI resin to do the work of removing the elevated chlorides.

Thanks, I may look to re-route it if I can’t figure out another potential cause.
How many gallons do you get out of a standard DI resin?

I'm guessing around 700 gallons but I can't say I track it too closely.

 

[Sweet Reef Corals]

I'm guessing around 700 gallons but I can't say I track it too closely.

Wow!! Then there is definitely something wrong with my setup. Thanks for the info!

 

[Kal93]

We added a second carbon filter to try to get some extra life from our resin (our water's TDS is ~450). You could also try purchasing anion and cation resin separately (if you have 2 canisters) to see which is depleted first.

 

[Brew12]

Wow!! Then there is definitely something wrong with my setup. Thanks for the info!

A fairly easy check would be to connect your RODI system to an outdoor faucet since that water shouldn't be softened. Fairly inexpensive to get one of these and some extra tubing.
Mur-lok Garden Hose/Utility Sink Adapter - Bulk Reef Supply

 

[Sweet Reef Corals]

We added a second carbon filter to try to get some extra life from our resin (our water's TDS is ~450). You could also try purchasing anion and cation resin separately (if you have 2 canisters) to see which is depleted first.

What happened after you added the extra carbon? Did it save in the DI resin?

 

[Joedubyk]

We added a second carbon filter to try to get some extra life from our resin (our water's TDS is ~450). You could also try purchasing anion and cation resin separately (if you have 2 canisters) to see which is depleted first.

That's a good idea . Try using anion/cation in separate containers. if one gets exhausted right away you can just use a lot more of that particular resin.

 

[Sweet Reef Corals]

A fairly easy check would be to connect your RODI system to an outdoor faucet since that water shouldn't be softened. Fairly inexpensive to get one of these and some extra tubing.
Mur-lok Garden Hose/Utility Sink Adapter - Bulk Reef Supply

Thanks. My RODI is mounted pretty close to my outside shut off valves for the spigots. So it shouldnt be too difficult.

My buddy is running a CO2 experiment on his setup now. He is going thru a crazy amount of the anion resin. Even though we are on different municipal water sources, I want to see what he comes up with before I start making changes. We are only 5 minutes from each other.

 

[Saltyreef]

Thanks. My RODI is mounted pretty close to my outside shut off valves for the spigots. So it shouldnt be too difficult.

My buddy is running a CO2 experiment on his setup now. He is going thru a crazy amount of the anion resin. Even though we are on different municipal water sources, I want to see what he comes up with before I start making changes. We are only 5 minutes from each other.

Carbon Dioxide Test Kit - TK-CO2-01

Carbon Dioxide Test Kit - TK-CO2-01

spectrapure.com

I tried lots of expensive things before buying the $20 test kit lol.
Ended up extending my DI life by 5x by simply running RO into a brute can to airate overnight then pumping it through the DIs the next day.

 

[littlebeard]

Carbon Dioxide Test Kit - TK-CO2-01

Carbon Dioxide Test Kit - TK-CO2-01

spectrapure.com

I tried lots of expensive things before buying the $20 test kit lol.
Ended up extending my DI life by 5x by simply running RO into a brute can to airate overnight then pumping it through the DIs the next day.

What pump do you use to pump the aerated water through the DI resin?