I May have made a mistake...

ZaneGreay · Apr 23, 2020

So I bought a An aquatic life twist RODI system. Unfortunately I have a well that has to be ran through a water softener and I seem to be burning through the Di Cartridge within 100g at 45psi. Does anyone have any ideas of what I can do to make more water? I thought buying an rodi system would make my life easier but it seems i was wrong lol. Right now I only have 48g of water needed but what am I going to do when I get my big tank set up? I cant afford to buy 70g of water from my lfs when everything opens up and ordering replacement cartridges right now is almost impossible. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated

Aquavaj · Apr 23, 2020

I think a booster pump will help. Higher water pressures will give better rejection rates and thus reduce DI consumption.

jerrod · Apr 23, 2020

Without knowing your plumbing all I can suggest is you could try to tie in your RODI unit before the water softener.

Fred2482 · Apr 23, 2020

+1 on booster pump.

Phil D. · Apr 23, 2020

+1 on before softener. The softener adds salt to the water thus giving you higher TDS

jerrod · Apr 23, 2020

Now as I'm thinking more about it I think its case by case. Technically the softener could remove some particulates in the water and therefore save life on the cartridges the only down side is if there are any chemicals in the salt or potassium used for the softener that could be adding to it and depleting the deionization cartridge. If I'm far off here please let me know.

ZaneGreay · Apr 23, 2020

unfortunately I have iron in my well, so if I was to put it before the softener it would be filled with iron in no time. I change my water filter for the house once a month with a 5 micron filter. I want to get a booster pump but I dont make alot of money to begin with and with all this bs going on Im making even less. so I was hoping I could try other things that wont cost me money ;Dead

DungSl1nger · Apr 23, 2020

As far as pressure, boost pump. My house water pressure was 42 psi and it took a long time to fill half a 44 gallon brute. I don't know what you would pay for 70 gallons of water but 14 boxes of the five gallon Imagitarium Pacific Ocean Water comes out to $156 which is just over the cost of a plug and play booster pump kit.

jerrod · Apr 23, 2020

I’m not a plumber or engineer but generally speaking if you continuously reduce the piping supply you can increase pressure to the unit. It might be cheaper than a booster pump but don’t know if the juice is worth the squeeze compared to a booster pump.

vetteguy53081 · Apr 23, 2020

I have a well system and after using a booster pump - all is good.

ZaneGreay · Apr 23, 2020

vetteguy53081 said:
I have a well system and after using a booster pump - all is good.

what booster pump are you using?

lapin · Apr 23, 2020

Howdy

This is not going to make your day, however there are solutions.

With well water you can have a few issues as you know.
Sediment is one of them. Adding an additional sediment filter canister is usually what people do.
Your unit is made to be compact and does not take the std filters and canisters a unit like bulk reef supply sells. You could add another canister if needed.
To make more water, with the BRS unit, you can change out the 100gpd RO membrane for a 150gpd one. This would increase the volume in the same amount of time. I dont see where aquartic life has a 150 or 200 gpd option
RO membranes work best at around 80 psi. I have rain water (used to have well water) and my whole house pump was giving me about 50 psi after all 5 house filters. I got very low water output from my rodi unit. After ading the booster pump my water output doubled. I think for more volume of water output in a shorter amount of time, this is your best option.

1/4" 8800 Booster Pump Kit

Boost Your RO/DI System's Performance Solves Low Pressure Problems: Ideal for RO/DI systems needing a pressure increase. Complete Solution: Includes all necessary components for a quick setup. Enhanced Efficiency: Improves waste water ratio and membrane performance. Noise-Reducing Design...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

Another issue that is common is Co2. Co2 will cause you to burn thru resin very fast. If Co2 is the problem then you will need to de-gas the water before it goes thru the resin.
info on this: see post number 2 thru 4

CO2 and DI Resin, Mixed, Cation or Anion?

Hi, this topic is an open and shut case so I apologize, I just cannot find info on this question. Recently moved to a new state and the DI resin is being used quite quickly, I am assuming from CO2 in the water. Well water, so no chlorine which made me happy but I wasnt aware of the effect CO2...

www.reef2reef.com

I wish I could provide a better solution but know that you are not the only one with this issue. Maybe someone has figured something out that im unaware of. If you do find something, post it up here so I will know.

vetteguy53081 · Apr 23, 2020

ZaneGreay said:
what booster pump are you using?

Smart Buddy Booster pump

ZaneGreay · Apr 23, 2020

*** I dont have that kind of money to spare right now. I am 100% regretting getting this rodi system and trying to save space. I wish I would have saved and gone with the 7 stage brs 75g like I wanted to but thought this would be good since it have more gpd. I didnt realize 45 pressure was bad since most of them say it should be ok. ugh

lapin · Apr 23, 2020

If you only have to make 10% to 15% per week for your 32 its not so bad .

Alarmguy66 · Apr 23, 2020

Before you give up let me give you another option.

I am also on a well, for the last 20 years a resin refill was necessary after every 55 gallons. No booster pump in the setup, I run the pressure tank from 34(low) to 50(Hi). Just a couple months ago I decided to try harder. I separated the DI cartridge from the rest of the RO system. I ran the RO directly into a 55 gallon drum and let it sit with some random periods of aeration for 24 hours. The I used an ATO lift pump to pump out of the RO drum , through the DI cartridge and into a second drum. I filled the second drum and didnt see more than 3/4" of color change at the bottom of the cartridge. Apparently the CO2 in my well water was eating up the resin. Then I kicked myself for not trying it sooner.

I cant say you will have the same success, but its worth a try.

nkyreef · Apr 23, 2020

I only had 45 psi into my rodi until I added a booster pump. Now my pressure sits at 75 psi. I never have timed it to see how fast I can make water now. However my DI lasts a whole lot longer than when I had no booster. I also have a better TDS reading after the membrane.

ZaneGreay · Apr 23, 2020

Alarmguy66 said:
Before you give up let me give you another option.

I am also on a well, for the last 20 years a resin refill was necessary after every 55 gallons. No booster pump in the setup, I run the pressure tank from 34(low) to 50(Hi). Just a couple months ago I decided to try harder. I separated the DI cartridge from the rest of the RO system. I ran the RO directly into a 55 gallon drum and let it sit with some random periods of aeration for 24 hours. The I used an ATO lift pump to pump out of the RO drum , through the DI cartridge and into a second drum. I filled the second drum and didnt see more than 3/4" of color change at the bottom of the cartridge. Apparently the CO2 in my well water was eating up the resin. Then I kicked myself for not trying it sooner.

I cant say you will have the same success, but its worth a try.

only problem is that I cant do that with the rodi unit I have. Or atleast not without modding it and possible risking it

DungSl1nger · Apr 23, 2020

ZaneGreay said:
*** I dont have that kind of money to spare right now. I am 100% regretting getting this rodi system and trying to save space. I wish I would have saved and gone with the 7 stage brs 75g like I wanted to but thought this would be good since it have more gpd. I didnt realize 45 pressure was bad since most of them say it should be ok. ugh

I did buy the 7 stage kit, but the weak link was house water pressure. The next payday I bought the booster pump, then the water saver upgrade. I would suggest if you can scrape some cash together and buy the pump. Itwill help with the current RODI and when you can upgrade the RODI to the 7 stage. Even with the 7 stage you have to have 60 psi.

Edit: 65 to 80 psi

ZaneGreay · Apr 23, 2020

DungSl1nger said:
I did buy the 7 stage kit, but the weak link was house water pressure. The next payday I bought the booster pump, then the water saver upgrade. I would suggest if you can scrape some cash together and buy the pump. Itwill help with the current RODI and when you can upgrade the RODI to the 7 stage. Even with the 7 stage you have to have 60 psi.

Idk when thats going to be unless the world decides to go back to normal soon! because I am barley making mortage and had to get a second job just to do that.