I'm burning through DI resin

[Dmsick]

I have a BRS 5 stage 150 GPD RODI to which I've added a second DI canister. I have a well. I'm getting 17 TDS straight from the tap. I've put about 100-150 gallons through my system since refilling both DI canisters and the first one is already spent (color is changed and seeing 4 TDS after the canister). I added the Spectrapure Maxcap Silica Buster duo based on a thread I read here. I can't tell that it helped much. I may be getting a little more life from DI resin after adding but I'm not sure.
Can anyone help me?

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

Ahh. You may be having an issue with high co2 and well water.

#reefsquad , anyone have a good article on this?

 

[Crabs McJones]

When was the last time you changed out your prefilters? I notice with mine that when my prefilters (sediment and two carbon blocks) need to be changed I start burning through di very quickly.

 

[kschweer]

Ahh. You may be having an issue with high co2 and well water.

#reefsquad , anyone have a good article on this?

If on well water I would guess the same. Easiest solution is to run water through all stages but di and then aerate it with an air pump and stone to drive out co2 before pumping through your di stage.

 

[ndrwater]

I'm with @saltyfilmfolks on this one. High co2 can burn through DI resin like crazy. I think I remember seeing a BRS video where they ran an airstone through RO water BEFORE passing it through the DI resin greatly increasing the life of the resin

 

[Velcro]

Probably co2. Take some RO water (before DI) and measure pH. Then aerate the heck out of that sample for an hour and check pH again. If pH goes up you're dealing with co2. You'll have to set up a holding tank after RO but before DI and aerate it a good 24 hours before pumping it through the DI. I have mine setup so the RO holding tank is a few feet above the ground then I gravity feed the DI.

 

[Retro Reefer]

With a 150 GPD Membrane you need to make sure your pressure is at least 65-75 psi or you will get poor rejection rates.. lower GPD membranes require less pressure.

 

[KrisReef]

I have a BRS 5 stage 150 GPD RODI to which I've added a second DI canister. I have a well. I'm getting 17 TDS straight from the tap. I've put about 100-150 gallons through my system since refilling both DI canisters and the first one is already spent (color is changed and seeing 4 TDS after the canister). I added the Spectrapure Maxcap Silica Buster duo based on a thread I read here. I can't tell that it helped much. I may be getting a little more life from DI resin after adding but I'm not sure.
Can anyone help me?

If I had your low TDS, I think I would send my tap water to Triton to see what else was in the water. Our tap here is ~600TDS. If all you have is carbonate hardness it might not make sense to treat your water at all, except to maybe strip out the CO2?

 

[jsker]

With a 150 GPD Membrane you need to make sure your pressure is at least 65-75 psi or you will get poor rejection rates.. lower GPD membranes require less pressure.

+1 here, I was thinking the same

 

[Dmsick]

Thank you all for the responses. @Crabs Mcjones, I haven't changed the prefilters but I probably have at most 500 gallons through them. I did replace the 2 carbon blocks with the spectrapure silica buster as noted above but again, I'm not sure it made a difference. I'll do the pH test tomorrow. @Velcro @kschweer @ndrwater @saltyfilmfolks I'm pretty sure you guys are right and it's a CO2 issue. The pH from the tap is pretty low.
@KrisReef I've actually considered not processing the water. I ran a discus tank for 10 years with water straight from our tap. The lower pH was perfect for them.
@Retro Reefer I do run a booster pump which gets me to 60 psi. I may need to look into a more powerful unit.

 

[Dmsick]

+1 here, I was thinking the same

Will that impact the TDS I'm seeing?

 

[jsker]

Will that impact the TDS I'm seeing?

Yes, with the higher pressure your RO membrane works more efficiently filtering but not to exceed 90 lbs. As @Retro Reefer stated 65 to 75 is a good place to operate the pressure for a system. I used to be at 45 lbs and I would burn through DI pretty quickly with 4 to TDS coming out. Now I am at zero even after a year.

 

[Dmsick]

Yes, with the higher pressure your RO membrane works more efficiently filtering but not to exceed 90 lbs. As @Retro Reefer stated 65 to 75 is a good place to operate the pressure for a system. I used to be at 45 lbs and I would burn through DI pretty quickly with 4 to TDS coming out. Now I am at zero even after a year.

Thanks. That's helpful. I guess I need to look for a bigger pump.

 

[scardall]

DI Resin will be exhausted quicker by Chlorimines. Add a canister before resin of ( catalytic Carbon). I use to have the same issue years ago. I use the granular version of CatCar in the same type of container I use for my resin. @Dmsick

 

[Dmsick]

DI Resin will be exhausted quicker by Chlorimines. Add a canister before resin of ( catalytic Carbon). I use to have the same issue years ago. I use the granular version of CatCar in the same type of container I use for my resin. @Dmsick

Thanks. That’s interesting. Did you have chloamines in your well? I thought they were usually added as part of the purification process in municipal water supplies

 

[Amoo]

Take a water sample to the local Ag extension and get a test of your water. I'm on a well and along with pH have basically nothing in my water except a TON of silica (along with super low pH). Letting that through would have been a nightmare.

FWIW I rune 5 Micron, 1 Micron, Carbon (just because), dual membrane, 1 Anion Resin, 1 Mixed bed Resin

 

[scardall]

Thanks. That’s interesting. Did you have chloamines in your well? I thought they were usually added as part of the purification process in municipal water supplies

You are correct, but I was thinking you may be treating your well water. If not, you could contact a supplier of DI resin and ask them. I also Ask google " What causes DI resin to exhaust quicker when using well water? " Ask BRS (bulk reef supply) They helped me. ( I do have a well, but now use it for sprinkler system) Good Luck!

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

https://www.aquaticlife.com/blog/how-co2-can-impact-di-resin-consumption/

Perhaps we could ask @Randy Holmes-Farley about the common fixes.

Edit also found one of azdesertrats
Post
https://www.thereeftank.com/forums/...-well-water-225980.html#/topics/225980?page=1
It’s a well documented problem.

 

[saltyhog]

I would think it has to be CO2. With a TDS before any filtration of 17, I can't think of anything else that would burn through resin.

My tap water (municipal water system) is 37 and my DI lasts a long, long time. My RO membrane is 6 years old and still producing 0-1 TDS (before it goes to DI).

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

I would think it has to be CO2. With a TDS before any filtration of 17, I can't think of anything else that would burn through resin.

My tap water (municipal water system) is 37 and my DI lasts a long, long time. My RO membrane is 6 years old and still producing 0-1 TDS (before it goes to DI).

Mine is 400+ on city water.