New to RO, need some advice

[Phoenix301]

Hello all,

I actually have freshwater tanks, but before I even knew what TDS was I knew my water was very hard and the pH is slightly high. Always buying distilled water for upkeep got expensive and I tended to use tap for evaporation top offs instead of going to the store. I started loosing more and more fish and a basic test strip showed my aquarium pH at 8 - 9 and hardness of 300+. I decided it was time to be more serious about the water parameters. So, in leu of buying more and more distilled water to start improving the water, I researched filtration and decided on RO. I bought the RO Buddie because RO is new for me and it was inexpensive. The unit has sediment, carbon, and the membrane filtration but no DI. I bought a TDS meter and found out the TDS in my well water is ridiculous at 400 - 500ppm (but clear of nitrates). So here is my dilemma. At first the RO water was averaging 0 - 3 ppm TDS but it is quickly rising with each use and is now at 9 or 10 ppm. Ive only used the unit a handful of times and run maybe 50 - 70 gallons total through it. So as someone new to RO, does this mean the membrane is already failing? Is the high tap TDS causing it or is there something else I should be testing?

 

[pugcrush]

Hello all,

I actually have freshwater tanks, but before I even knew what TDS was I knew my water was very hard and the pH is slightly high. Always buying distilled water for upkeep got expensive and I tended to use tap for evaporation top offs instead of going to the store. I started loosing more and more fish and a basic test strip showed my aquarium pH at 8 - 9 and hardness of 300+. I decided it was time to be more serious about the water parameters. So, in leu of buying more and more distilled water to start improving the water, I researched filtration and decided on RO. I bought the RO Buddie because RO is new for me and it was inexpensive. The unit has sediment, carbon, and the membrane filtration but no DI. I bought a TDS meter and found out the TDS in my well water is ridiculous at 400 - 500ppm (but clear of nitrates). So here is my dilemma. At first the RO water was averaging 0 - 3 ppm TDS but it is quickly rising with each use and is now at 9 or 10 ppm. Ive only used the unit a handful of times and run maybe 50 - 70 gallons total through it. So as someone new to RO, does this mean the membrane is already failing? Is the high tap TDS causing it or is there something else I should be testing?

I'm not too familiar with the RO buddy but have heard of it. Do a search on TDS creep. Since it's a cheaper model, it probably doesn't have the flush valve. If it doesn't have one, see if you can install one on there. Cheap add on if you can.

 

[Supurderek]

And buy the DI separate.

 

[Phoenix301]

Looked up TDS creep, and it sounds like that could be it. Next time i will try testing TDS after it runs for awhile. I usually run it for a few hours or so. As far as DI, Im not too worried about a little TDS getting through for a freshwater tank. I just dont want to have to keep buying RO membranes if it is going to fail so quickly. Ill try testing after giving it some time and see if it still puts out 10ppm.