RO Advice

ArowanaLover1902 · Aug 17, 2018

I used to make my own RO, but I had to stop given that my waste was so high it wasn't feasible to run (we have well water and it would empty the well). I can't remember what brand I had (some knock off Chinese garbage), but it put out a couple drops per hour (it could make about 5 gallons per 12 hours, even though it said 175 gallons per day). Is that a standard thing? I paid $150 for it at the time (1 year ago). I'm moving in a few days and won't be able to go to an LFS to buy water, so an RO device has become necessary again. I'm thinking an RO buddy? Any recommendations? I need one that:
- is around or under $100
- produces reasonable waste (hopefully around 1:1 ratio)
- is reliable with little upkeep cost

Robert McCreary · Aug 17, 2018

maybe this its a new update from the ro/buddie
https://www.amazon.com/Aquatic-Life...=UTF8&qid=1534561389&sr=8-10&keywords=ro+unit

Robert McCreary · Aug 17, 2018

most of the better ones ive seen are $150-200

your psi for any ro unit should be within 45-65 psi if its not then you will always have the issue of not producing good flow

Electricianreefer · Aug 17, 2018

ArowanaLover1902 said:
I used to make my own RO, but I had to stop given that my waste was so high it wasn't feasible to run (we have well water and it would empty the well). I can't remember what brand I had (some knock off Chinese garbage), but it put out a couple drops per hour (it could make about 5 gallons per 12 hours, even though it said 175 gallons per day). Is that a standard thing? I paid $150 for it at the time (1 year ago). I'm moving in a few days and won't be able to go to an LFS to buy water, so an RO device has become necessary again. I'm thinking an RO buddy? Any recommendations? I need one that:
- is around or under $100
- produces reasonable waste (hopefully around 1:1 ratio)
- is reliable with little upkeep cost

I have the RO Buddie. I have only used it about 5 times since I purchased it. So far it's done what I asked. Makes 5 gallons for me in about 45 minutes . Waste is about a 1 to 1 ratio and I too am well water supply.

Robert McCreary · Aug 17, 2018

Electricianreefer said:
I have the RO Buddie. I have only used it about 5 times since I purchased it. So far it's done what I asked. Makes 5 gallons for me in about 45 minutes . Waste is about a 1 to 1 ratio and I too am well water supply.

does the di get exhausted quickly for you? thats the issue i have and i am wanting to replace it with the one i linked or the brs one

Electricianreefer · Aug 17, 2018

Robert McCreary said:
does the di get exhausted quickly for you? thats the issue i have and i am wanting to replace it with the one i linked or the brs one

After 5 times used I think that's going to be the case. It looks about 35% done already.

Robert McCreary · Aug 17, 2018

its BS aint it?

Electricianreefer · Aug 17, 2018

Robert McCreary said:
its crap aint it?

It may turn out to be. So far it does what I need it to do, but I'm only supporting a 28 Gallon tank with it. If that DI filter is exhausted in a few more uses I'll be thumbs down.

Water Dog · Aug 18, 2018

Rapid exhaustion of DI resin is a common theme for those on well water. Because you’re using well water, it will be very high in CO2. Excess CO2 will exhaust your DI resin very quickly. If you can, store the water produced by the RO membrane in a brute trash can. Let it sit for a day with an air stone so it can degass all the CO2. Then get a small pump and run the water through the DI canister. You will get 0 TDS water and will vastly prolong the life of your DI resin.

User · Aug 18, 2018

Water Dog said:
Rapid exhaustion of DI resin is a common theme for those on well water. Because you’re using well water, it will be very high in CO2. Excess CO2 will exhaust your DI resin very quickly. If you can, store the water produced by the RO membrane in a brute trash can. Let it sit for a day with an air stone so it can degass all the CO2. Then get a small pump and run the water through the DI canister. You will get 0 TDS water and will vastly prolong the life of your DI resin.

This^^

The RO buddy isn’t to blame- it’s the CO2 content of the well water. If you do as described, and remove the CO2 before doing DI, you’ll get probably 10x linger life out of your DI

ArowanaLover1902 · Aug 18, 2018

Thanks for the help and the tips. I'll be purchasing an RO buddy which sounds perfect for me and my budget

Robert McCreary · Aug 18, 2018

neilp2006 said:
Water Dog said:

Rapid exhaustion of DI resin is a common theme for those on well water. Because you’re using well water, it will be very high in CO2. Excess CO2 will exhaust your DI resin very quickly. If you can, store the water produced by the RO membrane in a brute trash can. Let it sit for a day with an air stone so it can degass all the CO2. Then get a small pump and run the water through the DI canister. You will get 0 TDS water and will vastly prolong the life of your DI resin.

Click to expand...

yup its the Co2. thanks for bringing it up, i spent some extra $$ for the di resin and it never had a warning about well water and Co2 so i got kinda upset when i noticed it was all exhausted. all i need is 35 psi max for the di so having a equalization container and pump wont be to hard or expensive in the long run. maybe ill end up buying 2 50 gallon barrels and call it good. though i have noticed a contraption where you supply air to the inlet pipe and have a condenser before entering the ro setup but i think you need a booster pump or something.