RO/DI what brand do you prefer?

tripleridge · Aug 1, 2015

The Filter guys?
BRS?
Spectrapure?
Coralife Pure Flo?
Aqua FX Barracuda?

Wondering about the best deal after the original purchase? Replacement filters, shipping etc?

Thanks tripleridge, ( Ed)

Fishninja · Aug 1, 2015

I personally love my BRS but I have heard good things about the Aqua FX too.

AZDesertRat · Aug 1, 2015

Spectrapure hands down. No other vendor specially treats all their membranes proven to improve their performance then either batch or individually hand tests them and in some series offers a written performance guarantee. No other vendor custom blends every ounce of their own DI resins in house so they are the highest quality, designed for specific needs and only the freshest. Most last at least 30% longer than comparable resins on the market if not longer. They are one of only a few to use only low micron absolute or near absolute rated sediment filters that actually protect the pores in the low micron carbon block so it can do its job of removing chlorine and break the bond with chloramines if you have them and only need one carbon to do so. They are also one of only a few to use the much better capillary tube flow restrictors so you can fine tune your waste ratio to fit your exact unique water conditions versus the fixed type that may or may not even be ballpark close. They have been doing RO/DI pretty much exclusively for over 25 years in the same US city so are one of the oldest most trusted names in the industry. Read their FAQ section on their website to see what makes them so different and why that saves you money from day one.
Having owned 6 RO/DI systems personally I can tell you the good, bad and ugly about all of them and would never consider another vendor today.

bayoupr · Aug 1, 2015

I like and use the BRS 5 stage RO/DI system. Never had an issue with maintaining Zero TDS using their filters or membranes.

AZDesertRat · Aug 2, 2015

The difference in systems is how long they will maintain that 0 TDS. Spectrapure excels in that meaning it saves you money in replacements and pays for itself much quicker than others.
My biggest issue with BRS is thye use a very coarse 5 micron sediment filter which does not protect the pores in the carbon block well so it fouls and does not adsorb chlorine. Something you may not realize is you can see 40 microns with the unaided human eye so how much protection do you thing a 5 micron filter provides versus a 1 micron or 0.5 micron sediment filter? Things like this really make a difference and is why Spectrapure has been the number one RO/DI vendor for decades.

joeyhatch11 · Aug 2, 2015

Spectrapure Refurb. You can not beat the price and quality you are getting from them.

jeffp1 · Aug 2, 2015

I have had an Aqua-FX Barracuda for 17 years and still going strong.

Waters · Aug 2, 2015

I also use the BRS 5 stage......I have had 0 issues with it.

143MPCo · Aug 3, 2015

3 BRS units... 1 going on 6yrs, one 3yrs, and the other is less than a yr old... never had any issues, I have recently changed over to a 1-micron GE ROSave.Z Depth Sediment Filter and sense changing the sediment filter has lasted me as long as the older coarser 5 micron BRS sediment filter for the same amount of sediment coming from my MDC CT water supply lines. That of course is and will be different from municipalities, and no way of knowing if your water is cleaner or not. The change to a true "Depth" filter has also extended my carbon blocks life and saved me more money longer term.

NanaReefer · Aug 3, 2015

I've had great experiences with TheFilterGuys. Been running their 4 stage unit for 5yrs now, excellent results. Great customer service, easy to talk with.

pciscott · Aug 3, 2015

The units are all very similar but the cartridges are what cleans the water and I have found certain filters to work better for me, I also added a stage with parts from BRS to have 2 Carbon blocks after watching their video on Chloromines. This combination of filters I change out every 3 months, but I go through about 200 gallons per week of Zero TDS water. I also have my resovoir set up with Tunze RODI controller so it only turns on when my reservoir is down 50 gallons to reduce TDS start up creep from wasting my DI and this is why you should never run your RODI directly into your tank without a reservoir. I get my Spectrapure filters from MD when they have sales, membrane came from Spectrapure directly and all the parts to add on, Carbon, and pre filters come from BRS. The filter choice is what makes a great system as most of the manufacturers are using similar parts. I use the waste water to top off my pool.

The Membrane is the heart of the system and you should be getting low TDS coming out of membrane or you will kill the DI
I run the Spectrapure 99% membrane and this is the workhorse of the system, my membrane is over a year old and yet I have 4 TDS out of membrane going into DI.
http://spectrapure.com/NEW-99-percent-rejection-SpectraSelect-Plus-Tested-90-GPD-RO-Membrane

I run 2 DI cartriges also from Spectrapure 1st the MaxCap Super DI then the Silica Buster Super DI color changing. These are not refillable, but they are larger and last longer.
http://spectrapure.com/FILTERS-MEMB...GES-RESIN/MaxCap-DI-Cartridge-SuperDI-10-inch
http://spectrapure.com/FILTERS-MEMB...DI-Cartridge-Color-Indicating-SuperDI-10-inch

This is very important to add second carbon if your water company uses Chloromines!
I have run the Chloroplus 10 Chloromine filter, but recently changed to Bulk Reef Supply Universal Carbon Block X 2, run in series these keep chloromines out of my water.
. http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/brs-universal-carbon-block-filter-1-micron.html

I run the GE Rosave Z prefilter from BRS, I run the 1 micron version.
http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/ge-rosave-z-depth-sediment-filter.html

If you have low water pressure anything below 60psi you should run a booster pump, low pressure does not allow membrane to function properly and it will not be able to reject 99%.

Reef_a_holiks · Aug 3, 2015

Ive been using purewaterclub 6 stage R.O system for about 2 years now, been very satisfied with the product, zero issues so far. 0 TDS every time. cheapest R.O system I found back when I was shopping for one. cheap but works. Definitely recommend.

AZDesertRat · Aug 4, 2015

Read the FAQ on Spectrapure, it will open your eyes. I have posted the differences hundreds of times and there really is a difference. Chloramine carbons are awaste of money and the video was flawed. Any 1 micron or smallr carbon block is more than capable of removing the free chlorine portion of chloramines in drinking water and breaking the bond with the ammonia. Carbon does not remove chloramines, only the chlorine portion, it is much much more important to have good DI will plenty of contact time to remove the ammonia the membrane misses. There are good articles on this all over the web.

sgresham · Aug 4, 2015

I actually have the new IceCap unit, and it works perfectly for me. It's not cheap, but it comes with quite a few intelligent features, and it makes WAY more than 100 gpd with the booster pump. I made about 220 gallons in just a bit over 1.5 days with this unit.

DaveMorris · Aug 4, 2015

I have one of the units that Marc Levinson sells. I'm not sure where they are actually made, but I get great quality water from it and the support for new filters and resin is great. I have zero complaints and would buy from MelevsReef again if I needed another.

ReefMadScientist · Aug 4, 2015

I picked up a BRS 6 stage deluxe on eBay for dirt cheap. Took it to the guys at Spectrapure and they gave me a new membrane, high volume...resistor...., etc. But I still get my replacements from BRS since its easier.

Opus · Aug 4, 2015

From all the replies, hopefully you have picked up on the fact that the filters/membrane are the important parts. Just because someone is getting zero tds from their unit doesn't necessarily make it better than another. I've been using my Kent Marine RO unit for over 20 years, but I wouldn't recommend them to anyone. I've switched over to good filters and that is what counts. Heck, you could just run your water thru DI and get zero tds but you would go thru di like crazy. Think of it this way. I'm using 200 tds tap water since I don't know the amount of yours.

DI usage is tds divided by 17.1 equals your DI grain usage. The average cartridge is 260 grains so divide that by the grain usage to get the estimated gallons the DI cartridge will process before depleted. So if your tap tds is 200 and lets say the non-spectrapure membrane has a rejection rate of 96%. That means your tds after the ro is 8. Based on the formula above, you would get around 555 gallons of zero tds water before you had to change the DI media. Now if you were using the spectrapure which has a 99% rejection rate, your tds would be 2 after the ro and you would get around 2,223 gallons of zero tds water before you needed to change the di media. At around $12 a refill if not buying in bulk, you can see the savings in DI costs.

Basically, you want a good prefilter and carbon block because these protect the membrane from larger particles in the water that can shorten the life of the membrane. You then want a good membrane with a high rejection rate since that saves your DI. This is all based on financial considerations. All those on your list will get you zero tds, it is just the long term costs that will be different. I believe spectrapure is the best if looking at long term operating costs.