RO Membranes

[Treefer32]

I have the BRS 150 water saver RO DI Unit. It has 2 RO membranes on it. The RO unit is approximately 6 -7 years old. I've never changed the RO Membranes. My TDS out was always around 15 and after DI around 0 and my DI resin has been lasting close to 6-8 months going through around 100 gallons a month. So, I decided to replace my RO membranes finally. Of the 6-7 years old keep in mind the RO unit was stored in unheated storage for 2-3 years. I don't know what happens to frozen and thawed membranes. But, the caps were a bear to get off. Nothing some ultra hot water and elbow grease couldn't handle though. The primary RO membrane was solid orange when looking at the layers in the end of it. There wasn't a spot that wasn't orange. On the second RO membrane it was spotty orange and yellow.

So, even with TDS at zero, what kind of RO water was going into the tank? I was also using it for drinking water, and am now questioning what did that orange ness do as our primary source of drinking water?

The DI is NOT plumbed to my 5 gallon pressurized drinking water storage. Only The RO is. I also notice it makes water faster now. It filled my 75 gallon storage bin in around 6-8 hours. Whereas that would have taken 12-18 hours before. The other positive, (I think) is I use softened water to the RO. So, I'm hoping that nothing ultra bad made it into the tank in the last year and half of operation. But, my 350 was filled with the old membranes. So, curious if there's anything I should be worried about?

My corals seem to be doing o.k. other than a flood of aiptasia. I had a hammer release one head for some reason, the rest of the heads are fine and growing. I think things are o.k. but, just curious if anyone has used really old RO membranes too long or on a new tank fill and what the impacts might be?

 

[lapin]

The orange could be rust dust or something in your old water supply. I could also be some sort of growth that happened in storage. Hard to tell since you never had anything to compare it to. New membranes will have less buildup and allow for more water to pass thru so this is why you are getting more water output.

 

[robbyg]

I would think it's rust but yes it could be bacteria. It is one of the reasons why you really need to change drinking water filters on at least an annual basis. I change my carbon blocks on my Fridge and on the input side I see all these white particles that don't look like chlorine to me but some sort of bacteria. Who knows! The only thing that is certain is that chlorine free water will allow the growth of some weird stuff.

 

[MTBake]

Longest I've left a ro membrane in use was about 4 years. Didnt have any of the orange or yellow you describe though. Just looked like a slightly dirty version of the new membrane. I change mine every 2-3 years now.

I really wouldn't worry about what the old membrane looked like to be honest. No noticeable effects means nothing to worry about, imho.

The hammer could have dropped a head for any reason. I had one drop a head after twisting off all the tentacle tips. It came back with a vengeance a couple months later. A friend of mine still has that coral and it's about the size of 8" softball today.

Aptasia can get into any system. Doesn't have much to do with the water quality ime. Once one gets introduced, it'll need to be dealt with asap. Berghia nudibranch is most likely your best bet against those.

 

[MTBake]

One other thing, don't forget to clean out the housings with warm soapy water. Rinse and dry them before putting it all back together as well. And apply a little vegetable oil to the o-rings. Or a little Molykote 111, if you have some. Helps the o-rings last longer.

 

[fish farmer]

I've seen orange residue on my membrane after a year's use. I got old pipes.

 

[Treefer32]

I do notice the RO water tastes "softer" if you will. Seems less hard. I drained my RO reservoir and my top off bin and refilled with fresh RO water with the new membranes. It may be completely psychological but it seems the water tastes better.