RO? worth it?

[Whatnow]

I found this by chance chatting up my local parts supplier.

It's a 600 GPD WaterWorld RO system with auto flush and 2 electric pressure pumps built in.
Also has 6 RO membrane cartridges, pressure gauge and mountable metal surround.
The system is brand new and was purchased as part of a unclaimed freight pallet. He wants $300 for it with all the paperwork, it seems to be several years old but all the caps are still in place and in new condition... I told him I wanted it do you think its a good deal and will it work for aquarium RO water.

 

[steve&mari]

Don't see why it wouldn't work. It's going to be little harder to find cartridges for it possibly seeing its not the standard size. Pics look like they are a lot longer then normally found.

 

[redfishbluefish]

600 gpd! For a 75 gallon tank!

Pick up THIS....it's more than enough for your system.

 

[Pfisherman]

I would stick with the hobby grade rodi units. DI is what gets you down to the super low TDS, that thing is a beast though and if you could add on a di resin chamber that could handle that much output you could be the fish water king!

 

[dbl]

Redfishbluefish beat me to linking a perfect little system.

 

[Shep]

Yea, I would buy something new instead, you do no need 600gpd and trying to find new parts will be a pain. I got a 100gpd for my 40 and its more than enough.

 

[Whatnow]

I found the newer version at Waterworld USA filtration and similar systems cost upwards of $2500

 

[redfishbluefish]

But 600 gpd!!! Go for it if you drive a moped with a jet engine.

 

[patrick]

Buy it!! Thats a sweet set up!! Worth way more than $300.

 

[Whatnow]

Well then what about this http://www.ebay.com/itm/RO-DI-REVER...024297?hash=item20d6486d69:g:gjIAAOSwnDZT-Q-1
or http://spectrapure.com/RO-RODI/RODI-SYSTEMS/MaxPureMPDI-90-GPD-RODI-System

 

[pipes]

That is a commercial grade R.O. The company I work for sells them with a different logo. The filters are a standard 2 1/2" x 20" slimline cartridge. Before you pay open the housings and check for mold. System should have a wrench (looks like a large "O" with a handle on it). They usually feed a storage tank with a float assembly, then R.O. is pumped out of storage into ???? Check it over, as some of these units have a connection point for auto shutoff valve or solenoid.

 

[Whatnow]

I think I'm gonna save some money and go with the Spectrapure 180gpd RO/DI system. That other system worries me cause its probably 10 years old and never been used so it bound to have problems and parts that have aged cause plastics do not age well stored in a unheated or cooled warehouses.....

 

[redfishbluefish]

Did you see the link in post 3.....a 90 gpd Spectrapure, which would be more than enough for your system. You can't beat the price and quality of this unit.

 

[Whatnow]

Did you see the link in post 3.....a 90 gpd Spectrapure

yeah sorry I try to buy stuff with a warranty unless its a super deal (that's why the 600 gpd deal)... plus I'm going to end up with multiple tanks including some frag tanks.

 

[redfishbluefish]

I am no expert, but @AZDesertRat is. Before you order this dual membrane unit, wait until he hopefully responds here to tell you the downfall of dual membrane units.

 

[Whatnow]

downfall of dual membrane units

I've read something about water pressure not being enough in some homes. but I carry very good head pressure city water.

 

[dbl]

I agree with redfishbluefish, if you can get a response from @AZDesertRat that would be the best...the guy is a water filtration expert. He actually helped me with my decision a long time ago.

Oddly enough I ended up going with the Spectrapure Max Cap 180 found here, and it was based on his comments. I'm not about to speak for him and I'm not making a recommendation for him, but I will say his advice was invaluable to me and I love this system.

Like redfishbluefish I will typically link the same refurbished unit as a basic recommendation. I've become a huge fan of Spectrapure. Good luck with your decision.

 

[AZDesertRat]

Before buying it you need to run it to see if the RO membranes are any good. If it ever ran to begin with then the membranes have been sitting and allowed to dry out for years chances are they need to be replaced and the only way to know for sure is to operate it. You say it has 6 membranes so to do it right you would want to isolate each one individually for testing so you can identify which are bad or good. If you purchase high quality membranes along with the 20" sediment filter and carbon blocks it could get expensive. Then you would absolutely want to add DI as the final step and it would need to be large DI canisters and cartridges to have sufficient dwell time in the resin beds so again another expense. 600 GPD sounds nice but do you really need that much water or to make water that fast?

Then again, the two booster pumps alone are worth almost what he is asking for the system if they are Aquatec or at least name brand, you could possibly part it out and make money on it. You might want to get the manufacturer and model number off the pumps too, the normal Aquatec 8800 we see in the hobby is not large enough to run a system like that, not even two of them. If they are an Aquatec 8832 or 8852 two might deliver enough at 80 psi but struggle at 100 psi.

 

[Whatnow]

The pumps are CDP 8800 aquatec's and I figured I would have to use a splitter to go to 2 sets of DI cartridges to keep up with demand and those large DI setups are $200 each for light industrial. So I'm thinking about ordering Spectrapure 180 gpd RO/DI system or the same but 90gpd.

 

[AZDesertRat]

I owned both a 90 GPD Spectraure MaxCap and a dual membrane MaxCap and they are unbelievable systems with tremendous DI life. I sold them to buy the MaxCap UHE-100 ultra low waste system I have now which produces 150+ GPD at better than 99.4% rejection rate at 95-100 psi and slightly less than 1:1 waste. It was not inexpensive but paid for itself in water, membrane replacement and DI savings in the second year of operation.