RODI system for dummies?

[Ennvi]

Hi there, so i have been avoiding getting an RODI unit because i have no idea how to set them up and trying to google it just confuses me more. What is the simplest unit i can get that will still get the job done?

 

[Ranjib]

how big is you tank? they may look daunting, but none are too complicated that you will fail to setup. If you live in smaller place or have smaller tank i'll recommend getting ro buddie, from aquatic life. There is very easy to understand youtube video from aquatic life that will walk through the setup. For anything else we are here

 

[Reef.]

No need to go small, will end up costing you more and may not give the best quality water, even a full size one can be stored away in a cupboard until needed, they are very easy to install in a number of different ways, such as under the kitchen sink, removed and stored away, outside using the garden tap, plumbed in permanently...how would you want to set yours up? Will be easier to help narrow the advice down.

All they are in 4-5 filters that you run water through, not complicated at all.

 

[Nigel35]

Bulk Reef Supply sells great units! Anywhere from 4-7 stage systems.

 

[Gtinnel]

No need to go small, will end up costing you more for and may not give the best quality water, even a full size one can be stored away in a cupboard until needed, they are very easy to install in a number of different ways, such as under the kitchen sink, removed and stored away, outside using the garden tap, pumped in permanently...how would you want to set yours up? Will be easier to help narrow the advice down.

All they are in 4-5 filters that you run water through, not complicated at all.

I couldn't agree more.

They aren't that complicated. Basically you will hook it up to a cold water line in your house (either permanently or with a more temporary option like a garden hose or faucet adapter), then you will have two lines coming out of it. One will be your filtered water and the other will be waste water. In a nutshell that's all it is, one line in, one good line out, and one waste line out.

If you have any specific questions about them I'm sure someone on here could easily answer any questions to help you understand more about them.

 

[NowGlazeIT]

I learned a lot about RODI from the BRS YouTube channel. I bought one from them. Simple cost effective and upgradable. Started as a 4 stage now it’s a 6 stage.
Learning the difference from the value unit, to the bells and whistles unit, was where I made my decision.

 

[ATC]

I’m by no means an expert but I’ve got a BRS triple DI tied to my whole house R/0 I got from Amazon. super easy to setup and use. Very reasonably priced I’ve got less than $700 in my entire mixing station and its setup to pump my RODI and my saltwater up from my basement to the top floor where my tanks are. I’ve got the most garbage well water on the planet somewhere around 1900tds and the RODI tests to 0TDS consistently. I can get about 150 gallons out of my anion resin and about 500 gallons out of my cation resin before having to refill it. The mixed bed hasn’t been changed yet and I’m about 900 gallons in.
BRS has some awesome videos that really helped me a lot.

 

[Boaz1021]

I bought the BRS System as well, I wish I had gone with their lower waste water version. It runs the waste water through another filter and effectively doubles your output (from 75 gpd to 150gpd) and halves the amount of water. Plus, their system is already plumbed with pressure lines to turn off the filtration if the output line is stopped, like with a float valve, etc. It also has in line TDS Sensors and pressure sensors so that you can make sure everything is running effectively at all times. All at a price that I haven't been able to beat anywhere else.

 

[Gtinnel]

I’m by no means an expert but I’ve got a BRS triple DI tied to my whole house R/0 I got from Amazon. super easy to setup and use. Very reasonably priced I’ve got less than $700 in my entire mixing station and its setup to pump my RODI and my saltwater up from my basement to the top floor where my tanks are. I’ve got the most garbage well water on the planet somewhere around 1900tds and the RODI tests to 0TDS consistently. I can get about 150 gallons out of my anion resin and about 500 gallons out of my cation resin before having to refill it. The mixed bed hasn’t been changed yet and I’m about 900 gallons in.
BRS has some awesome videos that really helped me a lot.

Are you running directly from your membrane into the di? I only ask because I know of other users on here with well water who have had to allow their ro water to off gas CO2 before putting it through their DI because it was depleting their di quickly. Or it could be that even with a good rejection rate you would still have higher than normal tds on the water going through the di.

 

[Yazannreef]

I bought AQUATICLIFE RO Buddie 3-Stage Reverse Osmosis Water Filtration System on Amazon $60 and excellent unit.​

 

[Opus]

Are you running directly from your membrane into the di? I only ask because I know of other users on here with well water who have had to allow their ro water to off gas CO2 before putting it through their DI because it was depleting their di quickly. Or it could be that even with a good rejection rate you would still have higher than normal tds on the water going through the di.

That is why he is running separate anion and cation. The CO2 depletes the anion much faster so if they are separate you are only changing out the anion more often instead of a mixed bed, which would still have plenty of life left in the cation.

 

[Gtinnel]

That is why he is running separate anion and cation. The CO2 depletes the anion much faster so if they are separate you are only changing out the anion more often instead of a mixed bed, which would still have plenty of life left in the cation.

I understand the reason for running seperate resins, but if it were me and I had the option to let the CO2 off gas so that I wasn't quickly depleting either resin I would. Only getting 150 gallons from the anion isn't very good. It still could be that it gets depleted so quickly because at 1900 tds water coming in he must still have pretty high (compared to most people at least) tds water going into his resin.

Either way I was just trying to point out a potential way to make his resin last longer.

 

[LeftyReefer]

I finally grabbed a RO/DI system from Marine Depot's liquidation sale last week. Couldn't say no to a $64 RODI system!

I finally got around to installing it last night. It was easier than I thought it would be. Pretty simple actually. The only thing I don't really understand is how the ASOV operates and how I would plumb a float valve into it yet.... I'll need to google some youtube videos on that before I try adding a float valve to my RODI container.

I also picked up a triple in-line TDS meter and started installing that last night too. I put line 1 on the incoming (source) water line, line 3 on the outgoing (product) line, but I'm unsure of where to put line 2.... I'm assuming it would go after the RO membrane, but before the DI canister.... That ASOV also seems to be plumbed between the RO and DI too, so I wasn't quite sure where to add the TDS line 2 sensor in all that.

All in all, It only took about a half hour to install, a little longer to flush out the new filters and such... Within 2 hours of starting, I was producing 0 TDS water for the first time. No more lugging 5 gallon jugs to/from Walmart or the LFS. YAY!!

My source water appears to fluctuate between 94 and 96 TDS, and I"m getting about 50-55 psi on the pressure gauge so I might need to look into a booster pump since it seems like 60 psi is the recommended min pressure and I'm not quite there.

 

[UnderwaterGamer]

I have a nano 20 gallon and use a BRS 4 stage RODI unit. Bulk Reef Supply has some nice sales a few times per year and thats when i'd recommend picking up on of their units if you go this route! They have color coded tubes which make it pretty easy to understand for a beginner! They also have great youtube videos and customer service that can walk you through each part! The link is the one I bought, I believe I got it on sale for around $175 and I love it. Check out the 3 minute youtube video under the product to see how its set up and ran!

4 Stage Value Plus 75GPD RO/DI System

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www.bulkreefsupply.com

 

[UnderwaterGamer]

Other thing to note when buying a unit is the GPD (Gallons Per Day), if you have a bigger tank you'll want one that produces more water per day. Since my water changes only need 4-5 gallons, I can easily live with the 75 GPD unit. I store it under the sink and then just hook it up to the faucet the morning of water change day

 

[James_O]

What’s your budget?

 

[Opus]

I understand the reason for running seperate resins, but if it were me and I had the option to let the CO2 off gas so that I wasn't quickly depleting either resin I would. Only getting 150 gallons from the anion isn't very good. It still could be that it gets depleted so quickly because at 1900 tds water coming in he must still have pretty high (compared to most people at least) tds water going into his resin.

Either way I was just trying to point out a potential way to make his resin last longer.

I thought you didn't understand why he was running them separate. My bad. I've always read it is a pain and takes a lot of room to off gas. There apparently is a way to do a whole house solution but I don't know the cost. At 1900 tap tds I would also consider adding a second RO membrane to reduce the tds further. I have over 400 tap tds and my tds after the membrane is 3 to 4 so I would think he is looking at 16+ after the membrane.

 

[Gtinnel]

I thought you didn't understand why he was running them separate. My bad. I've always read it is a pain and takes a lot of room to off gas. There apparently is a way to do a whole house solution but I don't know the cost. At 1900 tap tds I would also consider adding a second RO membrane to reduce the tds further. I have over 400 tap tds and my tds after the membrane is 3 to 4 so I would think he is looking at 16+ after the membrane.

I've never needed to off gas but AFAIK you just need to store it in a container for a day or so and then pump it through the resin. I would personally do that instead of replacing resin as often.
I agree that even if he is getting 99% rejection rate he still has 19ppm water going through his resin. I wouldn't have though about installing a second membrane. Would that require a booster pump between the two? I wouldn't think that the pressure on the production side of the first membrane is high enough for the second membrane, but I'm just speculating.

 

[ATC]

Are you running directly from your membrane into the di? I only ask because I know of other users on here with well water who have had to allow their ro water to off gas CO2 before putting it through their DI because it was depleting their di quickly. Or it could be that even with a good rejection rate you would still have higher than normal tds on the water going through the di.

It runs through a carbon polishing filter just past the 2nd RO membrane it leaves that filter somewhere around 150tds. I figure bulk resin is relatively cheap and I’ve already got enough steps in making water without adding more lol.