Why am I burning through DI Resin?

[SPSREEFS]

I would recommend that you make sure the ro di unit is level. If it's not, water will run in a stream through one particular area. Pleeeease do some calcium tests and post the numbers here. Magnesium too. I highly recommend 2 tds meters. I have three. 2 online and one handheld. The color changing resins I prefer greatly over the regular. Its another indicator working in your favor. Just be sure the cartridge is level!!!

 

[TheEngineer]

Hmmm... Well that's probably for the best since I don't really want to store 20g of RODI and I'm about to go out of the country and then vacation

I need to pick up a calcium test kit anyway so in the name of SCIENCE I can run a quick test on source, RO and then DI. That said, will a marine test kit work for a fresh water test? And if so, what's a good test? How about the Hanna digital?

 

[SPSREEFS]

I won't use Hanna anymore. Get a salifert. Hang on let me check

 

[SPSREEFS]

Yes salifert does salt and fresh

 

[SPSREEFS]

I think redsea pro does too......

 

[AZDesertRat]

Inline TDS meters lack ATC temperature compensation so can be significantly off if your water temperature and air temperature(which is what these meters sense, not water as they should). I have two dual in lines which I never even turn on anymore as they are never correct. On the other hand a good handheld such as HM Digitals YDS-3, TDS-4TM or AT-1 are temperature compensated and do monitor the waters temerature when you insert the meter. Much more accurate and versatile.
Color changing resins actually contain dyes which dissolve in the treated water, adding TDS by the way.
Level isn't really a big deal since the water is pressurized through the sediment filter, carbon block and the RO membrane. If you had a horizontal DI, which you do not, level is more important since the water follows the path of least resistance. With vertical DI it isn't critical as the water should be filling from the bottom and exiting the top so all wate rand resin will come into contact with each other.

 

[SPSREEFS]

I won't brag on here saying I know more then anyone else. 30 years with marine tanks and......always learning here!!!!

 

[TheEngineer]

I managed to find the water quality report I got when I bought the house.... doesn't have too much useful info on it, but it has some details. Note the higher TDS, I'm fairly sure the sediment filter hadn't been changed in the 18 years they lived here.

 

[SPSREEFS]

I have the tds4 handheld and like it a lot. You are correct about the temp compensation. I like my ro di unit level. I can see what the water is doing in the canisters and I like them level.
The million dollar question is....what meter is icecool2 using....and how accurate is it???

 

[AZDesertRat]

To test the calcium in your tap water pick up a water hardness test kit anywhere that sells water softeners. This tests the calcium carbonate hardness which is what you want to know and can be easily converted from grains per gallon to PPM.

iccool, TDS and sediment are two different things. TDS passes through a sediment filter since it is dissolved or in the 0.0001 micron range. Sediment filters are thousands of times more coarse than that in the 1, 5, 10 and so on micron ranges. Whole house sediment filters are usually much larger than that too, like 20 or 30 microns or larger or they plug quickly. FYI, you can see 40 microns with the unaided human eye.

 

[SPSREEFS]

I see your tds read 108 on the water report....

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Randy,
That article proves my point exactly in the headet. Pre treatment of water!!!! Besides carbon filtration(which is in the room unit anyway) water softening is mentioned first! And a simple test will give him a good start....

Yes, but not for the reasons you claimed: that it ate up a DI. It damages an RO membrane and softening good for that reason if you have very hard water. It will, however, use a DI faster, but probably not noticeably.

 

[SPSREEFS]

And get a kh too. That's the most important for testing hardness. You don't have these test kits already???? How r u testing your tank????

 

[SPSREEFS]

Randy,
Made a huge difference for me. The owner of black coral told me about it probably 15-20 years ago.....

 

[TheEngineer]

OK, so I rummaged around in the basement to see what old test kits I had laying around. I have an old API Calcium test. I gave it a whirl and it looked in the right territory for my tank 460, so I gave it a whirl on the tap and RO water. No dice. I don't think this test works on fresh water. That said, I certainly have a KH test already. My tap water is 1.5dKH, tank is at 8dKH.

As to my TDS meter, it is the dual-channel one BRS sells. Not sure of the brand.

Also as to my water report, I should preface this that they "lost" my samples for two weeks....

 

[AZDesertRat]

2 weeks exceeds the EPA allowable holding time on several of the water quality parameters which must be analyzed within 24-48 hours. In your case that would be nitrates, nitrites, pH and chlorine. Chlorine isn't an issue since you are on a domestic well which I assume you do not chlorinate. pH, nitrates and nitrates would change in that length of time. If the lab took the actual samples they probably tested th pH in the field but that is not always the case if the lab is close and samples can normally be delivered in a couple hours or less. I usually test temperature, chlorine residual and pH in the field and note it on the chain of custody form.

I would toss the dual inline TDS meter and get one of the handhelds suggested earlier. Your water temperature was 5.6C which equals 42 degrees F. The biggest problem with the inlines is the temp probe is inside the fat part of the IN and OUT probes behind a little rectangular window you can see and are exposed to the air. I doubt your air temperature is 42 degrees where the RO/DI system is much of the time so your TDS readings are significantly off, like as much as 2% for every degree C the air and water differ. I learned this from cutting a couple probes apart and monitoring TDS at different temperatures. The handheld has small metal prongs that actually immerse in the water so they are much more reliable and accurate, plus they cost the same or often less than the inaccurate inlines.

 

[habutti]

Where I live you "MUST" have a water softener unit, well I was still burning through my DI resin it all stopped when I made RO water aerated it then running through my DI resin. This really simple fix, or at least it was for me, heck BRS has a good series on top ten possible causes of burning through your DI cartridge just search for it on YouTube

 

[SPSREEFS]

Does it say on the kit is measures for freshwater also???

 

[AZDesertRat]

Most saltwater test kits are not reliable in freshwater and vice versa.

 

[dankreef]

@icecool2