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Recommendation for a RO/DI System not under the sink

Pennyworth

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I recently purchased this RO/DI system which seems like a great product, except it needs to be mounted and attached to the pipes under the sink.

I would like something where I can attach something to the faucet and filter water this way into a tank/dispenser, perhaps overnight.

Would anyone have a recommendation for this type of system?
 
While that's not the greatest RODI in the world, you can modify it to serve your purpose and it will work fine.

How much water do you plan to make and how often?
 
While that's not the greatest RODI in the world, you can modify it to serve your purpose and it will work fine.

How much water do you plan to make and how often?

I will only use it to make water for my tank for topoffs and water changes.

I would think I would have to only fill the 75 gallon tank once every six weeks or so.

Isn't that RO/DI system above average in quality? At least on paper? Or should I have gotten one that was more suited to an aquarium?

I can still return it and have not set it up yet, so would like to hear any alternatives you would suggest.

Are you looking for something like this
?

Yes, pretty much something like that that is easy to attach and detach.
 
RO/DI is RO/DI the quality comes in with the RO filter condition, DI resin packing and condition and water pressure. Pretty much any home system will produce the same quality of water with clean filters over differing periods of time with different waste water quantities. The 100 gpd (gallons per day) vs the 48 gpd RO filters are not interchangeable but still work the same way. Note that you will NOT get either of those numbers from household water pressure. I get roughly 20 gpd on my 100 gpd rated system. In all cases, the gpd quoted requires additional pressure. My 20 gpd seems to be about standard for any of the home systems with household water pressure.

You can search for portable RO/DI (or counter top) for units that are a bit less cumbersome but many of them don't have the more rigorous carbon and particulate prefilters (and will produce less water than the larger units for the life of the filters and over a day). As a minimum you will want one particulate and one carbon prefilter, an RO filter and a a DI filter.

Alternately, for a temporary but fixed placement you can mount your current system on a board (piece of plywood) to help keep it more manageable and mount/place that board under your sink (keep in mind you will need to be replacing the filters when you decide how to attach the board) then just connect and disconnect the water supply with a faucet attachment.

I'll bet you never expected getting started was going to be this complex. On the other hand think of all the things you have learned along the way :biggrin2:. If it helps any, we've all "been there"
 
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Mine worked for my purposes, it seemed to keep the water clean enough for cuttlefish. Still haven't looked at fitting, although I spent a lot of time in the laundry room today :shock: Hot water heater sprang a leak and then I broke off the knob for the shut-off valve - friendly neighbor plumber is coming tomorrow morning to install new hot water heater... my less than handy hubby thought he could install it by himself... :roflmao:
 
My extremely handy spouse still sucks at household plumbing (does great with tanks). He rolls his eyes at me when I insist on double checking for leaks and then, it leaks. I think he just can't believe that something with such a simple concept requires a knack that he does not have.

I will probably have the first hotwater tank to start leaking from rusting from the OUTSIDE!. My FW capture bucket is wedged next to the upstairs hot water heater and is showing rust from the messy spills.
 
Looking at it more closely, this is an RO unit, not an RODI. This just has a second carbon cartridge, whereas aquarium-specific units will have a final stage of deionizing resin to remove ions like nitrate and phosphate that are too small for the membrane itself to remove. This makes sense given that it's meant for drinking water, where that level of purity isn't really necessary. With this in mind, I wouldn't recommend this unit.

They cost a bit more, but I recommend the BRS units. The push-connect fittings are the finest I've seen and use a double-gasket design that holds the hose firmly in place in two places so it doesn't twist around and leak. They also have a dual TDS meter, which is pretty much necessary to know whether your DI is depleted or not. They also have flush valves and pressure gauges which are very useful, although not quite as necessary. Another thing is they come with the Dow FilmTec membranes, which are the best in the industry and really not all that much more expensive than the knockoffs.

For the water supply you can definitely just attach/detach an adapter to the faucet itself, but it might be easier to just get a 3/8" valve adapter. It's real easy -- you don't need to be a plumber to put it in -- you just unscrew the flexible hose from the faucet underneath the sink and screw it in.
 
Good catch Dan, I missed that entirely and forgot that for a long time (no longer the case) DI water was not considered potable so many drinking water units still will not have a DI resin stage. The 5th stage (post RO carbon) in this unit is unnecessary for aquarium use.
 
I'll bet you never expected getting started was going to be this complex. On the other hand think of all the things you have learned along the way :biggrin2:. If it helps any, we've all "been there"

For sure, but it's actuall been pretty relaxing and enjoyable. I enjoy learning stuff....only downside was I underestimated how long it would take and just what a process it is.

Looking at it more closely, this is an RO unit, not an RODI. This just has a second carbon cartridge, whereas aquarium-specific units will have a final stage of deionizing resin to remove ions like nitrate and phosphate that are too small for the membrane itself to remove. This makes sense given that it's meant for drinking water, where that level of purity isn't really necessary. With this in mind, I wouldn't recommend this unit.

They cost a bit more, but I recommend the BRS units. The push-connect fittings are the finest I've seen and use a double-gasket design that holds the hose firmly in place in two places so it doesn't twist around and leak. They also have a dual TDS meter, which is pretty much necessary to know whether your DI is depleted or not. They also have flush valves and pressure gauges which are very useful, although not quite as necessary. Another thing is they come with the Dow FilmTec membranes, which are the best in the industry and really not all that much more expensive than the knockoffs.

For the water supply you can definitely just attach/detach an adapter to the faucet itself, but it might be easier to just get a 3/8" valve adapter. It's real easy -- you don't need to be a plumber to put it in -- you just unscrew the flexible hose from the faucet underneath the sink and screw it in.

I will look into the BRS units. Is there a specific model you would recommend? I've also been advised the Spectrapure units are good.

I'm moving apartments in September and just want something simple that I can easily connect and disconnect since I will only be using it for my tank, not for drinking water.
 
I would recommend the 4-stage Value Plus from BRS. It comes with the pressure gauge, flush valve and dual TDS meter. I've never used any of the Spectrapure units, so I can't comment directly on quality, but they do generally come with those "pro-grade" features, as opposed to most generic eBay units and consumer-grade brands like Kent, Coralife or AquaFX. I believe the Spectrapure units come with 90 GPD membranes, which on the surface is generally a good thing except replacement 90 GPD membranes aren't as common as 75 GPD membranes.
 
I would recommend the 4-stage Value Plus from BRS. It comes with the pressure gauge, flush valve and dual TDS meter. I've never used any of the Spectrapure units, so I can't comment directly on quality, but they do generally come with those "pro-grade" features, as opposed to most generic eBay units and consumer-grade brands like Kent, Coralife or AquaFX. I believe the Spectrapure units come with 90 GPD membranes, which on the surface is generally a good thing except replacement 90 GPD membranes aren't as common as 75 GPD membranes.

Thanks. I'm looking at that now as well as Spectrapure options.

I'm sure they will both work fine, so my secondary concern is ease of use/installation.

The video on the BRS site doesn't show the setup. Is it necessary that this be connected to the pipe under the sink, or can I connect it directly to the faucet? It also does not seem to come with a tank, so I suppose I would just let it flow into a pail or container of some sort?

I haven't actually seen these in use so trying to get an idea of how it all works. Thanks again.
 
JingoFresh,
The RO/DI systems are not quite as neatly packaged/set up as one would like. 3/4 of the water used is waste will need to go down the drain so you will need to be able to securely route a tube to a drain. This tube can be placed in a sink (as is mine) or attached to a drain pipe (requires drilling a hole and not appropriate for an apartment). If you have plants you can collect some of it and use it for the plants (it will be filtered but not RO or DI treated and higher in minerals than your tap) or even as filtered drinking water but because the volume is so high, you would need to put the plant water bucket in a sink to collect the overflow.

The tanks that come with these units may not be enough to support your needs. They are usually labeled 2 gallons but only hold about 1.5 gallons. There is a pressurized bladder inside that will "push" the water out when you open the valve to release it and the pressure somewhat limits the capacity (depending on your actual water pressure). I like having one as secondary, quick access (this is a very slow process) but my main storage is a much larger 25 gallon plastic container with a float valve. The float - very cheap and easy to install with a properly sized drill - cuts off the water flow when the bucket is full. This is a good idea even for your temporary set up to avoid overflowing the bucket when you are not watching it since it will need to be connected for over a day (remember, it will only produce about 20 gallons in 24 hours, not the RO membrane rating of 50-100). My 2 gallon tank fills after my primary bucket is shut off and drains first to start filling the larger bucket.

One little item of convenience that may help sway which unit to chose, all else appearing equal, is the use of colored tubing. This helps to figure out how to put it together, especially after you have to break it down during your move. I took photos of my set up in an attempt to help another member reset up a system after his move. I am not sure how much this will help but it may give you a better picture of how the water flows. BasicSetUp.gif
 

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