Aqua Reef RO/DI 6 Stage 110gal/day

Vapour1ze · 10/19/2008, 08:35 PM

Just bought this on ebay for about 132$,,, fairly cheap, will this work decently for me?

I mainly bought it just so I can fill up my new tank which is gonna be about 130 gallons, and I'm not buying that many jugs of distilled water.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=120319968016

Thats the one I just bought, let me know if any of you have... Thanks

Vapour1ze · 10/19/2008, 08:56 PM

bump, anyone???

smoknta · 10/20/2008, 12:04 AM

Looks like it would work. I would probably get a TDS meter and measure your water before and after unit to verify that it is working correctly. Regular testing will also let you know when you need to change the membrane.

Vapour1ze · 10/20/2008, 12:09 AM

TDS meter??? ebay here I come again!!!

AZDesertRat · 10/20/2008, 08:15 AM

You probably don't want to hear this but its a pretty low end system at best. The filter quality is not very good, the DI is horrible and as you found out it does not come with things like a TDS meter.
Compare what you have to the 75 GPD Premium from www.buckeyefieldsupply.com and others found here on RC and you will see big differences.
For starters the prefilter is too coarse to do much good, it should be in the 1 micron range or less so it does not foul the carbon block. Next notice they do not even tell you the micron rating of the carbon blocks? This should be a red flag that they are low quality, a reputable vendor will tell you what you are getting not keep it a secret. Name brand high quality filters are a big selling point and you want to know what you are getting. They play the 100 GPD GE membrane up but its is essentially the same as the 75 GPD Dow Filmtec, you do not get any more water out of it it just gets it rating at a higher 65 psi pressure which most of us will never see. It is also the very same 96-95% rejection.
The DI is poor at best. Good units use a full sized 20 oz vertical 10" canister and refillable type DI system which is engineered and proven to work without short circuiting or channelling like the small horizontals do, plus the 20 oz holds more resin to begin with. A good number of the reef quality systems come with a TDS meter standard so you don't have to spend more on it.
And best of all the systems sold by the vendors here on RC come with excellent customer service and technical support unlike the ebay companies that are only out to make a buck and have no idea what a reef tank is.

Vapour1ze · 10/20/2008, 12:02 PM

well after i hook it up, ill see what im getting after the first 10 gallons are out and see if its worth keeping, so basically theres no way i should but this water in my tank or what? i dont want to spend 400 dollars on a nice unit less than 200 shipped was what i can do

AZDesertRat · 10/20/2008, 01:43 PM

I am not saying don't fill your tank with it but you will find over time it will not produce 0 TDS water for as long as better units which cost only slightly more. I look at an RO/DI system as a fine tool which should last me years or more of service with normal maintenace and upkeep. The lower end units use less efficient filters so two things happen, one is the membrane does not last as long since as it is getting more crud passed on to it by the inefficient prefilters and carbons. This can be remedied by replacing the filters with better quality lower micron filters and if possible filters with an absolute rating instead of nominal ratings. If not done in the beginning though you have already passed solids on to the membranes surface and done irreversible harm since no amount of flushing in the world will remove solids once they have solidified on the membrane. Two is when the membrane begins failing it can pass higher TDS to the DI making it exhaust quicker thus costing more over time. Again any RO/DI should make 0 TDS water at least for a short period but its the frequent replacements due to an inefficient system that cost money from now on.

Take a look at various vendors on Reef Central. You will see most reef quality systems are in the $150-$230 range. This is true from 6 or 8 or more different reputable vendors. You should begin to see a pattern here, quality components and filters cost money. If it were possible to assemble and market a quality system for $100 or less they would all jump on that bandwagon but its just not possible. When the price of a good membrane like the Dow Filmtec 75 GPD and GE or Applied's 100 GPD runs about $40-$50 no matter where you look its hard to imagine how they can sell something for what they do. Add in a good prefilter, carbon block or two and a real DI filter and you have exceeded $100 and still don't have housings, a bracket, flow restrictor, bypass valve, flush, pressure gauge or TDS meter. I have seen the system you linked to sell for as low as $68 at times. It cannot and does not contain quality components and will end up costing more to replace pieces and upgrade than the initial $169 spent on a better system.
Look at the system I previously mentioned from www.buckeyefieldsupply.com , the Optima series from www.purelyh2o.com , the Typhoon III from www.airwaterice.com , the Ocean Reef +1 from www.thefilterguys.biz , the Reefkeeper from www.melevsreef.com or the units from Bulk Reef Supply. All will be close in price to each other with some being higher and some lower but all will start at around $170 including the TDS meter and full sized vertical DI. None are making a killing off their customers but all are providing quality systems at a fair price.

MileHighFish · 10/20/2008, 02:00 PM

AZDesertRat, your right.. i looked into my r/o (e-bay unit) it produces good water.. but when you look at 5 microns compared to .6 microns etc there is a big difference!! in the future i will be changing my unit!!

MileHighFish · 10/20/2008, 02:01 PM

can i use the unit i have and replace with a better membrane??

AZDesertRat · 10/20/2008, 02:09 PM

Yes, keep in mind all the water that passes through a RO or RO/DI unit goes through the prefilter and carbons, even the waste and that is 4 times the amount as the product or good water. So if you make 100 gallons of RO/DI you have =assed 500 gallons through the filters, 400 waste and 100 good. This is significant because low end carbons, especially granular activated carbon can be exhausted in as little as 300 total gallons, thats 60 good and 240 waste gallons. High micron carbon blocks can last as little as 1000 to 1500 total gallons, thats 200-300 good gallons is all and 80-1200 waste gallons. See where good filters come into play? By comparison the 0.6 micron Matrikx+1 Chlorine Guzzler is good for 20,000 gallons of water or 4,000 gallons of good and 16,000 gallons of waste before it is exhausted PROVIDING you use a high quality prefilter before the carbon so it does not have to do double duty trapping solids which plug the billions of tiny carbon pores which do the adsorption. Adding a Chlorine Guzzler after a 5 or 10 micron prefilter does little good since you are fouling or plugging the carbon very quickly and rendering it useless.
Good filters really do make a difference! You won't find them in inexpensive units because they cost money. Stick with the high micron filters and the membarne wears out faster which leads to more frequent DI replacements, it snowballs. Buy a good unit with good filters that protect the membrane and it protects the DI all of which saves you money from now on.

AZDesertRat · 10/20/2008, 02:19 PM

Sorry, I don't remember which unit or membrane you have. But the answer is usually yes, most units with the exception of some Watts Premier, Whirlpool and Sears and a few others, all use a standard TW-1812-XX series RO membrane. Most of the exceptions use a 1810 series which looks similar but is not the same and will not fit in a standard RO housing.
Something you might consider if you are looking for a membrane is look at Spectrapure. They have two series of membranes, their best is what they call their Select series. These are 100% individually hand tested and guaranteed to be 98+% efficient unlike any other membrane on the market. You pay more initially but the DI savings adds up quickly since for every 2% you increase the membrane efficiency you double the life of your DI. This pays for itself quickly if your water is very high in TDS to begin with.
They also offer their standard membranes which again are unlike any others out there. Spectrapure treats all their membranes with a proprietary treatment which improves both the GPD output and the rejection efficiency. Even their standard membranes will outperform any other membrane available. I can say I have now had 3 Select series membranes and the worst one was operating at 99.23% rejection rate with the best one in the unit I presently have operating at better than 99.4% rejection rate. I tested my water last week and the incoming TDS was 583, which is actually low for me and the RO only TDS was 3.3 even without DI. My DI lasts forever compared to my old normal RO/DI unit.

MileHighFish · 10/20/2008, 02:24 PM

thanks for the info... i'm running a unit called "aqua safe" (for now) but i have a hair algea prblm.. so i know my d/i isnt working as well as a better unit..

AZDesertRat · 10/20/2008, 02:47 PM

AquaSafe uses the GE 100 GPD RO membrane which is pretty much equal to the Dow Filmtec 75 GPD in all respects. I do have heartburn with their use of poor quality GAC and high micron carbons though, they do little to protect that expensive membrane causing it to wear out prematurely. If they would just spend a few dollars more and include a better prefilter and even a single 0.6 micron Chlorine Guzzler they could eliminate the second carbon canister and use it for a real DI filter. Probably wouldn't cost them $15-$20 to make their unit a viable RO/DI system with better filters and a good vertical refillable 20 oz DI.

10/19/2008, 08:35 PM	#1
Vapour1ze I'm an Addict. Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Yorkville, IL Posts: 3,036	Aqua Reef RO/DI 6 Stage 110gal/day Just bought this on ebay for about 132$,,, fairly cheap, will this work decently for me? I mainly bought it just so I can fill up my new tank which is gonna be about 130 gallons, and I'm not buying that many jugs of distilled water. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=120319968016 Thats the one I just bought, let me know if any of you have... Thanks __________________ 93 Reef \| 220 Reef \| Basement Fish Life Support Room \| Empty Savings Account

10/19/2008, 08:56 PM	#2
Vapour1ze I'm an Addict. Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Yorkville, IL Posts: 3,036	bump, anyone??? __________________ 93 Reef \| 220 Reef \| Basement Fish Life Support Room \| Empty Savings Account

10/20/2008, 12:04 AM	#3
smoknta Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Indiana Posts: 35	Looks like it would work. I would probably get a TDS meter and measure your water before and after unit to verify that it is working correctly. Regular testing will also let you know when you need to change the membrane. __________________ 12gal Nanocube DX

10/20/2008, 12:09 AM	#4
Vapour1ze I'm an Addict. Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Yorkville, IL Posts: 3,036	TDS meter??? ebay here I come again!!! __________________ 93 Reef \| 220 Reef \| Basement Fish Life Support Room \| Empty Savings Account

10/20/2008, 12:02 PM	#6
Vapour1ze I'm an Addict. Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Yorkville, IL Posts: 3,036	well after i hook it up, ill see what im getting after the first 10 gallons are out and see if its worth keeping, so basically theres no way i should but this water in my tank or what? i dont want to spend 400 dollars on a nice unit less than 200 shipped was what i can do __________________ 93 Reef \| 220 Reef \| Basement Fish Life Support Room \| Empty Savings Account

10/20/2008, 08:15 AM	#5
AZDesertRat Moved On Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: NW Phoenix Posts: 16,621	You probably don't want to hear this but its a pretty low end system at best. The filter quality is not very good, the DI is horrible and as you found out it does not come with things like a TDS meter. Compare what you have to the 75 GPD Premium from www.buckeyefieldsupply.com and others found here on RC and you will see big differences. For starters the prefilter is too coarse to do much good, it should be in the 1 micron range or less so it does not foul the carbon block. Next notice they do not even tell you the micron rating of the carbon blocks? This should be a red flag that they are low quality, a reputable vendor will tell you what you are getting not keep it a secret. Name brand high quality filters are a big selling point and you want to know what you are getting. They play the 100 GPD GE membrane up but its is essentially the same as the 75 GPD Dow Filmtec, you do not get any more water out of it it just gets it rating at a higher 65 psi pressure which most of us will never see. It is also the very same 96-95% rejection. The DI is poor at best. Good units use a full sized 20 oz vertical 10" canister and refillable type DI system which is engineered and proven to work without short circuiting or channelling like the small horizontals do, plus the 20 oz holds more resin to begin with. A good number of the reef quality systems come with a TDS meter standard so you don't have to spend more on it. And best of all the systems sold by the vendors here on RC come with excellent customer service and technical support unlike the ebay companies that are only out to make a buck and have no idea what a reef tank is.

10/20/2008, 01:43 PM	#7
AZDesertRat Moved On Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: NW Phoenix Posts: 16,621	I am not saying don't fill your tank with it but you will find over time it will not produce 0 TDS water for as long as better units which cost only slightly more. I look at an RO/DI system as a fine tool which should last me years or more of service with normal maintenace and upkeep. The lower end units use less efficient filters so two things happen, one is the membrane does not last as long since as it is getting more crud passed on to it by the inefficient prefilters and carbons. This can be remedied by replacing the filters with better quality lower micron filters and if possible filters with an absolute rating instead of nominal ratings. If not done in the beginning though you have already passed solids on to the membranes surface and done irreversible harm since no amount of flushing in the world will remove solids once they have solidified on the membrane. Two is when the membrane begins failing it can pass higher TDS to the DI making it exhaust quicker thus costing more over time. Again any RO/DI should make 0 TDS water at least for a short period but its the frequent replacements due to an inefficient system that cost money from now on. Take a look at various vendors on Reef Central. You will see most reef quality systems are in the $150-$230 range. This is true from 6 or 8 or more different reputable vendors. You should begin to see a pattern here, quality components and filters cost money. If it were possible to assemble and market a quality system for $100 or less they would all jump on that bandwagon but its just not possible. When the price of a good membrane like the Dow Filmtec 75 GPD and GE or Applied's 100 GPD runs about $40-$50 no matter where you look its hard to imagine how they can sell something for what they do. Add in a good prefilter, carbon block or two and a real DI filter and you have exceeded $100 and still don't have housings, a bracket, flow restrictor, bypass valve, flush, pressure gauge or TDS meter. I have seen the system you linked to sell for as low as $68 at times. It cannot and does not contain quality components and will end up costing more to replace pieces and upgrade than the initial $169 spent on a better system. Look at the system I previously mentioned from www.buckeyefieldsupply.com , the Optima series from www.purelyh2o.com , the Typhoon III from www.airwaterice.com , the Ocean Reef +1 from www.thefilterguys.biz , the Reefkeeper from www.melevsreef.com or the units from Bulk Reef Supply. All will be close in price to each other with some being higher and some lower but all will start at around $170 including the TDS meter and full sized vertical DI. None are making a killing off their customers but all are providing quality systems at a fair price.

10/20/2008, 02:00 PM	#8
MileHighFish Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: NM. Posts: 1,722	AZDesertRat, your right.. i looked into my r/o (e-bay unit) it produces good water.. but when you look at 5 microns compared to .6 microns etc there is a big difference!! in the future i will be changing my unit!! __________________ See "Red House" for pics!! I'm sick of following my dreams. I'm just going to ask them where they're goin', and hook up with them later. Mitch Hedberg Current Tank Info: Reef tank, 100 gal Lee Mar polished.. 60 sump.. 800 watts mh 20k radium..Ran on "Taiwan HQI Ballast" 330 watt VHO.. 48 watt compacts (dawn/dusk).. sps/lps tank..

10/20/2008, 02:01 PM	#9
MileHighFish Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: NM. Posts: 1,722	can i use the unit i have and replace with a better membrane?? __________________ See "Red House" for pics!! I'm sick of following my dreams. I'm just going to ask them where they're goin', and hook up with them later. Mitch Hedberg Current Tank Info: Reef tank, 100 gal Lee Mar polished.. 60 sump.. 800 watts mh 20k radium..Ran on "Taiwan HQI Ballast" 330 watt VHO.. 48 watt compacts (dawn/dusk).. sps/lps tank..

10/20/2008, 02:09 PM	#10
AZDesertRat Moved On Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: NW Phoenix Posts: 16,621	Yes, keep in mind all the water that passes through a RO or RO/DI unit goes through the prefilter and carbons, even the waste and that is 4 times the amount as the product or good water. So if you make 100 gallons of RO/DI you have =assed 500 gallons through the filters, 400 waste and 100 good. This is significant because low end carbons, especially granular activated carbon can be exhausted in as little as 300 total gallons, thats 60 good and 240 waste gallons. High micron carbon blocks can last as little as 1000 to 1500 total gallons, thats 200-300 good gallons is all and 80-1200 waste gallons. See where good filters come into play? By comparison the 0.6 micron Matrikx+1 Chlorine Guzzler is good for 20,000 gallons of water or 4,000 gallons of good and 16,000 gallons of waste before it is exhausted PROVIDING you use a high quality prefilter before the carbon so it does not have to do double duty trapping solids which plug the billions of tiny carbon pores which do the adsorption. Adding a Chlorine Guzzler after a 5 or 10 micron prefilter does little good since you are fouling or plugging the carbon very quickly and rendering it useless. Good filters really do make a difference! You won't find them in inexpensive units because they cost money. Stick with the high micron filters and the membarne wears out faster which leads to more frequent DI replacements, it snowballs. Buy a good unit with good filters that protect the membrane and it protects the DI all of which saves you money from now on.

10/20/2008, 02:19 PM	#11
AZDesertRat Moved On Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: NW Phoenix Posts: 16,621	Sorry, I don't remember which unit or membrane you have. But the answer is usually yes, most units with the exception of some Watts Premier, Whirlpool and Sears and a few others, all use a standard TW-1812-XX series RO membrane. Most of the exceptions use a 1810 series which looks similar but is not the same and will not fit in a standard RO housing. Something you might consider if you are looking for a membrane is look at Spectrapure. They have two series of membranes, their best is what they call their Select series. These are 100% individually hand tested and guaranteed to be 98+% efficient unlike any other membrane on the market. You pay more initially but the DI savings adds up quickly since for every 2% you increase the membrane efficiency you double the life of your DI. This pays for itself quickly if your water is very high in TDS to begin with. They also offer their standard membranes which again are unlike any others out there. Spectrapure treats all their membranes with a proprietary treatment which improves both the GPD output and the rejection efficiency. Even their standard membranes will outperform any other membrane available. I can say I have now had 3 Select series membranes and the worst one was operating at 99.23% rejection rate with the best one in the unit I presently have operating at better than 99.4% rejection rate. I tested my water last week and the incoming TDS was 583, which is actually low for me and the RO only TDS was 3.3 even without DI. My DI lasts forever compared to my old normal RO/DI unit.

10/20/2008, 02:24 PM	#12
MileHighFish Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: NM. Posts: 1,722	thanks for the info... i'm running a unit called "aqua safe" (for now) but i have a hair algea prblm.. so i know my d/i isnt working as well as a better unit.. __________________ See "Red House" for pics!! I'm sick of following my dreams. I'm just going to ask them where they're goin', and hook up with them later. Mitch Hedberg Current Tank Info: Reef tank, 100 gal Lee Mar polished.. 60 sump.. 800 watts mh 20k radium..Ran on "Taiwan HQI Ballast" 330 watt VHO.. 48 watt compacts (dawn/dusk).. sps/lps tank..

10/20/2008, 02:47 PM	#13
AZDesertRat Moved On Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: NW Phoenix Posts: 16,621	AquaSafe uses the GE 100 GPD RO membrane which is pretty much equal to the Dow Filmtec 75 GPD in all respects. I do have heartburn with their use of poor quality GAC and high micron carbons though, they do little to protect that expensive membrane causing it to wear out prematurely. If they would just spend a few dollars more and include a better prefilter and even a single 0.6 micron Chlorine Guzzler they could eliminate the second carbon canister and use it for a real DI filter. Probably wouldn't cost them $15-$20 to make their unit a viable RO/DI system with better filters and a good vertical refillable 20 oz DI.