di filter looks funny...

[gguertin]

Ok.. I finally bought a ro/di filter in late June... I have pretty poor water here in fargo but was under the impression I would get 6 months out of the pre filters and 1 yr out of the di filter... (its only a 75g tank) I had an air pocket in my di filter and heard a noise coming from the filter the other day I walked in there and instead of the air pocket I now have what is in the picture... Is this normal?

Is it just me or does this filter already look like it is getting close to spent? I am only making water for a 75 there is no way I could have ran through these filters that quickly?

[JetCat USA]

the air pocket is because you're not restricting the output when using the unit, if you don't put enough restriction on the output to keep the DI canister full the water channels around the DI and it's not efficiently pulling TDS to zero as it should. from what i can see it looks like you've had channeling for some time or the mixed bed has separated which is highly likely as it doesn't look to be to well packed with all the free space near the bottom.

also the longevity of the DI is not a timed thing, the TDS entering the DI and the volume of water passing through at that TDS sets the life expectancy. it could possibly make a few hundred gallon, could make just a few gallon before being exhausted......

[gguertin]

ok.. I understand that its not a set time thing but I am going on the fact I dont really use it that much either that I shouldnt be using the filters up in half the time..

I have a Y valve on the washer and dryer hookup, I turn that on to the RO/DI and let it run. I do not restrict the exhaust line for the RO/DI? Have never heard that I should? The picture is in an off state when it is running that water will move inside the canister..

What do you use to restrict the flow? It already only drips. I only filled half of a 32g Brute last night from 12-8am and its a 55gpd unit seemed to be about right?

[markandkristen]

i would make shure your di resin is packed as tightly as you can .

[AZDesertRat]

Air inside a DI canister is normal and nothing to be concerned about. The water travels up through the center so the outside has no effect on water quality.
It does appear like the cartridge is not full though and what is the sponge in there? The cartridge should extend from the top to the bottom and seal tightly between the two for it to work. Resin must be tightly packed to be effective.

My most important question though is "Do you have a TDS meter and do you use it regularly?" I cannot stress how important that is. Color changing resin is a waste of money! It is a very poor indicator of resin quality. DI resin life is entirely dependent on your RO efficiency and how much water you make. If you are making water for a 75 your resin was probably exhausted some time ago especially if it was not packed tightly to begin with.

If you don't have a TDS meter I would suggest number one you remove the DI cartridge and use RO only until you get one along with a new cartridge or replacement resin if your is a refillable cartridge. Pack the new cartridge tightly, tap it on the table or counter several times, repack it and repeat until you cannot get any more resin in it.

DI resin, when it is nearing exhaustion starts to release weakly ionized contaminants back into the treated water in much larger quantities that it was to begin with, sometimes in huge slugs. Some weakly ionized substances are nitrates, phosphates and silicates so test the output soon and keep testing it on a regular basis.

[gguertin]

ok I purchased this from drsfosterand smith its the coral life model... 50gpd 2 pre filters, ro and the di.

I was under the impression I would not have to repack anything or add any new resin... Is this something normal? I will order a tds meter.. I thought i would be safe for a few months atleast... Seems pretty ridiculous if I have to spend 100 dollars in filters every 3 months??? something does not seem right?

[AZDesertRat]

Coralife is not a very respected unit. It is pretty low end when it comes to RO/DI and does not get many positive reviews. Sorry.
You should not have to spend much on replacement fliters. The prefilter and carbon should be replaced every 6 months at a cost of about $15-$20. DI resin as I say is entirely dependent on how good the RO membrane is performing and how much water you make. With the proper resin and a good RO membrane it should last several months though but only you will know by using a TDS meter.
Personally if you have not had the unit long I would highly recommend you return it and buy a true reef quality system from a vendor that knows RO/DI and builds quality systems here in the US one at a time by hand. The unit you have is a mass produced Chinese or Taiwanese import and we have all been hearing the horror stories about imported good and quality control problems.
I try and try to impress upon everyone the differences in quality between units but it is a slow process.

For the $165 the Coralife costs you can get a true reef quality 75 GPD system with a name brand Dow Filmtec 75 GPD 98% rejection rate RO membrane, a 1.0 or better yet 0.5 micron prefilter, a o.5 micron Matrix or Chlorine Guzzler carbon block, pressure gauge, handheld TDS meter, RO bypass valve, adjustable flow restrictor, flush valve and a refillable DI cartridge filled tightly with nuclear grade DI resin at www.buckeyefieldsupply.com . You will find similar units in the same price range at www.thefilterguys.biz and www.purelyh2o.com .

Take a look at the Coralife and notice a few things. It does not have a refillable DI cartridge so you can take advantage of lower cost bulk DI resin replacements. It does not tell you what brand of RO membrane it contains, it does not tell you anything about the "carbon block" so you can figure it is a low capacity 10 micron or larger model. No pressure gauge, no TDS meter, no flush valve, no bypass or flush valves. Its really not worth the money.

[sabbath]

My Coralife 50GPD came with a "GE TFM-50" membrane.

Bummer to hear that they are not a respected unit.

[AZDesertRat]

GE is not a bad membrane but could be slightly better. A 50 GPD GE will give you 50 GPD at 65 psi at about 96% rejection. A 75 GPD Dow will give you 75 GPD at 50 psi and over 90 GPD at 65 psi at 98% rejection. Its the imported knock offs that don't have ANSI/NSF approval that you really have to watch out for.

[dmo]

I have the Coralife unit as well, It is probably not as respected (I don't respect my ro/di machine at all ) IMO, it does seem to be a decent low end machine to begin with.

I have been upgrading parts with each filter change, so honestly I have probably spent a little more in the long run, but I'm not disappointed with my purchase. I'm just thankful that these things are so modular to begin with.

I agree with the filter suggestions AZ listed above, in fact, I probably buy those because he has listed them here in the past (thanks!) I replaced my filters a few days ago with the filter guys shop and the total came to around $37 shipped. To get a new refillable DI cartridge it would probably be another $6.

On second thought, I was disappointed with the faucet adapter this unit came with, it was a plastic POS that always leaked, the threads stripped after a couple weeks

[gguertin]

At this point i have had the filter since late june... I doubt drsfosterandsmith will take it back... unless someone knows something I dont...

So what is the cheapest way I can get reasonable performance out of my ro/di.. I also have another prefilter deal prior to running the water through the ro/di it is just a .15micron filter for a hole house filter or something like that I could get pictures if needed.. I was under the impression that just added another stage to my ro/di.. So if I am stuck buying new filters what do I need or is recommended... Is it possible to upgrade this setup or am I stuck buying a entire new one... I do not want to do this every 3 months...

[sabbath]

It apears to me the trouble here is the di was not packed right. I would e-mail Coralife with your pic and maybe this thread to give them a chance to make their product right.

[gguertin]

also aside from the filters is there a certain tds meter i need to look for? does any one work...

[sabbath]

Would this be a good one to test the ro/di.
http://cgi.ebay.com/HANNA-TDS1-TDS-T...QQcmdZViewItem

[gguertin]

Is that a reasonable tds meter... Is it accurate? Does anyone have any other suggestions?

Also what filters are recommended to replace in my ro/di to make it as efficient as possible.

[AZDesertRat]

Its an OK meter. The TDS 3 model is a little better.
Get the TDS meter and do some tesing before you replace anything. No need to spend money until you find out where the shortcomings are.
First, using a squeaky clean clear glass drinking water glass with no water spots and no soap residue test your tap water TDS. Let the RO unit run several minutes before taking samples to let the TDS creep water pass through. Do it a few times to get the hang of it and to help you see how long it takes for readings to stabilize. Then triple rinse the glass and meter in DI or distilled water. Next test the RO only without DI. Again triple rinse with DI or distilled and finally test the combined RO/DI. Write these readings down.
Your RO only TDS should be 96-98% less than the tap water TDS with a new RO unit. So as an example if your tap water TDS is 250 (which is about the national average by the way) you should get a reading of no more than 5 to 10 TDS, the lower the better. Next, your RO/DI should be 0 if the RO is working properly and the DI resin is working. Most people change resin when they beging to see a reading of 2 or 3 TDS from the DI. This isimportant since DI releases contaminants when it nears exhaustion and some of the first to go are nitrates, phosphates and silicates so keep up with DI replacements.

If your RO is much less than 96% I would call the vendor and raise heck with them. They may or may not back their products, good RO/DI vendors do and will replace it. If the DI is shot you might convince them it was the defective RO that caused it and get that replaced too. If they will not replace things I would look at calling the manufacturer as it should have some sort of warranty I would hope.

As far as upgrades, go with a 0.5 micron prefilter. 0.5 micron matrix carbon block and a refillable DI cartridge so you can use bulk resin replacements and not have to toss the cartridge each time. If the RO membrane is shot look at a Dow Filmtec 75 GPD or for a little more money but big improvement in water quality look at the Spectrapure SpectraSelect 90 GPD hand testedand guaranteed membranes. If you want the best handheld TDS meter available look at the HM Digital COM-100, its extremely accurate.

[gguertin]

meter ordered... guess ill post again in a few days...

[AZDesertRat]

Good move. Test everything before spending an money so you know which direction to go. Hope everything works well! Keep us informed.

[gguertin]

ok so i got the tds meter you told me to get and this is the results.

tap water 241

water after ro/di 002

is that ok.. or should i start checking after each stage?

[AZDesertRat]

You need to check after the RO only too, that's the other important number. At 2 its time to look for a new DI cartridge or resin.

[gguertin]

So I tested the RO part with the DI removed and I am at 7ppm? Is that good... bad...

[Sparty00]

JetCat. You mention in your first reply that he should be restricting more on the outflow.

How do you restrict the output?

[AZDesertRat]

7 down from 241 is pretty good, thats 97% rejection.

The air pocket in a vertical DI canister makes absolutely no difference. The water travels from the bottom up through the center of the cartridge so what is on the outside has no bearing on treatment or contact time. This is normal.