High TDS Question New tank

[blackz151]

I am in the process of filling my 80 gal rimless tank. My Ro unit is a sachem 200gpd. I put all new filter's in it. Ro's and the 3 others. I let it run for about an hr at 0 tds. I started to fill my tank at 0 tds got about half way though the fill checked my tds meter and its about up to 200 in an 25-30 out now. What went wrong? Am I missing something? Should I wait to fill the rest of the tank? I tried to flush the membranes and its still about the same. Any info would help I just don't understand how it went up that quickly.

[Kairus]

Test the water after the RO membrane and before the DI resin. Then compare it to the TDS after the DI resin. The DI resin is probably exhausted somehow.

[blackz151]

The tds before is 125-128 then out of the di it's now 80

[blackz151]

I was just checking also my waste water and ro water before the di are both really close. Is this wrong. Ones like 137 ones 133

[blackz151]

Im pretty sure I have a problem with the ro membrane. I have about 50 psi in the system

[slief]

What make and model RODI are you using and what filters?

Not all filters are created equal. My tap TDS is around 500. I use a SpectraPure 5 stage MaxCap UHE 100GPD system. The TDS after my RO filters but before my DI filters is 7 TDS. I get 0 TDS after the first DI and second DI. Despite my high TDS in my tap water, I get 700-1000 gallons or more of 0 TDS RODI water before having to change my first DI cartridge. The second last much longer. I get thousands of gallons before have to change any RO cartridges. This despite that fact that my system is a 1:1 waste vs RODI system which tends to be harder on cartridges. I just setup another SpectraPure 5 stage MaxCap 180GPD system yesterday for friend and saw the kind of TDS same numbers.

Your TDS should be much lower after the RO stage so I agree, something is obviously wrong. Your issue could be crappy cartridges which is common or it could be that you have it setup wrong. How about posting some pictures of your filter showing the cartridge order. Also, it may help to see how it's plumbed as far as where you have the input line plumbed. Did you properly flush each membrane before installing the next? When I put new membranes in, I alway run them for several minutes to flush them out before allowing that water to pass through the down stream cartridge. If that means removing a downstream cartridge or disconnecting the down stream cartridge to bypass it and plumb a line in so I can send that water to the lawn I will do so. I watch my TDS meter during this process to see the TDS numbers come down and stabilize. The I add the down stream cartridge. If it's a new cartridge, I will repeat the process before I consider that water usable. This is important because a brand new cartridge will have stuff in that drives the TDS up until the cartridge is properly flushed. That higher TDS can shorten the life of the downstream DI cartridges.

Not to add insult to injury but people love to save money when buying RODI's and filter cartridges and think that because they look the same, they must be the same but that notion couldn't be any further from the truth. They are not all created equal. Not even close.

If you bought a system from a reputable manufacturer or cartridges from a reputable manufacturer, this may be something you should discuss with them too. Depending on your tap water quality, there could be things in the water like chloramines in high levels that are killing your cartridges. Also keep in mind that most companies unlike SpectraPure don't make their own cartridges and a few that don't use cheap and or questionable materials inside their cartridges. I will post a link to your water quality report which may be helpful should it be determined that your issue is beyond setup or filter quality.

FWIW, I would not use that water in a new system. You could end up chasing all kinds of issues down the line whether it's loss of life in the tank or nuisance algae issues.. Get your issue sorted out before proceeding.

[slief]

Here is a 2012 report for your area (Coral Spring Fl.). I did a quick search for the 2013 report but couldn't find it. Either way, this may come in handy should you need to talk to your filter manufacturer. As I said, there are certain things in tap water than can burn filter cartridges in a hurry and may warrant the use of an additional pre-filter to extend the life of your RODI filters.
http://www.coralsprings.org/Publicat...C4490484C4FBE9