what a good Ro/di unit?

[Dr_Hicks]

Originally Posted by nanomano

k I thought so I just wasnt sure cause there is aquarium ones and home ones lol does it matter which one?

The home unit has a pressure tank system that is not necessary for your application, the aquarium model also contains an extra two stages of filtration, it's a full seven stage system; the home system is a five.

[Nano]

Awesome again guy, thanks for the help and speedy responses!

[mike31154]

Before buying a system, best to find out a little more about your tap/source water. I assume the city of Wetaskiwin is the water provider? If so, they likely have a web page with water quality data, such as TDS, and whether the water is treated with chlorine or chloramine for disinfection. Chlorine is commonly used and once you confirm this, you will not need a 7 stage system with two carbon pre filters. Two carbon stages are usually only required for water treated with chloramine.

100 gpd RO membranes have a lower rejection rate than a 75 gpd or 50 gpd, so although you'll be making water faster, you will likely be using up DI media faster as well, and DI media is costly. Also better if pre filter housings are made of clear acrylic rather than the white plastic on some of the cheaper systems. The clear housings make it easy to monitor the condition of your sediment filters visually. The DI stage should also be mounted vertically, not horizontally as on some systems. Horizontally mounted DI cartridges will not make full use of all the DI media inside. A good quality system will also include at least one pressure gauge and a TDS meter.

Saving a few bucks up front on a cheaper system may end up costing you further down the road. I'd recommend budgeting about $200 and you'll get yourself a good quality system with no surprises, such as inadequate pre filters or cheap RO membranes. Most RODI systems use standard, generic 10 inch filter housings and vendors simply stamp their brand name on the product. Aquarium RO systems are no different than others, except that we tend to add the DI stage to completely strip the water of all contaminants. Plenty of info out there, do a bit more research before spending the $$$s.

[Nano]

Originally Posted by mike31154

....whether the water is treated with chlorine or chloramine for disinfection. Chlorine is commonly used and once you confirm this, you will not need a 7 stage system with two carbon pre filters. Two carbon stages are usually only required for water treated with chloramine.....

It is treated with chloramine so I have found out, I wasn't able to get a full report, but called the water treatment facility and got some info, also finding out there is a miniscule amount of mercury in the water!! Apparently only 2 parts per BILLION but this is still present! This scared me as I love my water, so no more tap water for me lol.

[mike31154]

Originally Posted by nanomano

It is treated with chloramine so I have found out, I wasn't able to get a full report, but called the water treatment facility and got some info, also finding out there is a miniscule amount of mercury in the water!! Apparently only 2 parts per BILLION but this is still present! This scared me as I love my water, so no more tap water for me lol.

There you go, you're ahead of the game already. There are few nasties in our water here as well, all within allowable limits for drinking, but I'm still glad I now have a RODI system and have been using the RO for drinking water, coffee, making beer/wine and occasionally when I'm cooking, like making a fine gravy or something.

Since you've confirmed that your water is chloramine treated, you will need two carbon stages before the RO membrane in order to protect it. Should only need one DI stage though, same housing as the pre filters. The one linked to on eBay with the 3 DI stages stacked horizontally is not only overkill, but very inefficient due to the horizontal mounting configuration. I'll reiterate that a TDS meter & pressure gauge are two items no system should be without. You might even want to pick up a handheld TDS meter & check your tap water before buying the RO system. I found one at the local WalM for just under $10. Should be in the aisles close to automotive stuff, where the RV gear is. They sell them so people can check the water they hook up to with RVs when traveling.

[Nano]

Originally Posted by mike31154

There you go, you're ahead of the game already. There are few nasties in our water here as well, all within allowable limits for drinking, but I'm still glad I now have a RODI system and have been using the RO for drinking water, coffee, making beer/wine and occasionally when I'm cooking, like making a fine gravy or something.

Since you've confirmed that your water is chloramine treated, you will need two carbon stages before the RO membrane in order to protect it. Should only need one DI stage though, same housing as the pre filters. The one linked to on eBay with the 3 DI stages stacked horizontally is not only overkill, but very inefficient due to the horizontal mounting configuration. I'll reiterate that a TDS meter & pressure gauge are two items no system should be without. You might even want to pick up a handheld TDS meter & check your tap water before buying the RO system. I found one at the local WalM for just under $10. Should be in the aisles close to automotive stuff, where the RV gear is. They sell them so people can check the water they hook up to with RVs when traveling.

Right on thanks for the info! I have some reading up to do I guess haha

[Hustler]

Ive got the aquasafe, Great unit... cheaper on ebay
but i have 2 older units that did just about the same thing.... Buy used and get new filters/membrane and you will be just fine and cheap bro