4 Stage RO/DI Unit

[ZeroKoolNYC]

Hello all, I'm a newcomer to the site and also to the hobby of Marine Aquariums. I have recently decided to devote more time and effort into giving my aquatic friends the best possible environment possible. I have just purchased a 4 stage Reverse Osmosis Dionization Unit and finally managed get it setup with no help from the instructions. I understand that waste water will exit the unit but my question is this. Does the line creating giving the drip the Waste Water or is the line with the most water coming from it the Purified Water?

[gwen_o_lyn]

the line with the most water is the waste water... yeah it sucks.. you lose about 3-4 times more water than what ya make

Welcome to TR!! Glad to have ya here

[ZeroKoolNYC]

Well hopefully you can help me because that means I crossed to waste line into the deionization line and the almost purified water out the waste line. Is their any way to speed up the process since I literally have a drip coming from what is suppossed to be the purified water? The unit didn't bring great instructions.

[Kamaaina-bob]

Can you take a picture of the unit? It could also be your water pressure may be to low if that's the case you may need a booster pump.

[ZeroKoolNYC]

Here are the photographs after the installation. I am hoping I installed this correctly because as I stated before the instructions that came with the unit where worthless. Here are the descriptions of the lines as followed:

(Black Line) Incoming Tap Water feed entering the sediment filter which will flow to Carbon Filter.
(Yellow Line) Feeds chemical and sediment filtered water into the membrane and out the two exit taps.
(Red Line) To my knowledge this is the waste line since it is allowing the most water to pass through.
(Green Line) Feeds membrane filtered water into the deionization filter. Unfortunately this is the line that trickles drops of water.
(Little Red/Big Blue Line) RO/DI Purified Water exits this line.

I curious to know if I am having a water pressure issue can a booster pump resolve this issue? How much does a booster pump cost and where can I find one? Also will low pressure make me waist more water then normal when attempting to create RO/DI Purified water. Thank you for the assistance everyone.

[Amphibious]

ZeroKoolNYC

It appears you installed it corectly by the pictures and explanation you gave.

Yes, water pressure makes a difference. Low water pressure will allow for less RO/DI water and more waste water. Yes, a booster pump will fix the problem. You can buy one where you got your unit (probably) or do a search on Ebay for Aqua Safe, they have them for under $100 I think.

[ZeroKoolNYC]

Amphibious, thank you for the information. Before I make the purchase for the booster pump I'm going to see if installing the RO/DI unit to the bathroom sink or shower head to see if it has the necessary pressure needed to operate the RO/DI Purifier correctly. Is their a particular mobel/manufacturer booster pump that you could recommend to me? Also if you have reputable vender that you would recommend that would also be appreciated.

[Rob]

so far you are on the right path, and you can attempt other faucets, but since you are running on the same pressure in all (not a plumber so this is a guess) you will likely see the same results.

my suggestion, along with the booster pump is a pressure gauge, you can get these with the boosters (aquasafe sells them) for about $25. and this way you know exactly what you are dealing with

[ZeroKoolNYC]

Rob, thank you for the advice. Not to sound lazy but would you be able to provide me with a URL to a recommended booster/gauge so I don't possible order the wrong item. Thank you for you advice.

[Rob]

np..

here is the main site
http://stores.ebay.com/The-Aqua-Safe-Pure-Water-Shop

and the pressure gauge
http://cgi.ebay.com/AQUA-SAFE-PSI-ME...QQcmdZViewItem

[gwen_o_lyn]

You can also make the water slightly warm- just not hot and it will come out faster.

[ZeroKoolNYC]

Gwen_o_lyn, I'm curious will increasing the tempurature of the water decrease the quality of the purified water as well as decrease the lifespan of the filters and membrane within the RO/DI Purifier? I have contacted the manufacturer of the RO/DI Purifier and found out that they have Water Pressure Boosters that are compatible with this unit for $100.00. I'm going to check the other faucets to see if they work before making me next decision of whether or not to order booster pump.

[Rob]

you dont want to heat or warm the water.
it will com out faster, but here is why..
when you heat something up, an material, it expands. so when you heat up the water, you will heat up the filters and membranes, causing them to expand, which means that they hols in them get bigger.
depending on the temp, you might increase a 1 micron filter to 2 or 3 microns.
same with the RO membrane. while the holes in those are equivalent to about .0001 (dont quote me on this number) you are going to make them larger.

this in turn will reduce your the rejection rate causing less purified water.

so yes, the water come out faster because the path is less restrictive, and because its less restrictive, it will be less effective in filtering the water.

hope that helps..

[ZeroKoolNYC]

Rob, this is what I figured so unfortunately I will not take the path of raising the temperature to the water into the filter. I will attempt to install the RO/DI Purifier to the Bathroom faucet and see what results I get with this. If this does not work then I will be calling the manufacturer to order to pressure booster pump.

[ZeroKoolNYC]

Hello everyone, well I have finally got home from work and went directly to setup the RO/DI Purifier to the bathroom faucet (after eating a small meal of course). The manufacturer stated that I should be able to get 1 gallong of purified water per every 3 gallons of waste water. Unfortunately the water pressure from the bathroom faucet is even worse then that of the kitchen faucet. I wasn't even able to reproduce the small drop of water every 3 second that I got from connecting the unit to the kitchen faucet. Looks like I will have to contact the manufacturer in Florida tomorrow and order the Booster Pump. Which will slightly delay my next project of converting from Hang On Tank Power Filters to a sump filtration setup which I will definitely require some assistance/guidence on from my new friends here are Talking Reef. Thanks for the advice and information everyone.

[gwen_o_lyn]

Here is my take on warming up the water going through the RODI unit....

Ya know how ya run the water in the summer and it comes out much warmer than the water in the winter? Well in the winter, when the water comes out super cold, I match the temp to what the water temp would have been if it was summer. It's not that warm, just not super cold.

I know you aren't supposed to do it, but I always have. But thanks for explaining why Rob- never knew all the details!

So at what temp is the water too warm do you think? Got me curious now

[Rob]

im not sure if there is a "perfect temp"
my understanding is cold.. probably 40-50F
but again, this is ONLY a guess..

[Scott]

Looks like everything got mentioned. I just had to jump in and say HI. LOL

I have a pressure gauge and for me it reads around 45-46 psi.

I've read elsewhere how someone warms their incoming water, they get an extra 15-25 feet of tubing and put it in a 5 gal bucket all coiled up. Then fill the bucket with water and put a heater in there to warm that water. Not HOT, but around tank temp. That's the closest I'd come to using warm water.

[ZeroKoolNYC]

Hello everyone, well I'm slightly affraid of offerring a brand new RO/DI Purifier up to the heat gods because I'm a college student living on my own in the Bronx, and I'm trying to not have to respend additional money because of mistake that are made on my behalf. I'm tempted to raise the temp out of curiosity but because of the test results I receieved on the efficiency of the unit I will just order the booster and do things correctly. (I took two 5 gallon buckets and placed the waste line in one and the Purified Water Line in the other, and I got less then 1/10 inch water in the purified water and 5 gallon of waste in the other). Thanks for the advice everyone.

[Amphibious]

ZeroKoolNYC

Sorry I haven't gotten back to before now. Here's a link to an RO/DI seller in Orlando that I trust...Purely h2o. His name is Brian. You could also look on Ebay. Type in Aqua Safe in the search area. Thay also sell booster pumps. But if you have questions Brian might be easier to get on the phone.

Dick

[ZeroKoolNYC]

Amphibious, thank you for the information. I am actually considerign purchasing the unit through Purely H2O. They seem to have a slightly cheaper price, more detailed description, and free shipping. You pointed me in the right direction, thank you. Purified water here I come. :-)

[ZeroKoolNYC]

Amphibious, I took the information that you gave me and placed an order for the Aquatec 8800 Booster Pump from Purely H2O. It is rated to increase Water Pressure adjustable from 40psi to 160psi and has EMI/RFI Electronic Sound Surpression. Thank for the help once more. I will keep everyone posted.

[Scott]

Dick (or anyone else that uses a booster pump)...what psi do you run your booster pump at? Just curious if I'd get more good water if I raise my psi higher than 45.

[ZeroKoolNYC]

Hello everyone, I was also curious to what Scott is asking as well. I was wondering if their is a maximum efficiency level that an RO/DI Purifier would run at to create the most/best quality purified water with causing damage to the RO/DI Purifier or Membrane for that matter.