RO/DI

[RandyRhoads]

Thinking of buying a device to make my own. What will it filter and what wont it filter? Will it have any effect on PH? Our well water is insanely alkaline and full of minerals in such, will it still work?

How long does the filter last before needing to be replaced? Once that time hits do you have to buy a new one or just replace part of it?

 

[BHead707]

When i got my unit i was told to replace the filters every 6-12 months depending on amount of use and the DI filter after 5000 gallons(i think thats right) so i figure ill replace them all at the same time because mine isnt on that much

 

[RandyRhoads]

Ok thanks, what about hte PH and other elements in well water?

 

[bavass]

get one with a TDS meter or add them then you can see whats going in and out of the RO Membrane, and whats going in the unit and out of the unit, that will tell you when they need to be replaced. It all depends on the TDS coming out of your faucet

 

[RandyRhoads]

Well I don't want to waste money on one if it wont take care of that. Our well water is terrible, PH is really high, all kinds of floaties,minerals, and that kind of stuff.

 

[Schism]

Well I don't want to waste money on one if it wont take care of that. Our well water is terrible, PH is really high, all kinds of floaties,minerals, and that kind of stuff.

It will take out minerals and impurities. Its the whole purpose of using Ro/Di for reefs. Get one.

 

[bavass]

You will have serious problems if you dont use ro/di water. There are a lot of things in water you dont want in tank

 

[RandyRhoads]

I use RO DI water, I just don't feel like buying it anymore. Will it lower my PH as well?

 

[bavass]

No I dont think it will lower ph

 

[Schism]

Why do you have high ph? And whats high?

And if you dont feel like buying it anymore then i suggest your own system. I put it off for years before buying one but god **** am i glad i finally did. No more hassle running to get water, saved money and you are the quality control. It pays for itself within a year. More like 6 months.

 

[Schism]

Btw if you would use tap you would probably experience higher ph due to a harder water. Im not sure of this but its my best educated guess.

 

[RandyRhoads]

I'm not sure what reading it is i'll test it again. I remember years ago testing it and not even seeing it on the color chart it was so high. PH chemicals wont even touch it.

THe water is extremely hard well water.

 

[bavass]

Take a look at www.airwaterice.com, maybe email and ask them if they have any suggestions

 

[Saratj1]

My tap water going into my ro/di filter has a ph of around 8.2 it comes out of the filter at around 7.0 so ro/di lowers the ph.
When your well water has a lot of minerals in it its ph buffered which is why you say that the ph chemicals wont touch it, they will work eventually but with unknown results if you keep adding stuff to lower the ph it will eventualy overcome the waters natural buffers and then crash to a very low ph, so there isn't much you can do safely going the chemical route with your water.
When you get everything out of the water through filtration the water will have a neutral ph which is a ph of 7.0

 

[bavass]

Interesting i had no idea it dropped ph

 

[RandyRhoads]

Excellent info, thanks! So the minerals in the water are actually what gives it the alkalinity, similar to some LR the buffers PH..

 

[Saratj1]

Yes, actually the whole ph scale is based on water ( the universal solvent) being a ph of 7.0 ( the middle of the scale) . Same is true for specific gravity pure water is 1.000 , the impurities are what changes waters ph.
Your tank uses the sand bed as a buffer, that's why aragonite or crushed coral is reccomended because it will buffer your water and help maintain a good ph of 8.0-8.4 , no matter what you add to change that your sand bed will resist the change to a certain extent. But if you overcome your waters natural buffering your ph will crash with unknown results.