EBay RO/DI Units, Looking for Feedback

[OneBowl]

Next on the list as I accumulate equipment and deplete my bank account is an RO/DI unit. Would any one be so kind as to provide their experiences/recommendations with EBay sourced units? There seem to be at least a couple of providers. Unit would be needed for a 72 gallon tank with 30 gallon sump and a drinking water set-up would be preferred. Areas of interest: ease of installation, installation support, performance, maintenance. Will be running well water (probably 60F and 45psi) with some iron and reasonably high nitrates through the system.

And my stupid question of the day: any downsides to drinking RO/DI water? Health? Taste? Anything?

Thanks everyone.

 

[ohio reefer]

i have an aquasafe canada ro system 100gpd, it did not come with a di unit but i bought one for $40. it's great!

i dont think you can drink water if it has a di unit on it. but you can put a stop valve between your ro and di sections so you only drink ro water. thats what i do.

hth

mark

 

[Atari]

It won't do you any harm to drink it.. it just might taste a bit stale. A final stage carbon filter should make it a little more appealing.

 

[SquishyFish]

The one down side to running a R/o or and Ro/Di unit is that it takes 3 gallons of water to produce one gallon of purified R/o water.

 

[ccCapt]

I bought a 110 gpd unit from filterdirect on ebay. Great filter. It's set up so the ro filtered water goes into a holding tank for drinking and also has an outlet line that goes thru the di filter that I use to fill up my containers for top offs and water changes.

 

[CBRGuy]

I have the same one as cccapt.. It is a great RO/DI.

 

[ClamKnuckle]

bought a 110 gpd unit from filterdirect on ebay

I too have a 110 from filter direct and so far it's great. I did not get he holding tank though...I have no need for it and it saved me a few bucks and a few feet of space. I have never heard a bad thing about these ro's and they are pretty cheap comparatively so I recommend it.

 

[NewPhishGeek]

I got the 110GPD FilterDirect RO/DI unit from eBay. Easy to install and it seems to work fine. I'm thinking about getting a TDS meter to monitor the performance. Anyone use one? Any recommendations.

 

[Atari]

Yep, picked one of these meters floating around on ebay. Works great.

In case that link didn't work, it's the HM Digital TDS/Temperature meter.

 

[TygGer]

I was also wondering about these systems. Do you guys worry about the availibity of replacement filters/membrane for the Ebay units?

Is using a TDS meter the only way to measure the performance of a RO/DI system? And has anyone done tests for the Ebay units?

 

[CBRGuy]

The filters are standard size. So I think that any filter will work, but I am sure that there will always be filters available since it is made by Honeywell.

 

[KFEdaddy2k]

I too have the AquaSafe RO/DI system I purchased on eBay. it is a great system. My dad even purchased one a couple months after I did. So far I have only used it for drinking water and the ice maker, but plan to use it for my new saltwater take I'll be setting up starting next week.

As for filters, it uses standard 10" filters that can be purchased from AquaSafe or hundreds on on-line sites. You can also find them at your local Lowe's or Home Depot. RO filters (the RO membrane part) usually last about 5-6 years. They can be replaced, but at the low prices you can get systems on eBay for, it's probably just as cheap to buy a whole new system in 5 years or so.

I've had mine running for 8 months now and have not needed to change the filters. I purchase a TDS meter when I bought the system and tap tested at around 200 TDS, filtered water went down to 0 TDS with a fews days after installing the new system. It is still in the 0 - 5 TDS range, so there is no plan to change the filters at the moment. I'm sure the new saltwater tank will take it's toll on the filters and I will need to change them soon.

The AquaSafe is a great system at a great price. Most of the systems are basically the same, so it really doesn't matter which one you buy, just get a good price. AquaSafe offered a good install manual and FAQ, with some good humor thrown in. I recommend the company and the system.

Kurt

 

[srgetz]

I am very happy with my ebay unit... see here for more info: http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=24053&highlight=

 

[Atari]

RO filters (the RO membrane part) usually last about 5-6 years.

I think 1-2 years (depending on tap water quality) is a much more probable estimate.

Oh and welcome to AA

 

[KFEdaddy2k]

I think 1-2 years (depending on tap water quality) is a much more probable estimate.

It depends on water quality and the amount of water you run through it. Obviously, the more water you filter (bigger aquarium) the less time the membrane will last. Some of the filter systems, AquaSafe I know for sure, have a valve that when switched over allows you to "back-flush" the membrane periodically. This extends the life of the membrane.

Another thing that will extend the life of the membrane is good quality pre-filters. Most systems have 3 filtration steps before the membrane. Keeping these pre-filters changed on a regular basis will extend the life of the RO membrane as well. I don't think 5 years is an unrealistic time frame at all.


Kurt

 

[pufferman]

I own a Kinetico 3 stage RO filter, it has an automatic TDS meter that actually tells you when the cartridges are exhausted and the TDS increase. If you go to their website, they have a ten gallon storage tank for larger families. I use that and its perfect for my 30 gallon tank.

P-MAN