High TDS after RODI
- Thread starter spuri87
- Start date
GPT concurs that it looks spent! but as @Alexander1312 said, need to find out the root cause of the problem and thats most likely happening before the RO stage..
Alexander1312
Supporting Member
I believe you have to rethink your RODI needs.
An RODI cannot be too big but too 'small', in my opinion.
I have 8 stages for 27/28 TDS, and still need to make some adjustments.
I think you should talk to someone who does this for a living, so you are not spending more money than needed, but for sure you need a more appropriate carbon media and potentially more than one DI stage.
Expanding on the one you have is probably not the most cost efficient way but only a temporary fix, and your membrane might be impacted from receiving the full chloramine load and might need to be replaced.
Water is the most important thing in our hobby, and getting this right is well invested money given how much everything else cost and most importantly, the well being of our animals. Having chlorine or ammonia in the water is certainly not something we want to do to our fish.
Feel free to DM me and we can discuss further.
An RODI cannot be too big but too 'small', in my opinion.
I have 8 stages for 27/28 TDS, and still need to make some adjustments.
I think you should talk to someone who does this for a living, so you are not spending more money than needed, but for sure you need a more appropriate carbon media and potentially more than one DI stage.
Expanding on the one you have is probably not the most cost efficient way but only a temporary fix, and your membrane might be impacted from receiving the full chloramine load and might need to be replaced.
Water is the most important thing in our hobby, and getting this right is well invested money given how much everything else cost and most importantly, the well being of our animals. Having chlorine or ammonia in the water is certainly not something we want to do to our fish.
Feel free to DM me and we can discuss further.
Keep your eyes open, for a rodi unit sometimes people just give them away here. I personally gave away 2 of them I acquired from break downs.
Ro buddy can work but it's like a super budget option smaller canisters it looks like they may not last as long. Only a guess on my part as I never had one.
My current system is 6 stages (*actually 7 stages but I haven’t hooked up the second ro membrane yet been saying I will one day for 7 months now)
I have beggining from tap 2 sediment filters, 1 carbon block, 2 di resins chambers and the RO membranes to rodi storage barrel.
I'm no expert and I'm sure probably most of those who have already commented know more about these things than I do.
Just sharing my setup if it helps shine any light.
Sediment filters: catch larger particles, having two back to back catches more stuff making things following it last longer.
Carbon blocks: (the recommended type for reef systems also will remove chloramine and chlorine. * the really cheap ones won't.)
Carbon blocks typically remove volatile organic compounds, and some heavy metals like lead, as well as pesticides, herbicides, and other chemicals.
Di resin: ( color changing is preferred to know at a glance when it's depleted)
They remove dissolved ions, which are positively charged cations (like calcium, sodium, and iron) and negatively charged anions like chloride, sulfate, and Silica.
Ro membrane:
They remove dissolved salts, minerals, heavy metals, bacteria, viruses, and larger organic molecules
** it's often recommended having 2 membranes as it will greatly reduce the waste water produced by the rodi process.
Ro buddy can work but it's like a super budget option smaller canisters it looks like they may not last as long. Only a guess on my part as I never had one.
My current system is 6 stages (*actually 7 stages but I haven’t hooked up the second ro membrane yet been saying I will one day for 7 months now)
I have beggining from tap 2 sediment filters, 1 carbon block, 2 di resins chambers and the RO membranes to rodi storage barrel.
I'm no expert and I'm sure probably most of those who have already commented know more about these things than I do.
Just sharing my setup if it helps shine any light.
Sediment filters: catch larger particles, having two back to back catches more stuff making things following it last longer.
Carbon blocks: (the recommended type for reef systems also will remove chloramine and chlorine. * the really cheap ones won't.)
Carbon blocks typically remove volatile organic compounds, and some heavy metals like lead, as well as pesticides, herbicides, and other chemicals.
Di resin: ( color changing is preferred to know at a glance when it's depleted)
They remove dissolved ions, which are positively charged cations (like calcium, sodium, and iron) and negatively charged anions like chloride, sulfate, and Silica.
Ro membrane:
They remove dissolved salts, minerals, heavy metals, bacteria, viruses, and larger organic molecules
** it's often recommended having 2 membranes as it will greatly reduce the waste water produced by the rodi process.
Alexander1312
Supporting Member
Since you live in the same area as @spuri87 , just trying to understand your system again - I assume you have 0 TDS vetted with two different TDS meter?
In terms of sequence, can you confirm your system:
Stage 1 - Sediment
Stage 2 - Sediment
Stage 3 - Catalytic carbon
Stage 4 - RO membrane
Stage 5 - DI - mixed bed?
Stage 6 - DI - mixed bed?
Membrane is last in the system. Everything else is right.
Yea it was zero, now showing 1. I Probably need to swap the sediment filters or carbon block. Both Di resin are still at halfway point.
Not crazy worried about it showing 1. I have the replacements already just need to actually swap them one day lol.
Alexander1312
Supporting Member
Are you saying you have the membrane at the end? This is highly unusual. Any reason for this?
Just how it was set up, it was working and reading 0 tdos until a week ago. I don't know what I'm doing plumbing wise. The master plumber helped me hook it up. I only know what the different parts are supposed to do from research. It's been working so don't trust myself and lack of plumbing know how not to screw something up.
Yes I believe that my membrane is at the end of system. I can confirm tomorrow.
Alexander1312
Supporting Member
Interesting. I assume the RO membrane is setup before the DI stages.
I got the replacement filters today, and now I see 30 after RO stage and 0-1 after DI stage.. I dont know if I should even care about high TDS after RO stage anymore tbh, since after DI stage it is close to 0 now, which is what matters.
Going back to why it crept up from 0 to 35 within a month, I may have found a smoking gun while going through the instructions.. RO Buddie advices against using float valve, stating that the DI resin cant 'handle' it basically.. And thats what I have in my home setup.. I will anyways upgrade the RODI system to a better one this thanksgiving, but good to find a potential cause behind this issue.
Going back to why it crept up from 0 to 35 within a month, I may have found a smoking gun while going through the instructions.. RO Buddie advices against using float valve, stating that the DI resin cant 'handle' it basically.. And thats what I have in my home setup.. I will anyways upgrade the RODI system to a better one this thanksgiving, but good to find a potential cause behind this issue.
psidriven
Supporting Member
The main reason to care about high tds post ro membrane is cost, since di resin costs more per tds removed than properly setup ro membrane.
Coral reefer
Past President
Did we hear what your pressure is?
Coral reefer
Past President
You are shooting in the dark without one
Alexander1312
Supporting Member
I would NOT go with the BRS but rather support a small business.
Andy / @ReyDeFarts is busy right now, but I recommend to discuss with them directly what they recommend for your needs: https://airwaterice.com/collections/reefkeepers-rodi/products/typhoon-5-stage-rodi-reefkeeper