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ndimuzio

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I just purchased a RO/DI unit... I am so confused on how to hook this thing up.. I have a float valve, actuator unit, the RO/DI unit, TPS meter and alot of hosing.
I am so confused... please help!
 

taikonaut

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Call your vendor/seller. They should be able to give you instruction to hook everything up. This is water you should expect from them.

If you want to look around, there are a few old threads with diagrams/description to how to hook up the auto-topoff unit. The rest of the RO filter should be all assembled, so you don't have to worry about that.

Basically, there are two outputs from the RO filter. One is called "brine" and the other is called "permeate." Brine is salty waste water. It goes to drain or your lawn for watering garden (well, do the watering when spring comes around). The permeate is the "good stuff." Use your TDS meter on your tap, and in CT, you should see reading around 50-120 ppm. Now test the brine. It should be 80-150ppm. Now test the permeate. It should be 10-20 ppm. So far so good?

If your filter is user friendly, the hose should be color-coded. Blue is the input water, black is brine, while yellow is permeate.... I am not too sure about color (don't have the RO filter right in front of me), so don't freak out if the coloring does not make sense. As long as the TDS reading is fine, then you are ontrack.

Anyway, the actuator unit is called "ASO valve," among other names. This thread has a diagram of the valve near the end:
http://reefs.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=21843

Basically it close off the path from the prefilter to the RO pressure housing when the float valve is closed. It may have 4 or 3 ports, depends on the model. Have fun :)
 

ndimuzio

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From what I understand the product water should go to the float valve which will/wont release the water into my storage bin?
 

taikonaut

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Yes, but there is the ASO valve between the float valve and the RO membrane, otherwise, you will end up with a filter that will waste hundred of gallon of water even if you never get a single drop of product water.
 

ndimuzio

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I setup my RO/DI system.. I didnt use the float valve yet.. the TPS on the in reads 144 and out is 86, is that good?
How/where do I mix the salt in if I am pumping the RO water straight into my sump... this time I did a 20% water change.. put the salt in the sump and kept mixing it around so the pump would spray it into the tank.. also the Ro water is cold.. it lowered my tank 73.5 F
 

WannaBeReefer

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I do not think I would do it that way for a water change, top off is one thing, you do not add that much top off if you do it everyday so it does not effect the tank. I use a 30 Gal rubbermaid for water changes. I fill that with RO/DI and add the salt, powerhead and a heater then mix it for a few days.
 

taikonaut

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>... TPS on the in reads 144 and out is 86, is that good?

There is something wrong here.... what give you the reading of 86? RO output typically in the range of 10-20 if it work properly...
 

ndimuzio

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I don't really know.. I have the RO/DI unit connected to a waterline in my basement.. I turn the water on when I need to top off or do a water change..
The water in reads 144 and out is around 86....]
what am I doing wrong?
 

ndimuzio

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canister one connects to canister two, which connects to the unit that lays vertically on top, one line goes to canister three, and one goes to waste.. the line going out of canister three is the product.
 

taikonaut

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>... canister one connects ... product.

That's sound about right... let it run for a few gallon, and test the TDS then... was the TDS meter calibrated with distilled water, RO/DI water, or TDS standard?
 

taikonaut

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Was it a brand new unit? Can you got hold of some distilled water (nothing added after distillation for "better tasting" water)?
 

taikonaut

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If there is no mineral added to the distilled water, the TDS reading should give you something very close to "0" on the meter.

Make sure you use a clean container for holding the water, since even a small amount of residue can jack up the TDS reading a lot for distill/RO DI water.
 

taikonaut

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No, no no. Use TDS meter to test the distill water and see if it is give you reasonable reading... it is cheaper to assume the meter is wrong than to hack up the RO/DI filter to see what give you such a high reading.
 
A

Anonymous

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Dip the TDS sensor in the distilled water. Just make sure the container and the sensor is clean.
 

ndimuzio

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I ran the unit for a couple hours.. the level on the TPS out keeps rising.. its now at around 149...
I dont get this thing!
 

tangir1

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Did you use it on distilled water? As mentioned above, tap water should give you 50-120ppm, and RO should give you around 10ppm, and DI should be way under 5ppm (most are around "0" for DI).

BTW, who made the TDS meter, and does it come with instruction on calibration and usage?
 

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