Remove the RO membranes

[Osama]

Since I replaced the membranes on my RO/DI units the system has not been working efficiently & now stopped working alltogether. That's another question to pose later.
My question today will my water be OK for my reef system with the 1 micron _+ 5 Micron filters + the Si - DI cartridge?
and how many gallons of water produced before I have to replace the DI cartridge. I need to have the time to figure out what is wrong wth my new RO membranes.

 

[taikonaut]

Yes, your water should be fine until the DI is gone. You really need to be careful and use a TDS meter if you don't have color change DI resin....

How many gallone before the DI is gone and need to be recharged depends on your tap water's quality. For IL, it is usually pretty good if you are in Chicago area, but if I remember correct you are using well water :? That I have no clue, but does nto prevent me from giving you a wild guess of anywhere between 15-100 gal.

 

[Aquadude]

You didn't mention if you replaced your prefilters. Your RO membrane should last years if you replace your prefilters regularly. If you didn't replace them you are ruining your new membrane.

 

[Osama]

Thanks.
I am using lake Michigan water
The membranes are OK I was asking how long the DI would last without the membranes but with the 1 & the 5 micron prefilters. My previous membrane lasted 3+ years and I think it still had plenty of life in it.
I did cut the flow resistors short to fit I assume that won't make a difference since the resistor constrains the flow and the lenght of the tube behind the resistor would not matter. I have good pressure in the line BUT I get very poor output when the membranes are on line.

 

[tangir1]

I am confused about what you did to the flow "resistor"... for some older SpectraPure unit, the little tubing is cut to different length for different membrane.... the tubing is about 1/20 inch in diameter. I suggest you look into getting a matched flow restrictor for your membrane, and some RO pressure housing has the restictor build-in on the housing... complication if you don't know what you have.

As to the original question, no, sediment filters (1 and 5 micron) does little, if anything, to prolong the life of the DI. It does, however, prevent some sediments (undissoved Al2O3, clay, and particles) from going thru the DI and into your tank. Carbon prefilter, however, does help a little. HTH.

 

[WannaBeReefer]

I am on a well also. My unit is new (Kent RO/DI Hi-S Max.60) and I have made approx. 90 gallons of water so far and my DI cartridge is about 40% used. TDS going in is 450 PPM and finished product is 2 PPM.

 

[Aquadude]

If you don't have enough back pressure on the membrane you will not get any RO water through it. You better go and buy a new flow restrictor for your membrane. Or better yet get a flow restrictor with a valve to flush the membrane clean once in a while. You will get longer membrane life with this type.

 

[ndimuzio]

I am also having problems with my Kent Marine Maxxima RO/DI unit.. I dont know what I am doing wrong but it's not doing anything.. the TDS that was included with the unit says 160 In and about 103 out.. the cartridge in the 3rd canister looks grey on top and fades to brown..
I dont keep the unit charged with water all the time because I hook it into the same tap that my washing machine uses for cold water.. but I do keep water in the unit so nothing dries out. When I ran the unit for 3 hours from the start the pressurey was low on the gauge.. when I run it up to my tank the presure is alot high b/c of the distance the water travels thru the lines up to my tank..

what should I do?

 

[WannaBeReefer]

I also have a Kent unit and I remember reading in the manual that you should keep that cartridge (3rd) moist and to not let it dry out. I have a Kent HiS Maxxima 60 and it works great 450PPM in and 2PPM out. Also I would make sure the HiS catridge is seated properly, mine was a pain to get seated correctly. The cover fits either way!

 

[Unresistible Blue]

Thanks.
I am using lake Michigan water
The membranes are OK I was asking how long the DI would last without the membranes but with the 1 & the 5 micron prefilters. My previous membrane lasted 3+ years and I think it still had plenty of life in it.
I did cut the flow resistors short to fit I assume that won't make a difference since the resistor constrains the flow and the lenght of the tube behind the resistor would not matter. I have good pressure in the line BUT I get very poor output when the membranes are on line.

The length of the capillary tube is critical to the function of the flow restrictor. You cut the tube to length to get a 4:1 waste to permeate (good water) ratio.

If you describe the problem you're having with your membrane I can probably figure out the solution for you.

Blue

 

[Unresistible Blue]

I am also having problems with my Kent Marine Maxxima RO/DI unit.. I dont know what I am doing wrong but it's not doing anything.. the TDS that was included with the unit says 160 In and about 103 out.. the cartridge in the 3rd canister looks grey on top and fades to brown..
I dont keep the unit charged with water all the time because I hook it into the same tap that my washing machine uses for cold water.. but I do keep water in the unit so nothing dries out. When I ran the unit for 3 hours from the start the pressurey was low on the gauge.. when I run it up to my tank the presure is alot high b/c of the distance the water travels thru the lines up to my tank..

what should I do?

A few questions: How long since you've changed the sediment filter? carbon filter? membrane? DI resin?

Are you saying your Ro membrane only reduces TDS from 160 to 103? Or is the 103 after the DI? What is your tap water TDS? After RO TDS? After DI TDS? If you can give me those numbers I can better diagnose the problem.

If you note pressure in the system, typically measured in line prior to the RO membrane, goes up due to back pressure on the system - you need to put a check valve in the permeate line to avoid applying back pressure to the membrane. This may be the cause of your problem. Do you have an automaticshutoff valve? Check valve?

HTH
Blue

 

[WannaBeReefer]

ndimuzio buy a splitter for the water line, a simple garden hose splitter will help a lot

 

[ndimuzio]

Okay here is my setup..
I have the RO/DI unit just in my basement.. I ran a waterline up to my tank and when I need a top-off I hook the unit up to my water supply and top off the tank... thats it.
TheTPS has a probe before the intake from the water supply and a probe in the product water.. it reads about 102 in the product line.
Am I doing something wrong? Should I keep the unit charged at all times?
I am SO confused on how to work this thing!

 

[Unresistible Blue]

Okay here is my setup..
I have the RO/DI unit just in my basement.. I ran a waterline up to my tank and when I need a top-off I hook the unit up to my water supply and top off the tank... thats it.
TheTPS has a probe before the intake from the water supply and a probe in the product water.. it reads about 102 in the product line.
Am I doing something wrong? Should I keep the unit charged at all times?
I am SO confused on how to work this thing!

OK. If your meters are correct you need to do some maintenance on the unit. Let's back up a little and figure out what you need to do. These units are really simple once you trace where the water goes. See if you can answer these questions:

1. Which Kent unit do you have? They produce several models. If you can tell me the model number, don't bother answering No. 2, below (this sounds like a 1040 tax form!

2. Either let me know which Kent model you have, OR can you describe the unit to me:
2a. How many vertical housings do you have? I'm guessing 2 or 3. These are the large clear (or on low cost units opaque) plastic containers mounted below the metal bracket.
2b. How many horizontal housings do you have? These housings will be mounted horizontally above the bracket.
2c. Can you tell me what is in each of the vertical housings? Should be a sediment filter, and one or two housings containing granular activated carbon or carbon block cartridges. Additionally, if your unit include DI (deionization), one of these, probably the far left one, contains a cartridge full of DI resin (small plastic beads the size of course sand).

3. When was the last time you replaced any of the cartridges of RO membrane in the system? By "cartridges," I mean the sediment cartridge, carbon cartridge, and/or DI cartridge.

If you can answer these questions, then we'll have the info necessary to trace the path of the water through your system. Once you can do that, then you'll understand where the Total Dissolved Solids (TDS, not "TPS") meters are measurings the quality of the water. When we have that figured out, we can determine which parts in your system need to be replaced.

I could jump ahead here and with pretty good certainty tell you now, but I'd rather "teach you to fish" than "give you a fish" if you know what I mean.

Also - I'm going to PM you with a phone number - this kind of conversation is much easier to do via phone rather than email.

HTH
Blue

 

[ndimuzio]

Here is the link to the unit I have:
http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem. ... uct=KM1433

I never changed my filter.. the unit is only 3 weeks old... I didnt open the membrane until 2 weeks ago when I tried using the system...

Is it bad that I dont keep the unit charged all the time or is that okay?

 

[tangir1]

if you brought you unit from MarineDepot, the good people there will more than happy to walk you thru with your problem or refer you to KentMarine. Give them a call.

>... the cartridge in the 3rd canister looks grey on top and fades to brown...

That's the DI cartidge. Since your RO water is pretty bad, the DI resin is used up (and change color as it does) pretty fast.

 

[ndimuzio]

But I have barley ran water through it... maybe 50-60 gallons...

 

[tangir1]

Without RO working, you can totally exhaust a brand new DI cartidge in about 100-150 gal with TDS or 150ppm.

That's why barebone DI unit is not economical long term, unless you have very, very soft water (not in CT).

 

[ndimuzio]

Ahhhhh... crud... now what!

 

[tangir1]

Well, call the seller up, and get the RO issue solved so that you won't kill off the DI prematurely. The cartidge should last you hundreds of gallons. Mine give me 500+gal.