RO Unit
 

I need to buy a RO unit where does everyone buy theirs ? As in best price to quality.

Is there really much of a difference from a 3 or 4 or 5 stage unit?
Its only going to be for a nano tank, so i don't think i need all the bells and whistles. I like reliable and simple, not just throwing money on what cost the most.It will be hooked up to a kitchen facet or garden hose depending on my mood and the weather.
Ideally it will only be used twice a month for less than a day each time if that means anything to the life span of filters/membranes good or bad.
Thanks

Aquasafe. Best price and its Canadian.

I started of using a 4 stage Kent RO/DI unit and it worked fine for years. Then it was time to switch out all the filters and resin and I came upon Aquasafe on Ebay. They had their 7 stage system with 3 years of filters for only $120 and free shipping (I haven't seen this offer since). This was about the same price as just a change of filters for my Kent unit so I gave them a go. The unit works okay but it comes with and adjustable flow valve where as most system come with a fixed flow restrictor matched to the membrane. So after some adjustment you get it dialed in. After awhile I found this was not a set and forget adjustment, it would suddenly stop producing much waste water then you would have to reset it, awhile later it was dumping tons of wastewater and little pure water. I also wasn't keen on 3 stages of DI resin. I ended up finding an inline line flow restrictor with a valve for flushing the membrane built in for the Aquasafe unit but ended up putting it on my Kent unit and went back using that one, changing the DI resin is simpler as well on the Kent unit. Any 4 stage ro/di unit will work well for you and give you great water, some have lots of features and better waste to filtered water ratios but in the end all will give you the same product.

Jl has some nice options

I use the Vertex puratek 2 stage RO I 100gallons per day from J&L

I like it a lot (used for 3 years now still works like a charm)and it won't bust your bank account

I use this one and works well. The price was the reason I chose it, no issues so far with it.

Prior to making a purchase it's a good idea to find out more about your water source. I believe you folks in the GVR are fortunate to have very low TDS from the tap. Info should be available on line from your water utility or city. Whether your water is chlorine or chloramine treated will determine if you need an extra carbon stage. A good quality 75 gpd RO membrane could get your TDS down to 0 and you may not even require a DI stage. A water pressure gauge is a good option as is a dual TDS meter.

I use RO water for coffee, tea, cooking, wine/beer making as well as making water for my tank. The unit gets a good workout!

I really like the Spectrapure MaxCap that I bought from Reef Supplies. It's very well made and I haven't had any issues with it whatsoever.

Mike brings up a good point - knowing what you need to filter out is important. For example, here in Saskatoon we deal with chloramines which takes some consideration.

My go to for RO/DI stuff is Bulk Reef Supply, but with the Canadian dollar in the toilet it's harder to buy in USD. I am still using my Kent Barracuda 4-stage RO/DI that I bought in 2004 from J&L Aquatics. All I've ever replaced on it are filters and the pressure gauge. I've modified the heck out of it, but it still functions the same as a stock unit.

For filters, you can't beat Bulk Reef Supply because they have better quality sediment and carbon blocks (smaller micron) than I've found from Canadian suppliers. I'm on a Filmtec 150 GPD RO membrane that I bought from BRS which I'm only flushing 1:1.75 (using a 75 gpd restrictor) that's been running since Apr 2010 and I'm still getting only 2 ppm out of the RO membrane (source water is 150-210 ppm). I flush it for at least a few minutes after every use, and I've been known to forget it "flushing" for an hour or two. :o Interestingly, the original 75 gpd membrane that came with the Barracuda was used very lightly (had a nano tank) and only lasted me 3 years before it was producing 12 ppm. I use the current 150 gpd membrane fairly heavily and it's twice the age!

I added an HM Digital DM-1 dual in-line TDS meter and I have the "IN" measuring just after the RO membrane, and the "OUT" measuring the product water after the DI stage. It's unfortunate that you can't calibrate these probes separately, but so far mine read the same (I put them both on the same line to check). This set up tells me when the tds is creeping up from the RO membrane and it's time to change, and also tells me when the product water reaches 1 ppm and it's time to change out the DI resin.

Mine in Chilliwack is around 60ppm in, and 1 out. I don't use DI as I keep nothing but 2 clown fish, and a little rock of mushrooms, and frankly never had an issue with that 1ppm that is left causing issues.