RO/DI question

[Megalodon]

My TDS was 8ppm and nearly killed my tank with copper a number of years ago. Apparently with such a low TDS it "scavenges" more copper from the pipes than higher TDS water does. I tested my tapwater with a copper test kit and was amazed. Killed a number of inverts. I've been using RO/DI ever since. And still, even with such a low TDS, the first sediment filter gets dirty and the carbon is used up on chlorine. The RO and DI lasts me a long time though. Another thing to consider is you don't know what comprises of that 26ppm. You only know it's dissolved solids that are safe for human consumption, but that's about it. So to answer your question, better be safe than sorry, use RO/DI.

[ensquire]

Originally Posted by gregzz4

Mike, if you'd like to drink the water from your new setup, plumb a T of some kind before the DI as it's a no-no to drink water that pure

No worries, I like it right out of the tap.

Originally Posted by mike31154

The restrictor may be part of a fitting on your membrane housing or built into a flush/check valve. If it was sold to you as a complete working unit, it should already have one somewhere that matches the 100gpd membrane.

I will have a better look, took it out of the box and made sure all the hoses were there. Even came with full canisters, must have added a few pounds to the shipping weight. LOL

Originally Posted by Megalodon

My TDS was 8ppm and nearly killed my tank with copper a number of years ago. Apparently with such a low TDS it "scavenges" more copper from the pipes than higher TDS water does. I tested my tapwater with a copper test kit and was amazed. Killed a number of inverts. I've been using RO/DI ever since. And still, even with such a low TDS, the first sediment filter gets dirty and the carbon is used up on chlorine. The RO and DI lasts me a long time though. Another thing to consider is you don't know what comprises of that 26ppm. You only know it's dissolved solids that are safe for human consumption, but that's about it. So to answer your question, better be safe than sorry, use RO/DI.

I am starting to come to that conclusion, bought the dam thing, might as well use it.

[mike31154]

Megalodon makes an excellent point about the TDS with regards to not knowing what those solids are. People get focused on high/low numbers & forget that even a few ppms of the wrong stuff are detrimental to your tank inhabitants. I've often mentioned on RODI related threads that people should get a water report from their utility. The utility has to provide this information, it costs nothing & even if you are using RODI system, it's still good to know what's coming in on your tap.

You mention the unit was shipped with full canisters? I assume that means there is water in them? If so, that's likely a good thing, especially for the membrane, since once a membrane is removed from it's original packaging, if it dries out, it's done. Before using the unit it would be wise to give it a good flush, perhaps replace the carbon & sediment filters & sanitize the housings. There are some pretty good instructions on how to do this on various vendor's sites like Buckeye Field Supply, Bulk Reef Supply & probably on the Spectrapure site as well. Spectrapure site should also have some instructions/specs for your particular unit, including info on restrictor location etc.

[ensquire]

Here is the water quality report, Don't think there is a lot of shockers here.

http://www.maca.gov.nt.ca/operations...1&TestID=22844