Better RO/DI unit?

[afgoody]

I have had it with Ed at AquaSafe. I know most of you have had success with his products, but I have experienced nothing but aggravation from this guy. So much, in fact, that I'm considering throwing away the RO/DI unit that never got my TDS below 100 even on a $65 pump (that broke after only 4 months) and starting over. Yes, I have TDS that is high at about 700, but isn't that the point of these systems?...to rid my water of TDS so it's safe for my reef and drinking.

So, now I'm in the market again. Anyone have any suggestions for an RO/DI unit with auto shutoff that puts out 50-75 gpd and good customer service that will stand by their product instead of displacing the blame on the customer? I'll be drinking the water as well as using it for my tank.

Thanks in advance,
Adam

BTW-Yes, I know that you 'get what you pay for' and that AquaSafe is cheap compared to other companies. The money saved isn't worth the aggravation in my experience.

[afgoody]

bump

[hopper]

I have a Kent RO/DI unit rated for 60 gpd and it has worked flawlessly since I bought it. Marine Depot sometimes has shipping specials on purchases over $175. You are exactly right though about you get what you pay for which is why I went ahead and spent a few extra bucks.

[Zander]

In my experience, most of the RO/DI units are the same... it's just the quality of the membranes, filters, and resin that is included with the initial purchase. These units are not rocket science. If you can't hit low tds, you can always easily add a few more stages to your unit.

[hopper]

Zander, you are right about most of them being alike. I am not positive, but I think that Dow-Corning makes most of the membranes for RO/DI units on the market. I purchased my RO/DI unit when I first got my tank and Kent was the recommended brand by my LFS. It has been a great unit with no problems. A company by the name of Buckeye I think it is out of Ohio has a good rep and also another one out of Canada that I have heard good things about. Either one of these might give you a little more bang for your dollar.

[Reefer95]

i have a Kent's Maxxima Ro/Di unit and i got it at a good price from Petsolutions.com. i have had no problems with it and have used it quite often. check for them on Ebay

[Zander]

FWIW, I have an ARS Oceanic 100gpd and have added an extra DI chamber from buckeye. Works like a charm with my high tds tap water.

afgoody - what is your tds reading after the RO membrane but before the DI??? Also, what is your clean/waste water ratio?

[moonpod]

the units by and large use the same "parts" irrespective of brand name. So as long as your unit is assembled correctly, if you are having problems reducing your TDS to acceptable levels, you need to piggy back it/add another RO stage or something. You may need something 'custom' in which case I'd recommend calling up Walter at www.airwaterice.com. He is very knowledgable, has very good prices, and should be able to figure out what's wrong with your situation.

[grantn]

I have a Spectrapure 2000 ( 5 stage ). It works great I get less than 1 TDS. I was going to go with the Kent but found out it claims it will give 0 TDS if the source is around 200 TDS. That made me nervous so I went with Spectrapure. I have 250-300 TDS in my source water and the water standards allow for up to 800 TDS. Each unit will have different capabilities so check out the specs before you buy the next one.

[AgentSPS]

Originally posted by Zander
In my experience, most of the RO/DI units are the same... it's just the quality of the membranes, filters, and resin that is included with the initial purchase. These units are not rocket science. If you can't hit low tds, you can always easily add a few more stages to your unit.

I agree with this assessment. I use SpectraPure. Their resins and membranes are top of the line lab grade. You can pay a little more for their pre-tested RO membranes (Not sure if this is just marketing). As far as support goes I have had many 30+ min conversations with them. Same two individuals every time. They understand our hobby very well and our concerns. Good company.

[Johnsteph10]

It's all the same materials - just different outside parts.

You can't go wrong with filterdirect, airwaterice, or buckeyefield supply. They are all great.

John