TDS on pure filters actually goes up after use?

[10" Red Devil]

Hello,

Just wondering if anyone else has experienced this? I have used a 2-stage cartridge and a 3-stage and both when I test the tds goes up by like 30points after being filtered? I do the 5minute flush before I ever test in the very beinning of the filters life.

Thanks!

[10" Red Devil]

P.S.

I just use this for drinking water not tank topoff.

[iCam]

How long has it been set up?

Have filters been changed?

[10" Red Devil]

These are brand new filters

[Minuteman]

Originally posted by 10" Red Devil
P.S.

I just use this for drinking water not tank topoff.

Whew, good thing. wouldn't want those fish to be swimming around in water with impurities...

[Foogoo]

Are you saying the TDS is higher compared to your tap water? Either something is wrong with the filter, your tds meter or the hookup.

That's like an AC unit that raises the temperature...

[shelbyville]

usually all those filters are is carbon to make the water taste better so you think it is actually doing something.

[Muttling]

Are you sure that you're taking your measurements on the treated water line instead of the brine coming out of the RO filter?


An increase of 30 ppm is about right for the reading you should get on the brine or waste water line.

[10" Red Devil]

Originally posted by lbrty9
Whew, good thing. wouldn't want those fish to be swimming around in water with impurities...

Yeah I wouldnt want my corals exposed to the high po4 and no3 that still reside after a pure filter. But of course you knew that right.

[10" Red Devil]

Originally posted by shelbyville
usually all those filters are is carbon to make the water taste better so you think it is actually doing something.

Yeah this is true, but it is supposed to have a sediment filter as well. I have been told these things should drop your tds by 30ppm. I have a really reliable TDS meter and get consistent results with my BB R/O setup.

[10" Red Devil]

Originally posted by Muttling
Are you sure that you're taking your measurements on the treated water line instead of the brine coming out of the RO filter?


An increase of 30 ppm is about right for the reading you should get on the brine or waste water line.

This is not an R/O it is those pure tap water purifiers you stick on the sink.

-out

[Muttling]

Originally posted by 10" Red Devil
This is not an R/O it is those pure tap water purifiers you stick on the sink.

-out

Ohhhh.

I don't have any experience with those units, but I do have a lot of industrial water treatment experience that might provide an answer.


In industrial carbon beds and ion exchange resin beds, we often use anti-clumping agents such as aluminum sorbate. These agents often give a really high TDS and aluminum concentrations in the initial flush of the bed. However, these concentrations generally drop off pretty quickly.

I don't know if this type of agent was used in the material provided with your tap water purifier, but it might explain the TDS reading.

[Wilafur]

a pure filter is a di filter. get a ro/di. your tank will thank you.

[10" Red Devil]

Originally posted by Wilafur
a pure filter is a di filter. get a ro/di. your tank will thank you.

This is not for my tank. It is for drinking water. This is the stupid pur brand of filters you buy at the store. Here is a pic of the cartridge:

http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html...sin=B0007ZYUAE

Here is a pic of the unit
http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html...sin=B0007L7BTU

I use a Bare Bones R/O for my tank which is beside the point. FYI the TDS of my R/O is always around 2. My TDS are not so bad that I need a DI.

[Muttling]

Based on the description, it's a 3 stage unit with a sediment filter, a carbon filter, and a DI filter.

[Wilafur]

haha, well you got me stumped. maybe it is defective?

[Foogoo]

In any case, a water filter shouldn't raise your TDS. That just means it's adding more who-knows-what to it. I say get another one or use another filter. Brita isn't bad if you don't mind dealing with the pitcher and actually lowers the TDS quite a bit.

[Agu]

Justed checked my Pur

115 tds out of the tap

172 tds out of the Pur

130 tds after running a cup of water through the Pur



I suspect Muttling is right that it has to do with the resins used.

Still tasts better than my tap water.

[Hobster]

I don't think there are any resins in either Pur or Brita. I believe they are just a sediment and carbon. After the carbon is exhusted it probably just relases more impurites then what you started with.

I prefer the 1000 yr old glacier water that comes from giant chunks of ice floated across the ocean to Japan and then melted and bottled.

[10" Red Devil]

Originally posted by Agu
Justed checked my Pur

115 tds out of the tap

172 tds out of the Pur

130 tds after running a cup of water through the Pur



I suspect Muttling is right that it has to do with the resins used.

Still tasts better than my tap water.

Oh good! Nice to know someone else is having the same issue. Well I am concerned because I want my TDS low. I am one of the people that feel that water should be almost devoid of anything as possible. Almost R/O quality. Just because we get enough minerals from our food. Too many minerals can lead to Cholestoral.

So this really concerns me. I tested on two filters two seperate occassions.

[10" Red Devil]

When I tested it was like after the first 10minutes of purging the filter and 10 times subsequent to that so it is not that these things are exhausted, unless the carbon gets exhausted that quickly.

[10" Red Devil]

These things are not cheap. I mean $14.99 for barely 3 months is no deal. So it kinda ticks me off that they dont work. Maybe Ill just have to switch to some osbourne sedimentation r/o type filter.

[Wilafur]

if you are so concerned about the tds. get a ro/di system. you can tee off the ro for drinking water.

i'm sure it'll be cheaper in the long run because you will need to replace the pur filters more often at @$15 a pop.