Coralife RO/DI system - new and not working - Please Help

ReefGirlSara · #1 08/20/2007, 09:23 PM

Just a few hours ago I bought a Coralife Pure-flo II ro/di 50gpd system. The guys at my LFS set it all up for me and said, 'all you need to do is go home and plug it in.' Well, I'm home, I have it hooked up to the hose outside just to get it going, and the water is coming out the waste hose, but not one drop out of the good hose. No water is coming out of the RO membrane to the mixed bed filter, not even a drop.

Any thoughts??

Dawman · #2 08/20/2007, 10:26 PM

There might not be enough water pressure when hooking up to a garden hose . The water goes through the carbon and bed filters and then to the RO membrane . Did you check to make sure they didn`t put the RO membrane in backwards ? If water is coming out the waste line and not the purified line , it sounds like the membrane might be in backwards . Also , during the break-in period it takes time for water to get through the membrane and out the purified line .

SlowCobra · #3 08/20/2007, 10:36 PM

The membrane also may not be seated all the way.

AZDesertRat · #4 08/21/2007, 10:04 AM

Personally I would return it to the LFS and buy a much better quality unit here on RC. The Coralife units don't have a very good track record. They need to stick with other products and leave RO/DI to the Pros.

Dawman · #5 08/21/2007, 10:28 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by AZDesertRat
Personally I would return it to the LFS and buy a much better quality unit here on RC. The Coralife units don't have a very good track record. They need to stick with other products and leave RO/DI to the Pros.

Myself and a few others I know have them and no problems . Two pre filters and a RO membrane is pretty basic and many of these units are from the same manufacture with a different sticker put on them . It`s a pretty simple system and hard to screw up , even for Coralife .

Bad track records ? Is it actually the unit , or the LFS or user that set them up ?

AZDesertRat · #6 08/21/2007, 10:56 AM

The units. They use very poor quality filters and components which equates to poor water quality and short comoonent life.
Look for a unit that uses a 75 GPD Dow Filmtec RO membrane, a 1 micron or smaller rated prefilter, a 0.5 micron Matrix or Chlorine Guzzler carbon block and a vertical refillable standard sized DI canister and cartridge at a minimum. Other things you will eventually want and need are a pressure gauge, autoshutoff valve and TDS meter prefferable a handheld model.

Dawman · #7 08/21/2007, 11:12 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by AZDesertRat
The units. They use very poor quality filters and components which equates to poor water quality and short comoonent life.
Look for a unit that uses a 75 GPD Dow Filmtec RO membrane, a 1 micron or smaller rated prefilter, a 0.5 micron Matrix or Chlorine Guzzler carbon block and a vertical refillable standard sized DI canister and cartridge at a minimum. Other things you will eventually want and need are a pressure gauge, autoshutoff valve and TDS meter prefferable a handheld model.

Maybe in you opinion , there are only two manufactures of RO membranes . Filmtec is the leading manufacture and in most units except the cheap no names on ebay have them . Pressure gauge , auto shut off , and a TDS meter are not things needed IMO.

AZDesertRat · #8 08/21/2007, 11:27 AM

Dow Filmtec is the leading manufacturer of membranes. There are 2 or 3 other major players and numerous Chinese and Taiwanese knock offs most of which do not have ANSI/NSF approval for drinking water systems in the US.
Coralife is a substandard unit there is no getting around it. I know what I am talking about on that subject.
A TDS meter is a must have as well as a pressure gauge. If you do not have your unit hooked up to work automatically you can get by without a autoshutoff valve but it sure works better and easier with one.

SlowCobra · #9 08/21/2007, 11:29 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Dawman
Maybe in you opinion , there are only two manufactures of RO membranes . Filmtec is the leading manufacture and in most units except the cheap no names on ebay have them . Pressure gauge , auto shut off , and a TDS meter are not things needed IMO.

While the auto-shutoff is not mandatory, the pressure gauge and the TDS meter most definitely are.

The pressure gauge lets you know if you have enough pressure to produce adequate good water to the amount of waste. Also it lets you know when its time for a filter change. What is the point of having a RODI if you never know when it is time to change the filters or the DI resin? Without a TDS meter you are just guessing that it is working 100% or accepting that it is at least removing some of the contamenents.

dhnguyen · #10 08/21/2007, 01:12 PM

A hand held TDS meter will be far more accurate than the inline one. No need for one IMO.

And for the records, I have a "cheap" Water General RO/DI unit which most people would consider "ebay" quality. The cartridges used are Filmtec and matrix carbon. They look and feel to be built well. Have had mine since December of last year and TDS reading is still only 1.

It is not rocket science building a RO/DI unit. Infact if you want to can DIY one quite easily.

ReeferAl · #11 08/21/2007, 01:53 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by ReefGirlSara
I have it hooked up to the hose outside just to get it going, and the water is coming out the waste hose, but not one drop out of the good hose.

How much water is coming out of the waste hose? Is it jetting out a few inches or just a slow flow? Does the unit have a flush valve? If it is coming out fast, check whether the flush valve is open allowing the water to "flush" the membrane but not pushing any water across it. If it has a flush valve make sure it is closed.
Allen

ReefGirlSara · #12 08/21/2007, 11:02 PM

I took the whole thing back to the LFS today and they gave me a Kent membrane, they said the guy that set it up yesterday put the wrong membrane in it, but it all came out of the same box, so I am thoroughly confused on that one. Maybe it was used??

Anyway, it's working now. It didn't come with a holding tank to store water- should I buy one? What do you guys do about that?

Thanks!!

AZDesertRat · #13 08/21/2007, 11:09 PM

If you want to store water you will need an autoshutoff valve which you probably don't have with that unit. They are fairly inexpensive to buy and add on. Then you need to decide if you want to use a simple float valve which is the cheap way to go or a dual float switch/solenoid setup which is much better both for reliability and water quality but more expensive.
Some RO/DI units here on RC come with both an autoshutoff valve and a float valve as part of the package. I would be a little leery of the LFS if they are switching things around on you, will the ybe there to back it up when you have problems with it? The RC sponsors depend on word of mouth here on RC and stand behind their products.

SlowCobra · #14 08/22/2007, 12:05 AM

My guess is that another customer returned it because it didn't work. They thought that customer was an idiot. They then tried to pass it on to you.

BuckeyeFS · #15 08/25/2007, 06:46 AM

The pressureized storage tanks you may have seen (looks like the propane tank on your grill) is for storage of RO water. You can store DI water in an unpressurized HDPE tank. Lots of folks use a brute trash can with lid as an inexpensive option.

Russ