When do I replace R/O Membrane?
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Topic: When do I replace R/O Membrane?
Posted By: Mike Savage
Subject: When do I replace R/O Membrane?
Date Posted: December 12 2007 at 1:43pm
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How do you know when it is time to replace your R/O membrane? Do they have a specific life or is there a way to test them?
Mike -------------  |
Replies:
Posted By: cl2ysta1
Date Posted: December 12 2007 at 1:53pm
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they have a specific life generally. here is the guidelines for the type i have. Depending on your water quality you may have to replace it sooner. I would do a TDS meter and when you know everything else is satisfactory with the unit but you are still getting bad readings its time to replace
1st stage: high capacity, 5 micron sediment filter, to remove sediment, rust, sand, (replace every 12 months) 2nd stage: high capacity carbon filter, coconut shell carbon block filter removes chlorine, taste & odor (replace every 12 months) 3rd stage: high capacity carbon filter, coconut shell carbon block filter further removing chlorine to ensure 100% removal of chlorine (replace every 12 months) 4th stage: TFC-100/TFM-100 Premium membrane we have done extensive testing among different brands of membrane, and we recently have switched to a higher rejection membrane GE Desal membrane, (even better than Filmtec membrane), it removes 97% to 98% of all chemical, dissolved solids in tap water. (replace every 2-3 years) Look at data below. 5th stage: DI filter (de-ionized, de-mineralize filter), Nuclear grade, color changing DI filter with refillable clear housing. The DI filter removes remaining of dissolved solids after RO system. 6th stage: DI filter (de-ionized, de-mineralize filter), Nuclear grade, color changing DI filter with refillable clear housing. The DI filter removes remaining of dissolved solids after RO system. A ball valve is included for dispensing DI water into open containers or to open tank. GOOD for reef, aquarium, hydroponics applications. ------------- I <3 Boxers Achilles tang lover |
Posted By: jeffras
Date Posted: December 12 2007 at 1:58pm
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This would certainly depend on the amount of water you push through the filter. I use my unit for tank water only and turn it off when my holding containers are full. If you use it for drinking water and tank water then you may need to replace them more often.
------------- Jeff Rasmussen |
Posted By: reptoreef
Date Posted: December 12 2007 at 2:00pm
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IMO, test your TDS before the RO unit and after. If it isn't keeping up with the 90% plus filtered and pure(before DI resin)... replace ------------- www.captivereefing.com |
Posted By: cl2ysta1
Date Posted: December 12 2007 at 2:09pm
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i never thought about the drinking water. I only use mine for a tank. like he said if you are pushing a lot of water through it replace more often. ------------- I <3 Boxers Achilles tang lover |
Posted By: Mike Savage
Date Posted: December 12 2007 at 2:14pm
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Thanks for all the input.
How will a TDS meter tell if a membrane is bad or needs to be replaced? I also don't understand how they can say replace membrane every 2-3 years. Shouldn't this be dependent on how much water has gone through the membrane?
Mike ------------- |
Posted By: jeffras
Date Posted: December 12 2007 at 2:31pm
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Won't the tds read higher on a failing membrane? I bet they base the 2-3 years off of the average load. My unit is about 25g a day so I bet they have a recommendation that takes 15g-25g a day usage. I use it much less then this so I just use that free tds meter I got a few weeks ago to test. I am still in the single digits so I figure I am fine. ------------- Jeff Rasmussen |
Posted By: jfinch
Date Posted: December 12 2007 at 2:35pm
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What Jason said.
A properly working RO membrane should remove ~90% of the TDS. Just test your tap water (mine's 300 ppm) then test the water exiting the RO membrane. In my case, if it's below 30 ppm then the membrane is working fine.
The other factor to look at is plugging. If you notice that the flow out of the RO has really decreased down to a point that you can't keep up with demand (and you've checked/changed your solids filters upstream of the RO) it might be time to change it out. ------------- Jon https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6y_EzjI_ljbIwf2n5uNzTw" rel="nofollow - What I've been doing... |
Posted By: Mike Savage
Date Posted: December 12 2007 at 3:02pm
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Thanks Jon.
Mike ------------- |