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Hi, im new and hoping you can help me.
i havent set my tank up yet, ive been spending far to much time (months) researching and at the moment im testing all my equipment before i order my live rock for my seahorse tank. it will be SHOWLR 350LTR corner tank.
i have got a new 3 stage ro filter (membrain, sediment and carbon and cocnut hair (?), brand new filters) but no DI filter and no pressure booster pump because i think(?) i have decent level of water pressure going to the ro filter
my tds meter readings are
water coming in 18.1
water coming out 17.2the ro filter has had about 12 gallons run through it in total at most.
i have let the ro filter run for 10mins before taking this reading (to remove any water left in the ro filter from last use, which should make any old water pass within 10mins?)
i have read that water should be reading 0? so is my out reading at 17.2 really 172ppm? if so something is wrong right?
i brought the TDS meter off ebay second hand, i have not changed the batteries yet.
is my ro machine crap? or is my tds meter wrong? bearing in mind i havent changed the batteries on the TDS meter yet could that cause a false reading?
and at the risk of sounding stupid i have the in and out connection on the correct pipes, does it matter which way round the in and out fittings are facing on the respective pipe (meaning water in has a red a white cable and water out has white and blue) both wires in and out seem to swivel within the fitting so i dont know if this is relevant?
please help i am new to marine and want to make sure i do this properly for the sake of my fish when i get them.
thanks in advance for any help
Dear pinkpony:
That sounds like a fine system you are planning and it’s absolutely the best approach to do as much research and planning as possible before you take the big plunge. Monitoring the total dissolved solids in the incoming water and outgoing water is a good way to monitor your RO unit and determine whether the filters need changing.
I’m not sure how your TDS monitor is calibrated, so I can’t say if the reading of 17.2 is indicating just over 17 ppm or 172 ppm, but if there is not a significant difference between the incoming and outgoing water, then something is definitely wrong. A simple way to doublecheck would be to test the water hardness of both the incoming and outgoing water. As you know, if the RO unit is worth its salt, it should be yielding very soft water.
With a three stage RO filter like yours, the water should be passing through the sediment and carbon first and the membrane last of all. This is to assure that any particulates or chlorine in the incoming water are removed before they can cause the membrane to deteriorate, become clogged, or break down prematurely.
If you confirm that the RO unit is not working properly, I would contact the manufacturer so they can help you troubleshoot the problem and figure out where things are going awry. You might also check out the site at http://www.airwaterice.com, which has a lot of good information on what to look for in an RO/DI system.
I’m sorry I can’t be more helpful regarding the connections and how all of your equipment is plumbed, but there are a whole lot of systems out there and a lot of different monitors, so you’ll need to check the installation instructions or contact the manufacturers for further assistance.
Best of luck getting your RO unit and TDS monitor functioning smoothly, pinkpony.
Respectfully,
Pete Giwojna
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