As the title says. Cheaper the better! 
i realize you might be looking used, but if you go new ⌠air water ice (one of our lovely sponsors) does (if i remember right) 10% off for DRC members ⌠AWI filters are also available locally
Iâve had an AWI unit for a few years and love it.
lolâŚok well picture of regular mushroom eating worm did not turn out. but was cool as @*!!
Starting price for an ro/di is about $110 from Air water ice
HmmmâŚanyone ever DIY RO/DI setups? They look like standard filters just shoved together. Stand alone DI filters run like $20-$40.
I have well water and it doesnât seem too bad. I just put in 3 inline filters (1 sediment before the pressure tank, 1 particulate, and 1 carbon), I wonder if I just pipe off that and setup a DI filter. I suspect my source water is slightly high in alkalinity, soon to verify that suspicion with a test.
Youâre going to want to get down to a 1-micron carbon filter (if I remember correctly) prior to the RO membrane.
You can make a cheap one but its not worth it.
Its about $15 per canister and about $10 for the Whole house filters
The filters from Air Water Ice vary from 1 micron to 10 micron and when you buy replacements you can select which you prefer.
The filters from most Whole house filters are 5 micron. Still not bad but then add it up. 3 whole house filter housings = $45+ $12 for a carbon filterThen add an Ro unit for about $40 for the membrane not including the housing. Add in some hoses and a valve or 2 and it cost as much as a Pre-made unit
Tons of new Aussie corals in stock and priced at over 50% off for our Friday/Saturday SALE!!
Ian -
I also reccomend the AWI RODI units. Comparatively they are inexpensive and great quality. I think most of their units come with the ASOV (automatics Shut Off Valve) which is a great floor saver / happy wife maker.
Just make sure you get the float switch that comes with it.
mine came completely assembled, I just had to remove a few tabs and push in some water lines.
Craig, I remember you said your RODI unit wasted X amount of gallons for every X gallons made, is that true? Is that how RODI units work? Or was that just a bad, wet experience?
My source water is giving me 8.3 dKH (guess thatâs why it went through the roof when I put a little too much kalk in) so I guess I do need at least the DI part.
Bouncing between these twoâŚDo I really need even 50 GPD?
The 50GPD will be fine. You have to keep in mind that the membrane production numbers are based on an ideal temp and pressure. The output will decrease significantly with the colder water. However, you dont want to go larger than 50GPD becuase it will increase your output TDS.
[quote=âIanH, post:10, topic:877â]
Craig, I remember you said your RODI unit wasted X amount of gallons for every X gallons made, is that true? Is that how RODI units work? Or was that just a bad, wet experience?[/quote]
Thatâs normal for an RODI unit -I think itâs 4 gallons of waste water for every gallon on RODI water. I try to recapture most of my waste water for use in the FW tank and the lawn.
I use the compact 75 gpd ReefKeeper. Iâm kind of impatient so I like my water a little quicker, but a 50 gpd unit would probably suffice and as Shawn said will produce a lower TDS output.
Should we move this thread to the General forum?
Yea thats fine. Iâm still looking for one used but this strayed off into am RO/DI discussion. (I think all my WTB threads strayâŚ)
another lower cost option is buy a used RO unit cheap, even with a burnt out membrane. Like you noted, they are all standard size canisters. so you could buy a beat up 25 or 50 gpd unit and replace the membrane and restricting orifice to match to upgrade it to a 50 , 75 or 100 gpd unit complete with new carbon and sediment filters for about 60 bucks. thats what i did with my 50 gpd coralife RO unit. bought a 75 gpd membrane and orifice 2 years ago. next time i might try their new Filmtec 150 gpd membrane witch claims 98% rejection. wow! i can overflow my barrel and wet the carpet in record time!
http://www.buckeyefieldsupply.com/
I get well water from artesian which is pretty low in solids and pollutants. so i just use and RO unit. But DI cannisters can be added for little cost.
Its official. The club now has its own Apogee Quantum PAR meter. We placed the order today and will hopefully have it at the meeting along with the rental policy and rental contracts. For those that arent familiar with what a PAR meter is ive pasted a link to the manufactures site.
Nice! Iâd like a reading but donât really need to âborrowâ it, just a 1 time shot here, maybe if anyone in the pike creek/hockessin area rents it i could get a reading and iâll put a cup of coffee on? 
sweet. this wil totally be usefull once i set up the new tank in the upcoming month. cant wait to get some readings and actually see how well these ledâs fare.
Nice! I'd like a reading but don't really need to "borrow" it, just a 1 time shot here, maybe if anyone in the pike creek/hockessin area rents it i could get a reading and i'll put a cup of coffee on?
We will go over the rental policy at the meeting but i can say that this will not be allowed. Of course its a little hard to enforce and we certainly wont have anyone under surveillance but equipement is for individual use only. It might sound tough but its a good policy for a good reason that can be discussed further at the meeting. With that said, most equipment will be availabe for a 3 day rental in additional to a weekly rental.
on this note i feel a tds meter handheld would be a perfect rental item.