Help me choose an RO filter

[Cichlacat]

Simpure Tankless UV RO Filter System

Hi,
I’m looking for an RO System and found this on Amazon. I’m wanting to know if this will be good RO System to buy. I’ve never purchased one before or used one.


Sponsored

SimPure Tankless Reverse Osmosis System, Tankless RO Water Filtration System Under Sink, 600GPD, 7-Stages High-efficiency Water Filtration, 2:1Pure to Drain, BPA Free, Latest Upgrade RO System(Q3-600)​

4.14.1 out of 5 stars (26)
50+ bought in past month
$329.99
Typical price: $379.99
Two-Day
FREE delivery Wed, Nov 1
https://www.amazon.com/SimPure-Tank...3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX3Bob25lYXBwX3NlYXJjaF9hdGY=
https://www.amazon.com/SimPure-Tank...3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX3Bob25lYXBwX3NlYXJjaF9hdGY=
Please let me know asap as if its not a good choice I will return it and buy a better one.

I want to use it on a 70 and 50 gallon aquarium.
I thought I’d have it fill a large trashcan for storage.

Thanks in advance.

 

[MacZ]

Oh, that thing.

I don't buy the 2:1 ratio of permeat to waste water. The best ratio possible is 1:1 and this company is the only one I know of that advertises 2:1. This way round. Others (like the one below) advertise correctly 2 parts waste to 1 part permeat. Also the power it takes to run a pressure pump for 600 gallons per day is a lot. Worst of all: Proprietary connections and filter cartridges. You will be dependent on the stuff by this company. (just as with Apple or Tesla) Other manufacturers use standard parts so you are not forced to buy everything from the same company, hence can buy replacements cheaper.

There are more practical and less expensive models on the market. Only thing you will have to have for those is patience, as they usually produce less RO water per day/hour.

I can't recomment a certain model as they will likely not be available to you (EU vs. US, you know) BUT I can show you the TYPE of model that will suit your needs.

https://www.amazon.de/Osmoseanlage-Umkehrosmose-Wasserfilter-OsmoFresh-erfoderlich/dp/B07S17XW7W?source=ps-sl-shoppingads-lpcontext&ref_=fplfs&psc=1&smid=A9Q3P4A6DRCI4

Usually over a 100 bucks less than the model you linked and works just the same.

I find it unnecessary to have a RO unit permanently fixed to the tap. Not good for the singular filters and the filter membrane. You only have to make sure it doesn't fall dry inbetween uses. It's also pretty wasteful to fix it to a service water tap, a tap solely for drinking water is at least somewhat understandable (although I wouldn't recomment drinking only RO. Flushes out electrolytes from the body. But excellent for tea/coffee.)
Maybe also worth mentioning: Chlorinated water lowers the life expectancy of the active carbon stage and the membrane by over 50%. So a modular unit is best for maintenance.

And get a EC-meter with the unit, so you can check regularly whether it still works.

For your purposes, with a bit of patience, 200-360 GPD, 3-Stage (active carbon, sediment, membrane) with a pressure pump and a flushing valve is all you need.

 

[Cichlacat]

Anyone else have an opinion or recommendations?
I think the above post has good points. But maybe someone has used this one Simpure?

I’m not planning on drinking it, really.

 

[MacZ]

I’m not planning on drinking it, really.

Then the Simpure is pearls before swine.

 

[Cichlacat]

Do i need a 3 stage or 4 stage ro?

 

[MacZ]

3-stage = sediment (removes particles) + active carbon (removes bigger molecule chemicals) + RO-membrane (removes everything else besides the smallest residual ions).

4-stage = same + DI (= de-ionizer. removes all residual ions down to a EC of below 10µS/cm)

3-stage is sufficient for pretty much all softwater fish.
4-stage is only helpful if you want to make ideal water for the most specialist fish (licorice gourami in freshwater, really rare species in saltwater)

So baseline: 3-stage is absolutely sufficient.

 

[Mike Wise]

This is my experience. I use a 90 gal/day 3-stage R/O unit from Spectra-Pure. Of the 3 stages, the last is left empty as I have no need to get super-low conductivity. This unit has been in operation for 10 years. As it is, its water comes out at 35µS/cm, good enough. The water then runs through a peat tower to make blackwater. The funny thing is that my wife brought home 2 R/O units her lab was throwing out when they moved to a new building and getting new equipment. One was a 4-unit 90 g/day with a back-flush and all the 'bells and whistles', but otherwise the same unit membrane as my simpler 3-stage unit. The other is a 400 g/d unit with a pressure pump that actually does produce only 2:1 wastewater:R/O. I never found a need to change to either of these units from my original basic model. I use about 55 gallons of blackwater when doing water changes on 13 aquariums ranging from 12 to 20 gallons (48 to 80 l) in size, so a 90 g/d unit is more than enough for me.

My suggestion is that you don't need a 600 g/d unit unless you do water changes over 1,000 gallons per time. It's simply over-kill. Consider you water-change needs and go from there. If you have hard water from the tap (I don't) then consider a unit that back-flushes the R/O membrane. This will extend it life considerably. If you live in a desert and water rates are super-expensive, then consider a pressurized unit. BTW I don't waste any water, at least in the summer. All the R/O waste water and water removed from water changes is pumped into the garden.

 

[Ben Rhau]

Agree with all of above. I use a 4-stage unit from Buckeye Hydro. I think they offer a good value for the price, compared to a lot of vendors. SpectraPure is also high quality.

 

[anewbie]

This is my experience. I use a 90 gal/day 3-stage R/O unit from Spectra-Pure. Of the 3 stages, the last is left empty as I have no need to get super-low conductivity. This unit has been in operation for 10 years. As it is, its water comes out at 35µS/cm, good enough. The water then runs through a peat tower to make blackwater. The funny thing is that my wife brought home 2 R/O units her lab was throwing out when they moved to a new building and getting new equipment. One was a 4-unit 90 g/day with a back-flush and all the 'bells and whistles', but otherwise the same unit membrane as my simpler 3-stage unit. The other is a 400 g/d unit with a pressure pump that actually does produce only 2:1 wastewater:R/O. I never found a need to change to either of these units from my original basic model. I use about 55 gallons of blackwater when doing water changes on 13 aquariums ranging from 12 to 20 gallons (48 to 80 l) in size, so a 90 g/d unit is more than enough for me.

My suggestion is that you don't need a 600 g/d unit unless you do water changes over 1,000 gallons per time. It's simply over-kill. Consider you water-change needs and go from there. If you have hard water from the tap (I don't) then consider a unit that back-flushes the R/O membrane. This will extend it life considerably. If you live in a desert and water rates are super-expensive, then consider a pressurized unit. BTW I don't waste any water, at least in the summer. All the R/O waste water and water removed from water changes is pumped into the garden.

How often are you changing the di filter and ro filter; in my unit (bulkreef) it seems i have to change the di material every 8 weeks which is kind of annoying.

 

[Ben Rhau]

I haven't yet had to change any of the cartridges in 1.5 years, but my water volume is a lot smaller than yours (around 60 gals total). It's a good reminder to check the chlorine level on the output again, though the TDS is still basically zero (and TDS 3 before DI). Couple notes:

• Mine came with a 0.5 micron carbon block. I don't know which BRS unit you have, but many of them come with a 5 micron. With a smaller pore size, more is removed before the DI stage.
• I assume you use a DI bypass for the first minute or so to reject the TDS creep? That definitely helps.

-Ben

 

[Ben Rhau]

Forgot to mention my tap water is already very soft.

 

[MacZ]

I haven't yet had to change any of the cartridges in 1.5 years, but my water volume is a lot smaller than yours (around 60 gals total). It's a good reminder to check the chlorine level on the output again, though the TDS is still basically zero (and TDS 3 before DI). Couple notes:

• Mine came with a 0.5 micron carbon block. I don't know which BRS unit you have, but many of them come with a 5 micron. With a smaller pore size, more is removed before the DI stage.
• I assume you use a DI bypass for the first minute or so to reject the TDS creep? That definitely helps.

Similar here:
Haven't changed any cartridges in almost 3 years. Sourcewater is rather on the soft side. Don't have the EC in my head right now, but the GH is at 7, KH at 4.5, no chlorine in the tap. The result has an EC of less than 10 µS/cm. Everything else below detection with hobbyist grade testkits.

I should mention, I use the unit only once a month and store the water and only do about 100 Liter in one sitting. The tank has reached a point it stays under 30µS/cm permanently and I only have to balance out for evaporation and degradation of humic substances.

 

[anewbie]

I haven't yet had to change any of the cartridges in 1.5 years, but my water volume is a lot smaller than yours (around 60 gals total). It's a good reminder to check the chlorine level on the output again, though the TDS is still basically zero (and TDS 3 before DI). Couple notes:

• Mine came with a 0.5 micron carbon block. I don't know which BRS unit you have, but many of them come with a 5 micron. With a smaller pore size, more is removed before the DI stage.
• I assume you use a DI bypass for the first minute or so to reject the TDS creep? That definitely helps.

-Ben

Don't know what a di bypass is - the di is part of the ro system. the carbon block is not relevant in my system since i pre-filter iwth carbon to remove chlorine - or i think it is irrelevant but maybe the cartridge size does matter (5 vs 0.5 micron though that doesn't sound right).

I am using around 420 gallons a week of ro water.

 

[Ben Rhau]

Don't know what a di bypass is - the di is part of the ro system.

You should absolutely do this. If you have an inline TDS meter, you can see for yourself the effect of "TDS creep" that occurs with all RO membranes. TDS will diffuse over to the treated side between uses. For the first 30 seconds or so when you start it up again, you'll see high TDS water after the RO membrane. i.e., you're sending high TDS into the DI resin. The bypass is simply a valve where you can direct the RO output to waste until you see the TDS go back down to normal. Then you replace the valve into position where it directs to DI. You can plumb this yourself or get <an inexpensive kit>.

Note that this is NOT the same as a flush valve, which flushes the opposite side (premembrane side) of the RO membrane. The usefulness of this is controversial, but it definitely doesn't hurt. Most people here say it extends the life of your membrane. I do it, even though I'm not sure it does anything. At least, aside from anecdotal evidence I've seen no data that suggests it's effective.

-Ben

 

[anewbie]

You should absolutely do this. If you have an inline TDS meter, you can see for yourself the effect of "TDS creep" that occurs with all RO membranes. TDS will diffuse over to the treated side between uses. For the first 30 seconds or so when you start it up again, you'll see high TDS water after the RO membrane. i.e., you're sending high TDS into the DI resin. The bypass is simply a valve where you can direct the RO output to waste until you see the TDS go back down to normal. Then you replace the valve into position where it directs to DI. You can plumb this yourself or get <an inexpensive kit>.

Note that this is NOT the same as a flush valve, which flushes the opposite side (premembrane side) of the RO membrane. The usefulness of this is controversial, but it definitely doesn't hurt. Most people here say it extends the life of your membrane. I do it, even though I'm not sure it does anything. At least, aside from anecdotal evidence I've seen no data that suggests it's effective.

-Ben

I can't do this manually; there is a continous flow of about 2 gallons per hour; it would be a real headache to run down every hour and do a by pass.

 

[Ben Rhau]

If it’s running continuously, there might not be any TDS creep. You could set the other side up to flush automatically, possibly.

 

[Cichlacat]

Wow iIt seems like using an ro is very complicated. Maybe its not worth it.
How does using a water softener etfect this and do I still need an RO?

 

[Ben Rhau]

It’s really not that complicated. If you can hook up a stereo system, you can probably handle it. You just need to understand where the water is going (instead of audio signal, in my analogy). Diagrams make it pretty clear.

 

[MacZ]

Wow iIt seems like using an ro is very complicated. Maybe its not worth it.

Actually no, the others have gone into a convoluted specialist conversation. For your purposes you only need to know: Hook it up to a tap, one end goes into the drain or the garden, the other into the storage container. You check conductivity and chlorine once in a while to see whether you have to exchange a filter cartridge and that's it.

How does using a water softener etfect this and do I still need an RO?

A water softener only reduces the scale building parts (GH: Calcium/Magnesium) and raises carbonates (KH). The "soft" in this case only refers to "soft" in the sense washing machine manufacturers use the word.
You don't want either when using an RO unit, which has effectively the main purpose of making purified (truely soft) water.

 

[Cichlacat]

I don’t believe the physical connections but all of jargon that seems to come along with it.

Good to know about the water softener. I will have to connect the RO unit before the water softener.

Thanks for everyone’s help so far.