RODI system opinions?

Coraliscool

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What RODI filtration system is best?
I was going to pull the trigger on buying a BRS 5 stage premium plus 75 gpd. (https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/5-stage-premium-plus-75-gpd-ro-di-system-bulk-reef-supply-bundle.html)
Just for due diligence I looked to see what others recommend. I did not see the BRS products listed in any BEST OF or TOP PICK situations. The only place I could find a BRS recommendation was on the BRS site itself and in some other forums supported by BRS. I also did an RODI search on this forum and the BRS systems are regularly for sale or trade here. This is not a small purchase with my limited fish budget, so I am looking for opinions on if I am spending my money wisely. Is there a different system I should consider and why? Those of you trading or selling your BRS RODI was it to get a different brand because of a specific issue? If it was what did you switch to and why? I am guessing like any tank related questions there is a lot of debate and personal bias on this topic. I need to hear all of it so I can choose and eliminate any buyer's remorse I may open myself up to later. Thank you in advance for taking the time to read all this and for any opinion or response you are willing to provide.

Why I am considering my own RODI set up:
I recently did an expensive mail out water test that included testing the RODI water I was buying from the LFS. It looks like I may have some issues with my RODI from the LFS.

Here is a link to the tests if those make a difference on what to buy:
//lab.atiaquaristik.com/share/8352b501bb94c34fe036 Here is a link to the test results for the salt water (taken out of display)
//lab.atiaquaristik.com/share/aca433ed6fb867bf0012 Here is a link to the RODI water(taken out of jug from LFS stored less than 3 days)

In an effort to make sure I am doing all I can for the organisms whose life I protect I think getting my own RODI system is my next step in reefing. My reasoning is that then I will not be at the mercy of RODI results like what I am getting now, and I know when the filter was last changed. At that point I will control anything that is in my water for the most part. I do not think it will save money, my only goal is to stop stuff from dying and make my system as healthy as possible for the life forms in my care

Set up:
Tank is 13 months old with 2 clown fish a clean up crew and a few coral. Coral had all started to show growth, however in the last 30-60 days growth has stopped and coral look way less healthy. Even had some coral death. Mr. Cook has graciously stopped by and did some PAR readings and the light is now dialed in and the coral look healthier but not what I see in other tanks. My tank is 60 cube display, sump is DIY 40 breeder with skimmer and just started refugium. All sections have additional small flow pumps attempting to keep stuff from settling and causing issues in the sump. The display tank has an ice cap gyre that moves massive amounts of water and is running at about 30%. I make my own salt water and buy the RODI from an LFS. My water changes are 10 gallons bi-weekly like clock work.
 
So the first thing is to know what's in your water, it sounds like you have a good start on that part of it. Do you know if your area has chloramines in the water or just chlorine? This will determine how many carbon stages you should employ in your RODI solution.

Now looking at the test results from the water at your LFS it all looks great except we do see a high level of silicates. This is not terribly uncommon as silicates are very challenging for your average RODI system to remove. They have a low electric charge and the DI struggles to capture them because of this. Certain companies like Spectrapure do offer specific DI canisters designed around removing silicates. Otherwise you can use a dual DI canister solution, either with both mixed beds or a full anion bed to focus on silicates. Should you pursue this option? Up to you, I dose silicates in my tanks so to me it wouldn't be necessary.

When it comes to the GPD reading I think it is important to note the Rejection Rate of a membrane. Some membranes like the DOW Filmtec 75 GPD (sometimes sold as a 90 GPD like from Spectrapure) is known for a 98-99% rejection rate. This means that if you have 100 TDS going into the membrane you will have 1-2 TDS coming out. Now if you have a 96% rejection rate membrane it would be 4 TDS. This means your DI would be exhausted 2x - 3x faster because of the lower rejection rate membrane. It's an important thing to consider for long term cost.

For what it's worth I know that when I lived in Douglasville and where I live in Acworth today both did not have Chloramines and thus still employ the use of a 4 stage value system that I bought from Buckeye Hydro. Because my tapwater is extremely low in TDS (about 40 TDS) and I run a high rejection rate membrane I'm actually reading 0 TDS out of my RO output. My DI canister thus has almost no work to do and is three years old and still hasn't begun to color change. Be glad you live in Georgia, we have extremely good water compared to other places. What this all means is you actually have a wide range of choices available to you, when you start with clean water you don't need a very fancy system to get it to 0 TDS.
 
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BRS for the win. I would go with that. That is what I use.
 
Thank you all for the opinions and advice. I have pulled the trigger on the BRS system linked in this thread. Next step, Build a water station.
 
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