Question:
I am looking for opinions on water purification systems. I am currentlyusing the Tap Water Purifier with the expected results of 30-35 gallons percartridge.

My question is this. Is a Reverse Osmosis unit all that is needed or is itvery important to add the Deionization unit at the end. I recognize thatthis all depends on the original water purity but I am looking for generalcomments.

How long on average will a RO membrane (TFC) last?

Most units claim that they remove 98% impurities and some claim that theyremove silicates. How true is this claim.

Finally, what are some recommended brand name purifiers? I have heard ofSpectrapure and Kent RO. Most models for a 24 gpd flow rate run around $140for strickly the RO. Add another $50 on for the DI.

I am currently spending $.48 per gallon on my DI water with the Tap WaterPurifier. There has got to be a better way!

Answer: The output water of RO alone is 10 to 15 microsiemens, not reallyadequate for reef aquariums!

The output water from DI column(s) is .05 to .06 microsiemens, perfectfor reef aquariums!

The output water from a Barnstead still is 2 megohms, way to harsh forany aquarium usage.

Depends on where you live and how many contaminants are in the water.Where I live, we only get three months from a membrane, although youcan run it another three months with most of the water running downthe drain, before it's completely clogged. It's useful life has onlybeen slightly over 3 months. At 85 bucks a crack, that's expensive.

Depends on how true you want it to be! Compare that with "only a little bit pregnant".Or reverse the phrase - 2% of RO output is highly contaminated.

You could recharge your DI resins, DI resins last indefinately, yourpurified water would then only cost about a penny a gallon.