Ro Unit Question

[bg7003]

Hey,
I just bought a Kent Marine Maxxima 3 stage RO unit used from my LFS for $50. I'm pretty sure i have it setup right, but there's like no water coming from the pure water tube, and tons coming from the waste. What happens if i block the waste water tube? Also, I have it setup like this except without the top off and third fourth canister(scroll down to Maxxima).http/smedgecast.f3images.com/IMD/UserManuals/KM1651.pdf

 

[Justin1989]

I highly doubt you would want to block of the waste line. That is the line which the RO unit is pulling waste from your water. So blocking it would basically make your unit useless. Second off, they are not like a faucet. Whats yours rated at? Some are close to 20-30 gallons per day, some 50, some over 100. "theres like no water coming from the pure tube", when you say this do you mean absolutely no water? Or just very slowly coming out?

 

[xxBarneyxx]

lol dont worry this is normal. When I first set my RO unit up I thought the same. I have a 75gpd unit but it only actually makes about 20-30gpd. You get roughly 4 times more waste water than you do RO water (you normally only get a small trickle of RO water coming out).

 

[Trod]

Check your water pressure, I have just fitted a new unit and had the same problem, then realised It wasn't fixed to a mains pipe, but to a gravity fed one from the tank in the loft, I have now moved it to a mains fed pipe and its working at around 38psi, which is good enough for me, its now producing around 25L an hour

 

[bg7003]

I'm pretty sure mine's rated at 55gpd. It comes out a little bettter now. I kinked the waste water tube though, but even unkinked the amount of water coming out of the good tube doesn't change. My water is fine here and contains almost everything my corals and fish need without any additives. So im just about ready to get rid of the R/O unit.

 

[rabbut]

Its not the good stuff in the tap water you are using the RO for though, it's the removal of bad stuff. What heavy metals are in there? Phosphate? Nitrate? Organic loading of your tap water? Other un-known contaminants possible present? If the answer is unknown or present as an answer to the question "does you water contain any of those?" I'd surgest keeping to RO. You don't want to top up/water change with tap water and loose the several hundred pounds worth of corals in your adverage system as a result of something in the tap water you didn't know about.

All the best
Rabbut