Build Your Own RO System
Step 1) Select a Sediment filter setup: This will act to remove sediment, precipitated Iron and other medium to fine particulate matter. Something to Consider: A sediment filter will actually become more efficient as it becomes dirtier, to this end AquaFX highly recommends a 1 micron sediment filter. As a 1 Micron Sediment will capture the finest of particles but will not become clogged prematurely leading to undesired pressure drops, as can be seen with sub micron sediment filters (like a .5 mic). Fine particles need to be eliminated as when sediment breaks through it can affect the performance of both the Carbon Block and the RO membrane, always leading to undesired system performance. A 5 micron can be used in areas where sediment is not very fine or of a large concern. Only choose the .5 Micron if you know you water supply has lots of extremely small sediment in it. In Areas with extremely heavy Sediment (like a Well system or in certain parts of the Country) a dual sediment setup is recommended, with either a 5 then a a1 mic setup or a pleated washable filter followed by a standard poly blown 1 micron Sediment.
(Q: Is it better to replace a sediment more often or an RO membrane? A: The Sediment!)
Step 2) Select a Carbon Filter Setup: BEWARE of Common Myths like: I should choose my carbon based on the Micron rating of the Carbon Block. This ideology is bad for several reasons, most notably you should not have any particles broken through after the sediment filters. If you do it will clog the surface are of the Carbon Media, so to this end a hand packed carbon filter with either GAC or NH2Cl Blaster Carbon is the best choice. As you will get almost 30-40% more surface area on the carbon as it is not bound by glue. It is known that a teaspoon of carbon has the surface area of a football field, so would you like the Carbon to act as a filter? Or as substrate for sediment or glue? The most significant importance of the Carbon filter is its ability to remove chlorine. Chlorine will immediately lead to RO membrane failure when introduced to the membrane. If you have chloramines in your water supply (NH2Cl) we highly recommend our NH2Cl Blaster Carbon. GAC or NH2Cl Blaster carbons are full of dust and must be rinsed and flushed before use. NH2Cl Blaster carbon will also need to soak in water for 24 hours to become fully activated. All carbon will also remove VOC’s (volatile organic compounds), herbicides and pesticides from the water supply.
NOTE: NH2Cl Blasters require a Double pass setup to properly break the Chloramine bond, so there will be 2 NH2Cl canisters when selecting this option.
Step 3) Pick the Output you would like your RO system to achieve. This is most commonly referred to as GPD or Gallons per Day. AquaFX has again gone above and beyond to make sure your system is exactly as you would like it. We have implemented Aqua Engineering & Equipment RO membranes to every one of our systems, which allows you to choose any GPD with no negative downfalls due which are sometimes seen due to improper material selection. All Aqua Engineering & Equipment RO membranes are the finest that can be found and offer superior rejection across the board (Hi-S , Hi-F and High TDS rejection) and are standard equipment on all AquaFX systems. Boasting 98.6% rejection rates under optimal conditions, you literally can’t make a bad choice. Customers are encouraged to select a flow rate that makes sense for their water making needs. Instead of thinking of the flow rate in terms of GPD (gallons per Day) it is often more conducive to think of the flow rate in Gallons per Hour. IE a 100 GPD unit will make just over 4 gallons per hour. All Aqua Engineering & Equipment RO Membranes are Made in the USA with DOW sheeted TFC Material. Simply the best.
Fact: All RO membranes prefer more pressure to achieve optimal performance. 150 GPD RO membranes are rated at 65psi.
Step 4) Select DI additions. Or move on to select other system options if you are making an RO system with no DI. DI stands for Deionization and will act as a final stage to an RO system to purify the water to a ultra pure state. Te DI offers laboratory grade, 18 Mega-Ohm resistivity grade water. A single pass is literally all that is needed to assure the water is ultra pure (assuming there is sufficient contact time with the water. If no RO membrane is used, you may need to slow the rate at which the water passes through the system to assure total TDS removal) A dual DI setup is also very popular as you will have a safety net in the case of exhausting your first DI. It is highly recommended that your remove the first exhausted DI as soon as possible. As a DI can potentially supersaturate itself in TDS to a point where it DUMPS large amounts of TDS downstream causing other problems.
NOTES: The Largest bracket in the Industry (as this is written) is the AquaFX Great White Bracket. This Bracket can hold up to 5 canisters on the bottom. So if you are building a system that needs to house more than 5 canisters we will need to integrate a second, or in some cases even a third bracket. Feel free to let us know how you would like system broken apart, after all this is YOUR RO!