Not 0 TDS

I can help you reconfigure that system to perform much better by converting the second carbon to a real 20 oz refillable vertical DI and eliminate the little horizontals.
It will give you longer DI life and better water quality. I have helped dozens of people with that and all are very happy. It might cost you $5 for a refillable cartridge or $18 for one already filled with SilicaBuster DI resin.
I take it you use the unit for drinking water too which is a great idea, it helped me convince the wife to let me buy our first unit and she has used RO water ever since, going on 20 years now. The permeate pump is a good investment if you have a pressure tank.

 

We'll have to talk my friend.

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Do you use ro/di for drinking water or do you use ro only? In my ro system I have a tee piped in right before the di cartridges to allow me to use ro water for drinking water while not using the di and preserving the life of them for reef water. Or will using the di for drinking water hardly affect the lifespan of them at all? I must say though, I do drink a lot of water each day.

 

I also wanted to mention to the op, check your water pressure in the RO. Sometimes low water pressure might cause a higher TDS reading. I'm not sure if someone mentioned that already or not.

 

I have that same setup as computerjohn...i had the rd-102, but upgraded to the 106 after about a year...i just put it in bout 2wks ago...although i am not nearly as versed in it as you guys...i just use my handy dandy TDS meter and get zero's and am happy. I would like to learn how to prolong filter life and reduce the cost of replacement of filters and resin cuz it is expensive imho...although i might be getting them from the wrong source.

I have gotten all my stuff from filterdirect.com

 

How long do you use your filters for? It is recommended to change pre filters every 6 months and membrane every 2 years. I haven't changed my DI since getting it about 6 months ago, so I can't comment on that.

But the filter changes also depend on how bad your tap water is.

 

on the rd102 it had clear filter bowls so i changed them when the stuff inside looked nasty...i originally made a bad decision and had it set up outside and light was getting in so i got algae growth in my filter bowls...when i started to get readings for TDS i upgraded rather than change the di resin. when i priced the filters and resin replacement it was approx 85percent of the cost of replacement so meh. . my new system is set up in my laundry room and away from light

 

i have been under the impression btw that i had to replace filters with ones from the place i purchased my unit...i believe i could order them from elsewhere, but wouldn't wanna screw it up

 

You can use any brand prefilters. I have been buying bulk packages from some website which I can't find now, but the pre filters work just fine. I have a coralife unit and the sediment prefilters cost around 6 bucks a piece but if I buy a couple of them at once it costs 1 dollar each for the 1 micron ones. So it is def. much cheaper to not buy a brand name pre filter.

 

I had mine custom built by them to my specs. (upgraded TDS meter, clear canisters, dual DI filters, pressure gauge, storage tank "better pressure" & later added the permeate pump).

I have ordered filters & DI resin for them also. I made a few changes though. I switched my sediment filter from 5 microns to 1 micron. For your knowledge the 1 micron filter is a Purerite PS-01 by Kemflo $5.00 & have found out the the Coralife Pure-Flo 1 Micron ($5.00 at my LFS) works in this system, though the Kemflo filter is a hair wider.

I have never had a problem with their DI resin, but I bought my last batch from Bulk Reef Supply. I got it on a group buy & loved that it was vacuumed sealed.

I do have well water and since last year we installed a Kinetico water filtration/water softening system & change my sediment filter about every 3-4 months on my RO system.