This HAS to be impossible ...

I don't know what the waste/flow restrictor valve is. What I can tell you is that to flush a RO membrane, you need to have much higher than normal flow through the waste outlet than normal, and lower through the RO outlet. Is that what it does.

 

Yes.

 

Then I would double check that meter with another, and check the water at inlet, after RO, and after DI. That might shed some light on where the extra TDS is coming from.

 

O.K.

Think I have it ....
Keep in mind that I am new ... just started my 58gal last August.

After going to BRS website and looking at RO membrane, it turns out that I have never had one in this system .... I never thought to check, just plugged it in to my water supply and started using it, thinking everything was good.

There is what I guess is the RO membrane "housing" on top of the filters .... but it is empty .... never been anything in it ... just water flowing through it.

It would appear that I have not been filtering my water for the last year ... might explain a few issues, huh?

I will be contacting the dealer and explaining my situation to them and hoping for the best, but I kinda doubt I'll get anywhere with -- "you know that system I bought and have been using for almost a year now ... well, it never had a RO membrane in it.."

I feel like an idiot .... :-[

 

:LolLolLolLOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OMG, I can't see my monitor.. Well that would explain it.. I would snap on there person I got it from...

 

K+ for everyone! See we were right, LOL... It was the membrane or lack of.. lol...

 

No they come already calibrated.

 

Membrane flush kits have no proven value, I would pass on one myself and spend money on something with value like a capillary tube flow restrictor, handheld TDS meter or better membrane.

You can find batch tested 90 GPD Spectrapure RO membranes on sale for $30 directly from Spectrapure as part of a sale they are running. Their membranes consistently average over 98% rejection rate.

Your inline meter should be reading the TDS after the RO and after the DI, not tap water TDS.

 

LOL .... :-[

Strange thing is ... none of my water test ever showed anything was wrong.

API test kits
pH-8.3
SG-1.025
KH-11dKH
Ca-440
Mg-1300
Nitrate-0
Nitrite-0
Phosphate-0
Ammonia-0

You would think something would be out of line.
But, I have just not had any growth and did have a round of hair algae ... just chalked the HA up to overfeeding.

Now I'm curious to see what will happen when I start using RO water.

Geez ... what a noob. :

 

TDS or electrical conductivity are the two tests for the effectiveness of RO and RO/DI. You may not see the condition with anything else since TDS is a measurement of everything electrically conductive in the water not one individual contaminant which could be miniscule.