Puretec RO system

[Krissy]

Hi, hope everyone had a great xmas. I've been battling with my water quality for some time and had invested in a RO system some months back (pentair) which managed to get my water from very hard to soft with a ro/bore water mix however it only produces 200mL/min, and since we have to use a pressure pump for all of our water needs (no mains water out here) I've found the pressure pump is working overtime trying to cope with the minimal water output for the RO. Went through the process of, bugger it....I'm just going to harden my discus up and run them on bore water - recent tests dissuaded me as the pH tested at 8.7 and with acid, can only get it to drop to 8.4. Used to be 7.8 ppm but with this being the monsoon season I can only assume the influx of new water into the aquifers has bumped the pH up in the bore water. I've just been holding discussions with our local pump guys who have recommended a puretec RO S series system which has an output of 2,725 litres (720 gallons) per 24 hrs. Wondering if anyone has used this puretec system and how they've found it. I can go for a smaller system for half the cost but then you have an increase in replacing the cartridges (once every four months) as opposed to once per year so the cost of replacing cartridges for the smaller unit, in the long run, out ways the cost of replacing yearly for the bigger system.

[Leland F.]

That output is based on a standard incoming water pressure, and constant volume. If you have poor volume, it won't produce as much as it states. You can install whole house pressure boosting systems, it would work like your well system, but they're fairly expensive. Colder water also slows down the RO production considerably. You may need to invest in a large storage tank, and better filtration for the well water, before it goes into the RO filter. You'd have to have it tested to see if you need an iron filter, carbon filter, or zeolite filter, along with a quality sediment filter and possibly a water softener after that depending on the hardness of your well water. Spectrapure can walk you through what you need over the phone.

-Leland

[Krissy]

Hi Leland, thanks for your response and advice. I just googled Spectrapure to find out where they're situated - Arizona is a bit far from Down Under to ring. Sorry, I have got Australia on my profile but for some reason it doesn't show; might have to change that, lol. I've got a 1000 litre storage tank already and the local pump guys are going to set the system up to that with another 1000 litre storage tank so the bore water is pumped into the 1st tank and run via pressure pump through the RO system to the 2nd 1000 litre storage tank. Hopefully after all this expense it will solve my water issues. I'm going to strip down the old RO system and use it as a pre-water filter which will take some of the hardness out prior. Fingers crossed this will all work. Aaah....what we do to keep discus, lol.