[Okkie]

So my water pressure is lower than I expected. It runs the RO unit at 3.8 - 4psi according to the pressure gauge. It takes 14+ hours and change to reach 200L which makes a huge change from the 5.5psi which would produce 200L in about 10 hours... Or in other words Overnight"

So I decided to invest in a RO booster pump. I bought an "Echen series" pictured below

But within seconds it was leaking from its seams. Note: The leak wasn't from the ro tubing but the top part of the unit. After some research it seems that there are differences in quality between systems and from my understanding the units which allows you to adjust the pressure from the unit itself have better durability.

But this is a new area of aquarium tech for me and I am need of advice as to which RO Booster pump to get. My RO unit is for 100GPD but running extremely inefficiently for reasons beyond my control. Please advise...

 

[mossman77]

Are you in a house or apartment complex? If you're in a house, you can increase the water pressure by adjusting the regulator on the incoming feed line. I wouldn't go higher than 70 psi or so (60 psi is typically the default).

Regardless, 200L in 14 hours sounds pretty good to me. I have 60 psi feeding my RO system and it takes 24 hours to fill a 20 gallon reservoir tank. You could invest in a holding tank so you have the 200L available when you need it? You could also maybe get a second RO filter and split the water line to two filters instead of one to increase your throughput. Another option would be to cut your RO with 25% tap, unless your tap water is not good. I cut mine 50/50 to get the throughput I need for water changes and only use strictly RO for topping off my aquariums.

 

[Okkie]

Unfortunately I can't adjust the water pressure as I'm in an apartment complex. And to make matter worse my tap water is abysmal, current reading is a tds of 448. I have a storage tank which holds 200L but need the system to fill over night so I'm in need of a good RODI pump.

5.5PSi will be perfect. I just need help selecting a decent pump that will help me reach the required pressure and resulting output.

 

[mossman77]

Adding a second RO membrane wouldn't work for you? Would be cheaper than buying a pump (both upfront and long term). That's your bottle neck.

 

[Okkie]

Adding a second RO membrane wouldn't work for you? Would be cheaper than buying a pump (both upfront and long term). That's your bottle neck.

As silly as this may sound... And please excuse my ignorance in advance here... But what does that mean exactly. I bought a 4 stage RODI unit are you suggesting I add on another unit? If so how?

Also the building management has acknowledged that the water as a system / source is poor. I also consulted with a plumber prior to me making this thread (a short while back) when he installed/plumbed in the tap to divert the source to the RO unit.

In short, until I relocate my water source will be poor unless I get a RODI pump.

 

[mossman77]

An RO system has several filter stages, and the RO filter stage is the bottle neck because you are essentially squeezing water through tiny holes in a membrane to remove impurities. I was suggesting installing a tee fitting on the inlet of the RO filter and adding a second RO filter in parallel to increase your throughput. You'd then recombine the outlets into one connection (with check valves on the outlet of each RO filter). Just a guess, but this would likely give you better throughput than adding a pump, not to mention the pump will make noise.

 

[Okkie]

An RO system has several filter stages, and the RO filter stage is the bottle neck because you are essentially squeezing water through tiny holes in a membrane to remove impurities. I was suggesting installing a tee fitting on the inlet of the RO filter and adding a second RO filter in parallel to increase your throughput. You'd then recombine the outlets into one connection. Just a guess, but this would likely give you better throughput than adding a pump, not to mention the pump will make noise.

Ahh ok.

I have tweaked with the unit itself but that was done to add / gauge the pressure. I will take that into consideration but I'd also like help with selecting a pump. I don't mind the noise. The Echen pump was placed under the sink and onto a towel and was in effect silent.

I do really need help with pumps as an option. My experience with the echen booster pump showed how inexperienced I am in this area.

 

[jellopuddinpop]

In multiple posts, you're saying that your water is only 3.8-5.5 psi. Is this some sort of conversion? RO pumps usually need at least 50psi to function at all. I'm wondering if there's anything lost in translation.

 

[mossman77]

I was wondering the same thing. My RO system requires at least 60 psi and even then I only get about 15 gallons in a 24 hour period. The reason I'm recommending a second filter as opposed to a pump is because a pump may not increase your throughput very much. The limiting factor is your RO filter. You can only push so much water through the membrane at a time. Whereas if you get a second RO filter you are doubling the membrane surface area and would likely get more Lpm out. I doubt it will be double because you have other restrictions, but it may be better, cheaper, and quieter than using a pump. I'll leave it at that.