Coralife 05692 Pure-Flo II 50-Gallon Per Day 4 Stage RO/DI System

I have been using this product for 3 weeks. So far, I've made about 100 gallons of RO/DI water for my marine aquarium, and my only regret is not purchasing an DR/DI filter years ago. I just hook it up to my kitchen sink faucet. There was no need for crazy plumbing projects. I am a little bit concerned about the longevity of the filtering system. The initial batch came out at about 8 parts-per-million total-dissolved solids (ppm TDS), but I'm already up to 15 ppm. However, this is still a pretty low TDS, and I might even be contaminating it just by measuring or something, so I'm not too concerned yet. I do have a couple tips that might make your choice-of-purchase or set-up easier.

1) Unless you plan on installing some kind holding tank and auto-shut off, this filter takes time. Remember, 50 gallons per day is only about 2 gallons per hour. If you don't think you have the patience for that, consider upgrading to a higher GPD.

2) I read some reviews of RO filters that costumers were unhappy because the filtered water was acidic and/or made metal parts rust very quickly. This is not a flaw in the filter this means it's working. RO/DI water has much less dissolved materials than most tap water. Without getting into the chemistry, this means that (1) when the water come to equilibration with the carbon dioxide in the air, it will be acidic, and (2) it will tend to oxidize (rust) metals that it comes in contact with.I use my filtered water to make home-made soda and ice cubes, but I think drinking the RO water straight is pretty gross it just tastes awful to me. I've also heard it can be unhealthy, but I don't have much info on that.

3) This filter works under rather high pressure, so there is a good chance that connections will leak. When you are assembling it, I recommend getting some teflon thread tape from the plumbing section of your hardware store. Wrap the tape tightly 2-3 times around the threads before fitting the connections to tighten everything up an prevent leaks.

4) I had trouble installing the RO cartridge. The cartridge housing is not see-through, so I couldn't tell if I was installing it correctly or not. I could not tell if it was assembled correctly until I had it completely assembled to test it. But you should be able to tell if it is working by the amount of water it is producing; when working correctly, you should be producing clean water at only a trickle (~50 GPD). If you set up the filter and are getting a high flow from the product [blue] tube, you can probably assume the RO cartridge is not installed correctly. (Also, you can check the TDS if you have a meter.) It took me about four tries to get the RO cartridge installed correctly. The thing was, it needed to be pushed very hard into the fitting. The resistance was so high that I was afraid to break it.

5) Many of the fitting on the unit come pre-assembled. A couple of connections on my unit initially leaked just a bit. You may need to unscrew them, wrap some teflon tape around the threads and reinstall. After I took the time to do that, my unit was 100% leak-free.

6) The unit comes with an adapter that should allow you to use it with a standard sink, but installing the adapter takes a few minutes or more, and is kind of a hassle. Also, the adapter is a pretty cheap plastic, so it's prone to leaking and liable to get chewed up if you're not careful installing it every time. I alleviated this issue my permanently replacing the head of my sink faucet with one that I can directly screw the filter on to; this only cost about $3. I did not have to replace the whole faucet, but the very end has outside threads like a garden-hose connection. This has made connecting and disconnecting the filter much more convenient.

Also, be aware that if you have a decorative sink faucet, the adapter might not work. You might have to be creative in installation. I live in an apartment, so I can't do any really involved plumbing projects; however, if I were in a house, I think it would be worth the effort to set the filter up with a holding tank and float valve, so that I there is always an available supply of filtered water.

7) I also purchased TDS meter (HM Digital TDS-EZ Water Quality TDS Tester), and was glad that I did. It is very convenient to be able to test and see how your unit is working. My tap water comes out around 500 ppm. My filtered water has been coming out between 5 and 15 ppm. Since I can check the TDS any time I want, it will be much easier to figure out when my filter needs to be back-washed or replaced.

I have this RO filter and it works great. It should be noted that the picture (which has actually since been updated) showed, and the description mentions (still does), a pump which this unit DOES NOT have. Amazon, as always, was outstanding in their customer service when I called to advise of the lack of pump as described/pictured. They actually sent me a new one (actually OVERNIGHTED it to me!) and said "if new one still doesn't meet your expectations, we'll issue a refund". I LOVE Amazon!!! The new one arrived (which I promptly returned unopened) also with no pump. Further investigation revealed that Aqueon does make a model with a pump but the one for sale on Amazon is NOT that model. The one with the pump regularly sells at various web sites for $250 and up while this model (76002 I believe?) also regularly sells at various web sites for anywhere from $10-$80 more than what Amazon sells it for. Since the pump-less model is working fine for my needs and due to the fact that the $135 price at Amazon was still way better than I was going to get it for anywhere else, I opted to keep the original. So in summary:

RO filter is awesome.

Amazon is awesome.

This unit does not have a pump but works as advertised (get a gallon of 100% pure as in measured TDS of 0 water in about 30 minutes).

Buy Coralife 05692 Pure-Flo II 50-Gallon Per Day 4 Stage RO/DI System Now

Purchased this item a few months after I had gotten my tank. In just the month since I purchased this machine the fish, corals and invertebrates in my tank seem healthier and happier. The unit itself puts out ample clean water and in around an hour I have the 5-7 gallons I need to do my weekly water change for my 60 gallon tank.

Setup was a breeze and the unit is small enough to allow me to store it under my stationary tub when it's not in use.

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I received my RO/RI system yesterday. In assembling it for use, I noticed the DI cartridge was broken into pieces probably from shipping. I called the numbers on the "Imporant Please do not return this product to place of purchase". The 800 number is a scam number trying to sell a $100 rebate for $1.99. The other is disconnected.

This is very disappointing. I guess I will be sending this back to Amazon and looking for another manufacturer for an RO system.

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Well I've been running this unit for about 6 months now. I've probably made about 700 gallons of water. I have to say, it's a bit concerning of how long it takes to reach sub 10ppm now. I would love to have 0ppm but this unit hasn't done that since the first week of operation. I'm doing good if I can get it down to 6 after about an hour of operation.

This unit is okay for the cost, just don't expect it to be awesome.

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