Need help picking the right RO/DI or RO water system

[KittenFishMom]

We have decided to invest in an RO or an RO/DI water system (are they the same thing?).  

>>What we have:

Well water, low pressure (less than 40 psi) , no calcium, too much magnesium KH 286.4, very high pH around 8.4, questionable biofilm forming in our toilet tank, a dissolved gas the dissipates quickly, black stuff our paper filter filters out that might be powder shale or something else, A UV filter that doesn't work well when the water gets cloudy because the paper filter is full, very little floor space.

Note:  We have a holding tank, not a septic system, so we will need to find a way to deal with the waste water other than having it run down the drain. Something that produces less waste water would be easier on our well.

>>What we want:

Water we can remineralize for roughly a total of 100 gallons worth of fish tanks(55 + ( 4*10)). Same safe water for drinking and brushing our teeth. Maybe rinsing out my hair after a shower.

>> What we think we need:

A booster pump and would probably a portable system we could run from the garden hose outside in nice weather and from the sink or laundry room faucet in cold weather. We made add a more paper filters (if the 3rd starts to look dark, replace the 1st with 2nd, the 2nd with 3rd and the 3rd with new)

Please help us figure out what would meet our needs. They come with different numbers of filters

Edited November 20, 2022 by KittenFishMom
added note

[nabokovfan87]

I would look for a "whole home" filtration system.  I first saw them watching Jeremy Clarkson work on his doing water testing and then realizing how bad his water was on the farm (you can imagine how the farm would lead to that, especially on a well).  The filters he had were wall mounted, about 3 feet long or so and his system had 3-4 on there. 

I think 3 filters is about the standard (sediment, carbon, fine filter) and the common setups for specific situations would be to add 2x fine pads or 2x carbon blocks as you need to. 

I don't know if that helps, but hopefully that is a nudge in the right direction. 

There are undersink systems you can use as well, I would look at something by 3M as they generally know what they are doing when it comes to filters.  I trust them to have a reliable product and availability long term.


I can't post the link here due to swearing, but the clarkson's farm clip is on youtube.  "Clarkson farm water test" is how I found it.


UV is mounted on the wall horizontally it looks like and then that goes into the filter tubes.  One in his hand is obviously very dirty. 

In the clip he stated that this is 3 months of use.  Old one on the right. new ones on the left.  This looks like a filter floss of sorts.

[nabokovfan87]

On 11/19/2022 at 8:01 PM, KittenFishMom said:

We have decided to invest in an RO or an RO/DI water system (are they the same thing?).  

They are separate things 🙂 for separate processes on water.

You can also do both.  RO first, DI second (RODI water) which helps improve the lifecycle of the DI system by filtering out some of the harsher things first, lowering TDS.

Edited November 20, 2022 by nabokovfan87

[KittenFishMom]

@nabokovfan87 Thanks for all the info.  I will call the town tomorrow to find out what the options are on the lake shore for the RO waste water.  It won't soak into the ground when the ground is frozen.