Mighty Mite RODI

[greenycrew]

Anybody have one... Have mine for about 4 mos. Working great until about 2 weeks ago when production went to a standstill. Had to replace prefilters. How long do the filters last for you guys. Been doing about 10 gals a week.

Maybe it could be due to the time i accidently ran hot water for about 5 mins... I know. OOps

 

[DHaut]

You're going to need to get another filter housing and a 1 micron sediment filter in NYC. I and a couple other mighty mite owners I know had the same issue. The problem is that while NYC has fairly low TDS, it has one of the highest silt density indexes in the country. All that silt clogs up the inline carbon and sediment filters really fast (mine clogged in 2 months the first time). Sorry to break the bad news, but unless you get the extra housing and prefilter, the mighty mite is just going to give you problems.

One other thing that I just did is to replace the 50gpd ro membrane with a 150gpd membrane. Output is much faster. Of course, you wear down your other filters faster, but I don't make much rodi for my 27g tank so the filters still take about a year to wear out, and are cheap to replace.

Just a couple thoughts.

 

[henrystyle]

been using mine for about a year and a half...No prob. Slowed down a little but still giving me 0 tds ro water...good filters.. The hot water prob did something to it.

 

[DHaut]

Again, this problem is specific to those that use the NYC water lines. In most other areas, the water doesn't have as high a silt density index, so the unit doesn't clog.

 

[greenycrew]

Thanks... I thought it was just me... So I should run the 1 micron before everything as a prefilter?

 

[greenycrew]

Ohhh... And did you also change the flow restrictor when you changed out the membrane?

 

[DHaut]

The 150gpd membrane comes with a new flow restrictor. And yes, I run a 1 micron sediment filter before the water even touches the mighty mite unit. after 2 weeks of running a new filter, it's already brown with what it's pulling out. kinda disgusting.

 

[DHaut]

also, to reiterate, if you use the 150gpd filter, you will exhaust your prefilters and DI faster. for me it wasn't a big deal because I have a small tank and don't make much rodi. if you make a lot (not sure why you would have purchased the mighty mite if you did, lol), then you may want to stick with the 50gpd.

 

[dnreef]

You're going to need to get another filter housing and a 1 micron sediment filter in NYC. I and a couple other mighty mite owners I know had the same issue. The problem is that while NYC has fairly low TDS, it has one of the highest silt density indexes in the country. All that silt clogs up the inline carbon and sediment filters really fast (mine clogged in 2 months the first time). Sorry to break the bad news, but unless you get the extra housing and prefilter, the mighty mite is just going to give you problems.

One other thing that I just did is to replace the 50gpd ro membrane with a 150gpd membrane. Output is much faster. Of course, you wear down your other filters faster, but I don't make much rodi for my 27g tank so the filters still take about a year to wear out, and are cheap to replace.

Just a couple thoughts.

That is a very interesting observation about NYC water. I didn't know about the high silt index. I used to raise Discus when I lived in Manahttan and was able to do 3 water changes per week straight from the tap. I think that is due to the low tds. How would I find out those parameters in Long Island?

 

[DHaut]

No clue, to be honest. I found out from AZDesertRat on nano-reef. iirc, my TDS was lower than 50 in NYC. But if you care about having zero (I do) then you have to deal with the silt when you run an rodi unit. Otherwise, the silt isn't a big deal.

 

[noobzy]

Better to revive an old thread than to create a new one, I think... DHaut, some good info here - I have the exact same unit and problem.

Where can I get a 1-micron sediment filter?

 

[DHaut]

airwaterice sells housings i think. i'm using a zetazorb 0.2 micron filter from spectrapure now. you should see the crap it pulls out of my water in brooklyn, lol.

 

[noobzy]

airwaterice sells housings i think. i'm using a zetazorb 0.2 micron filter from spectrapure now. you should see the crap it pulls out of my water in brooklyn, lol.

So, something like this:
Housing: http://www.airwaterice.com/product/WE-H6010WW/White-10-x-14-Filter-Housing-with-Cap.html
Membrane: http://www.spectrapure.com/St_replac_p1.htm#ZETA

Or, is it a membrane housing? http://www.airwaterice.com/product/WE-H7222/Membrane-housing.html

Set up in-line, after my pressure gauge and before my actual RODI unit?

EDIT: Also, do I need to worry about a flow restrictor? I don't see one in the waste line... is it incorporated into the system elsewhere? This was originally what I thought needed to be fixed.

 

[DHaut]

You can get them both from Spectrapure:

http://www.spectrapure.com/st_housings.htm : FA-1STA-10

http://www.spectrapure.com/St_replac_p1.htm#ZETA 10" zetazorb (zeta is the best imo - you can get away with a 1 micron sediment filter if you need to cut costs).

Not sure on the pressure gauge - but definitely before the RODI unit. Mine goes:

Sink ---> zetazorb ---> mighty mite

 

[noobzy]

You can get them both from Spectrapure:

http://www.spectrapure.com/st_housings.htm : FA-1STA-10

http://www.spectrapure.com/St_replac_p1.htm#ZETA 10" zetazorb (zeta is the best imo - you can get away with a 1 micron sediment filter if you need to cut costs).

Not sure on the pressure gauge - but definitely before the RODI unit. Mine goes:

Sink ---> zetazorb ---> mighty mite

Thanks again!