Aqua FX Octopus RO/DI, Instruction & Owner'S Manual

Trouble Shooting Guide  

Problem

Solution

High TDS after 

membrane 

Clogged Pre-filters. Causing Pressure Drop. Insufficient pressure will 
yield poor TDS rejection from RO membranes. Change Pre-Filters.

Low incoming water 

pressure.

Incoming water pressure must be above 40 PSI, Add a booster pump if 
below 40psi. Make sure Pre-Filters are not clogged causing low 
pressure.

Reverse Osmosis 

membrane has 
exhausted/failed.

Average Membrane life is 2 to 3 years. Most common cause for 
membrane failure is insufficient pre-filter maintenance. AquaFX Carbons 
are rated for 3,750 gal @ 1.0 GPM of 2ppm Chlorine. Do not exclude 
drain water from this capacity, as it is treated water. Very high TDS 
(>550ppm) may also yield premature failure. 

No water to drain.  

Flow Restrictor is clogged, Replace Drain Flow Restrictor. (rare) 
Check to see if water is turned on.

All water is going out 

of the drain  

With no back pressure, most of the water will exit out of the drain. Make 
sure External Flow restrictor is present. 

Very little/slow water 

production  

Reference units flow rate vs. actual production. Slow flow from RO is 
normal. Cold water, low pressure and high contaminant levels will 
contribute to decreasing the rate of water production. Heating water, 
increasing pressure or additional pre-filtration will help to counteract 
these adverse affects.

Drain Water 

Continues After 
Product line is full

The most common cause of a ‘continuing drain’ is a pressure leak on the 
product side of the RO. If the pressure cannot build, the ASO will not 
close. Check ASO with a ball valve right after RO. Close Ball valve then 
wait 1-3 minutes. If drain continues, replace Automatic Shut-Off Valve. If 
it stops, have the customer, find then stop pressure leak. If a float valve 
is being used, it is more than likely the culprit.

The incoming feed 

water TDS has 
increased.

An increase in feed water TDS will also give an increase in Product 
Water TDS. 
 
R.O. (Dolphin) Users will see this rise in TDS. 
 
RO/DI (Barracuda, Mako, Great White) Users will not see this rise, but 
the DI will exhaust faster than  
normal.

DI is exhausting very 

fast 

R.O. Membranes are manufactured with a preservative on them, if your 
initial startup allows the membrane to ‘rinse’ into the DI; there will be 
some immediate exhaustion, followed by normal exhaustion. 
 
Chloramines Vs Chlorine – If the customers water is disinfected with 
Chloramines (NH2CL) the compound will still be present post RO. 
 
For R.O. (Dolphin) users, they may wish to purchase DI to remove the 
compound. There will also be other methods discussed for during 
training. 
 
RO/DI (Barracuda, Mako, Great White) users will have the compound 
removed by the DI. This will tax the DI, Chloramines appears in several 
forms, so the decreased life would depend on the strain of Chloramine. 
(mono, di or tri)