Sanitize RO ?

[EdKaz]

 Has anybody, or does anybody know how to sanitize an RO membrane that has been sitting idle, (but wet)for a while?

Not sure it has any nasties in it, but figured it might be a good idea to clean it up. I know Bleach is a no go.......how about hydrogen peroxide?

[LizStreithorst]

I don't know, but when mine set idle for months I just discarded the first 20 or so gallons of product before I saved any.  I had no problems.

[Mugwump]

Peroxide should work fine.....good stuff...dissipates in about 12hrs too.....

[LizStreithorst]

He'll have to run the H2O2  through the membrane, right Mug?  I can't see it sterilizing an RO membrane otherwise.  How will he be able to put the H2O2 under pressure to feed it to the membrane?  I may be thick, but I don't see how.

[Mugwump]

I think a good peroxide soak will break loose any vermin and take care of it...??...then, like you said, run some water through it, and toss that water before using in the tanks.

or..simply get a new membrane....

or try back flushing the membrane after cleaning, the run and toss the first water through...I've heard that storing the membrane in R/O water in the refrigerator is done too, to prevent any bacteria during off use....some units come with a back flush kit...others don't...they're not expensive tho as an addon...

[LizStreithorst]

Mug, I can't watch the video because this crap connection won't allow me to.  I'll try again late tonight or early tomorrow morning    Would that not drive you up the wall?   I want to see it.  I want to see it now!!!!

[b125killer]

I was thinking just flushing it would be good. But I'm not to sure on these things. I was thinking of getting a flush kit from Bulk Reef Supply.
http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/membrane-flush-kit.html

[EdKaz]

 Done the backflush thing already.......Also ran 30-40 gallons of product water before using any.
This thing sat idle for a year or so, in its housing in the basement/fishroom.....cant help but wonder how many, if any nasties may be lurking in the kept wet membrane over the time it was idle.

I do have a high pressure pump I could use feeding the membrane a mixture of water and peroxide, and circulating  everything (product as well as waste water) through and or from a bucket.

On the other hand Im wondering what would happen if I just stuck the membrane in the freezer for a few days....and freeze any lil buggers that might be in there to death. Would freezing any bacteria that might be in there actually kill and or eliminate it/them at normal freezer temps?

Not sure if I really NEED to do anything.......just looking for peace of mind, In which case Mug might be right.......just buy a new membrane and be done with it.

[b125killer]

I think for peace of mind I would get a new filter. It wouldn't be worth the risk to me.

[Mugwump]

'for peace of mind'.....new membrane...

[EdKaz]

 Yep...Im strongly leaning that way.

THIS........http://www.airwaterice.com/product/TW301812-100/FilmTec-Membrane-100GPD.html

Or THIS one....http://www.airwaterice.com/product/TW301812-150/150GPD-Membrane.html

[PaulineMi]

I was thinking just flushing it would be good. But I'm not to sure on these things. I was thinking of getting a flush kit from Bulk Reef Supply.
http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/membrane-flush-kit.html

That's the flush kit that I had included on my RO unit from BRS.  But I agree....replacing the membrane is the best choice.

[BillT]

I would go to the manufacturer's website and talk with someone there about whether or not peroxide would hurt the membranes before using it. It is an oxidizer like bleach and might hurt the membranes.

I don't think I would do anything more than rinsing them out, seeing how they smell, see if they still produce filtrate normally and then run a lot of water through them before using any.

Other than being a contaminant and possibly clogging the membrane, it seems unlikely to me that bacteria would cause many fish problems.
Few or no bacteria living in a RO filter canister are likely to be fish pathogens. These are very different ecological nitches. Probably the main problem would be contaminants they produce. These you should be able to dilute out.

I'm cheap and would not toss a RO membrane unit if it would still work.

[EdKaz]

 Thanks all for the input.

I'm cheap and would not toss a RO membrane unit if it would still work.

Having had a little spare time to look into this a bit further, I found this on one RO system vendors site.

"Concerned about cysts like giardia and cryptosporidium that have been in the news so much lately? The reverse osmosis membrane operates down to an unimaginably tiny pore size of 0.0001 microns. That's about one ten thousandth as big as even a very tight carbon block filter, which is itself much too tight for a giardia or cryptosporidium cyst to pass through. As for bacteria and viruses, the smallest virus is about ten times as big as the largest possible pore in an RO membrane. And by comparison, bacteria are giants"

With THAT in mind, looks like a simple sanitizing of the system including the membrane housing (with bleach even) with the membrane removed would/should suffice.

[Mugwump]

Thanks all for the input.

I'm cheap and would not toss a RO membrane unit if it would still work.

Having had a little spare time to look into this a bit further, I found this on one RO system vendors site.

"Concerned about cysts like giardia and cryptosporidium that have been in the news so much lately? The reverse osmosis membrane operates down to an unimaginably tiny pore size of 0.0001 microns. That's about one ten thousandth as big as even a very tight carbon block filter, which is itself much too tight for a giardia or cryptosporidium cyst to pass through. As for bacteria and viruses, the smallest virus is about ten times as big as the largest possible pore in an RO membrane. And by comparison, bacteria are giants"

With THAT in mind, looks like a simple sanitizing of the system including the membrane housing (with bleach even) with the membrane removed would/should suffice.

Can't you can just flip the membrane and it'll flush out too?....saves buying the flush kit..