# ro units



## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

what size ro unit shoudl i get for a 10g salt but i would also like it to work on a 125 fresh?

would a regular household one be just as good as a corallife or kent?

would i have to buy a reservoir for the ro water?

with the faucet, how would i fill a 5 gal bucket or do w/c since i cant fit more then a gallon bucket in the sink

i want to breed p's and the brown algea stuff looks like crap so i think a ro unit could be useful


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## nismo driver (Jan 27, 2004)

R/o size would depend on how patient you are, if you have a resivoir where its set up ect.

a 25gpd unit is going to take like 4 hours to fill a 5 gallon bucket.. 100gpd will take a little over an hour. if you have a utility room alot of guys just use big rubber maid garbage cans as a res.. typically you dont hook up the ro/di to a facuet in a sink it would be a hose coming of the ro.di unit.

coralife and kent are a huge rip off, go through one of the online dealers like "thefilterguys" "buckeyefieldsupply" "purelyh2o" or "airwaterice" you will get twice as much for the money


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## Coldfire (Aug 20, 2003)

Agreed ^^^

Go with either a 50 gpd or 100 gph unit. Plus, spend a little extra money and get the built in DI unit. Thus, a RO/DI unit. RO's produce 97-98% pure water, but with the RO/DI unit you will produce 99.9% pure water. Very little additional charge to add it, but definitely worth the money. Plus, you can get it with a color change media, so it is very clear when to change the pre/post filters (e.g. carbon block, mirco-filter, DI media). The RO/DI unites are always 3 canisters or more. The two canister units are simply RO units, but the third unit is the DI. FYI for simple visual ID's.

You can always buy large 5g, 6g, 7g, etc. containers that will hold water. That way, you can run the RO/DI unit, and fill up a number of containers. Store them in another room, and use it for Top offs, water changes, salt mix, etc. when you need to.

To add to ND's post - RO units come with a facuet connection. So, you can either hook it up to an indoor connection, outdoor connection, etc.. Just make sure that you have 60 psi coming from the water source. Also, there are three hoses. One that goes to the facuet, one (normally red) that is waist water that routes to a drain, one (normally blue) for pure RO water which is collected and stored.


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## nismo driver (Jan 27, 2004)

nice coldfire i didnt know the specifics of the plumbing, im still buying my RO from the lfs (next month getting an RO/DI).

one of the other perks to ordering from the online dealers is that alot of them either include a handhleld TDS meter or you can add one to your system at a reasonable rate and that is a huge advantage to makeing sure your investment is working properly, better then color change media.


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## leviathon13 (Sep 11, 2006)

lots of waste water, be ready for high water bills.


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## StryfeMP (Apr 26, 2007)

Some R/O systems come to PERMEATE PUMPS that recirculate the waste water once back into the filter resulting in less waste water. Also, the waste water is basically filtered water; filtered through the 3 canisters and would be of good use for water in grow out tanks or for normal water changing of your freshwater tank. The "waste" water is not actually crapped out water.


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## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

StryfeMP said:


> Some R/O systems come to PERMEATE PUMPS that recirculate the waste water once back into the filter resulting in less waste water. Also, the waste water is basically filtered water; filtered through the 3 canisters and would be of good use for water in grow out tanks or for normal water changing of your freshwater tank. The "waste" water is not actually crapped out water.


 what is waste water? can it be prevented?

i cant store a large container in another room (and wont in the same room since that would look terrible) but could i put something like a 5 gallon tank as a reservoir under the 10g? or just store it in a rubermaid reservoir under a sink?

do you add back any trace elements to the ro water?


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## jasert39 (May 1, 2003)

The RO/DI unit wastes water as it filters the water through the unit. Most have some like a 3-4 to 1 waste water to usable water ratio (more of less depending on the quality of you tap water). There is no way to get around it. Don't worry about high water bills if you are only using it for a 10 gallon tank, you wont see much difference at all. And i dont add anything to my RO/DI water, every so often I will add some kalkwasser just to keep my Calcium up for my SPS corals and clam, but if you arent keeping those and staying on top of water changes no additive are needed.

just food for thought, if you have the ability to run the unit for a long time (make larger amounts of water), your filters will work better longer. I make like 40-50 gallons everytime I run my unit (i have a 125 gallon tank), and probably do it twice a month, which in enough for all top off and a water change.

Good luck, I agree with the guys check out some of the other sites mentioned early, all better prodcuts for the money you will spend.


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## Coldfire (Aug 20, 2003)

Damn, where do you store 50 gallons of spare holding water? Nevermind, you have that spare room behind your tank.









I wish I had an equipment room like yours.


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## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

does the ro unit make waste water when the holding tank is full or does it automatically shut off when something like a float valve tells it to?

well i want a ro unit for a 10 salt and a 125 fresh so what would be a good size?

im guessing i would need at least a 10g holding tank (for 10% of the 125 water change) wich i could probably fit under a counter or something

if you guys dont mind could i see some pics of your ro setups and holding tanks...
does ro affect the ph at all?

there is a water purification store by my house that sells ro units (along with those 5 gal water jug cooler things) so i was wondering if i should check it out (never been in before) so would one of those work or would online stores like nd stated be cheaper?

thanks for all the replies


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## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

i forgot to tell you guys that the 10 g is under the 125 now (iron bar stand) but i am getting it a stand soon so i will have freed up room under the 125 for mayby a holding tank

the 125 filters are xp3 ans eheim 2217 so theres a space for mayby a 30 long tank 3ftx1ft

could i somehow use that idea (dont have a tank but could get one) could i hook it up down there or would i need it higer up?

my only concern is how i will access the water since i cant siphone up
would i need a water pump or coudl i install somethign like bulkheads on the from pannel with thosebuttons like on watter coolers that open the hole and let water flow

would i just need an ro unit with media
holding tank, 
shut off valve
tubing
anything else i would need?


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## nismo driver (Jan 27, 2004)

sean-820 said:


> i forgot to tell you guys that the 10 g is under the 125 now (iron bar stand) but i am getting it a stand soon so i will have freed up room under the 125 for mayby a holding tank
> 
> the 125 filters are xp3 ans eheim 2217 so theres a space for mayby a 30 long tank 3ftx1ft
> 
> ...


lots of people use stock tanks to hold their top off water just put some type of pump with a hose on it and pump the water out of the tank..

when you set up the RO it doesnt run 24/7 creating waste water all the time and it can be set up to top off on a float switch but is not the way to go for what your trying to accomplish.

i would say it should be set up under a sink run it to fill 5 gallon buckets and pour the 5gallon bucket into the holding tank under the 125, once you fil that holding tank you should be set for a few weeks and the ro/di unit will just wait until you need to top off or re-fill the holding tank.

your best bet is ordering online, the place near you might have the hardware but your still going to get more bang for the buck from the online vendor and get a TDS meter (the online places include them in some packages) you can get a 100gpd 4 or 5 stage unit with a tds meter for the same cost as a 3 stage kent. as somone else stated ro will get you 97 percent clean di gives you that extra 2.9 percent that is the difference between no algae and algae, if you going to go through the trouble and cost of steeping up your water quality whats teh point of stopping short a few steps to save a few bucks, just go all the way.


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## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

nismo driver said:


> i forgot to tell you guys that the 10 g is under the 125 now (iron bar stand) but i am getting it a stand soon so i will have freed up room under the 125 for mayby a holding tank
> 
> the 125 filters are xp3 ans eheim 2217 so theres a space for mayby a 30 long tank 3ftx1ft
> 
> ...


lots of people use stock tanks to hold their top off water just put some type of pump with a hose on it and pump the water out of the tank.. 
*ok thanks thats what i was thinking*

when you set up the RO it doesnt run 24/7 creating waste water all the time and it can be set up to top off on a float switch but is not the way to go for what your trying to accomplish.
*would i need a float swich on the reserve right? so it doesnt over flow?*

i would say it should be set up under a sink run it to fill 5 gallon buckets and pour the 5gallon bucket into the holding tank under the 125, once you fil that holding tank you should be set for a few weeks and the ro/di unit will just wait until you need to top off or re-fill the holding tank. 
*would i be able to just wire it up to the say 20 gallon reserve so it would be easier then moving around the buckets?*

your best bet is ordering online, the place near you might have the hardware but your still going to get more bang for the buck from the online vendor and get a TDS meter (the online places include them in some packages) you can get a 100gpd 4 or 5 stage unit with a tds meter for the same cost as a 3 stage kent. as somone else stated ro will get you 97 percent clean di gives you that extra 2.9 percent that is the difference between no algae and algae, if you going to go through the trouble and cost of steeping up your water quality whats teh point of stopping short a few steps to save a few bucks, just go all the way.
*thanks for the advice*
[/quote]

thanks for all your help and congrats on your new mod position. It was well earned.


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## Coldfire (Aug 20, 2003)

ND - here is a question that I have been thinking about. Have you ever tested both the "pure water" and "waist water" for their levels of TDS? I have been wondering what the TDS level is of the waist water? Since the water from comes the source, then runs through the mirco-filter, then the carbon block, then through the membrain. It is only then that the waist water is produced. (if you have an RO/DI unit) Then the pure water is filtered by the DI block, and the waist water is dissarded straight from the membrain.

My thoughts, if the TDS of the waist water are not that high coming out of the membrain, could you hook up an additional DI unit and plumb the waist line from the membrain to a new DI unit, and then have pure water coming from both lines. Thus, the RO unit would produce only "pure water"? There would be no waist water?

I can not image that the RO unit completely separates the "good" water from the "bad", and then disgards the bad. If that was the case, you would never have to replace the filter blocks & membrain since it is a pure separation. However, since the filter blocks & membrain have to be replaced (every 6 months / one year), they are filtering crap out.

I am just thinking out loud about how to reduce the waist water.


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## Coldfire (Aug 20, 2003)

sean-820 said:


> when you set up the RO it doesnt run 24/7 creating waste water all the time and it can be set up to top off on a float switch but is not the way to go for what your trying to accomplish.
> *would i need a float swich on the reserve right? so it doesnt over flow?*
> 
> i would say it should be set up under a sink run it to fill 5 gallon buckets and pour the 5gallon bucket into the holding tank under the 125, once you fil that holding tank you should be set for a few weeks and the ro/di unit will just wait until you need to top off or re-fill the holding tank.
> *would i be able to just wire it up to the say 20 gallon reserve so it would be easier then moving around the buckets?*


If you are having your RO unit deposit directly to your holding tank, then a shut off valve (e.g. float switch) would be needed. That way, when the water gets low, the float valve will turn the RO unit on, and when it gets high enough, it will turn it off.

If you have the space, water connect, and drain near your tank you can do that. If not, then you will have to do the bucket idea.


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## nismo driver (Jan 27, 2004)

CF i should be getting my RO/Di later this month, i will test teh pre filtered, waste and pure to get this comparison.

i was thinking baout gettign teh upgrade for the tds meter that reads water in vs water out but thats kind of unnecessary if i have a hand held meter its no that hard to test


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## Coldfire (Aug 20, 2003)

Agreed

I am thinking about ordering one of those hand held meters that measures ph, TDS, and something else (can't remember right now). That way, I can also test the source water, pure water, waist water, etc.. From there, I can make a decision if to add an additional DI unit to my RO/DI unit to make it a five canister unit to process the waist water. Of course, that all depends on if the waist water is already low on TDS coming from the membrain. Only a TDS meter will be able to tell me. Oh well, more money to spend.

However, if I can add an additional DI unit, or even an additional Micro-filter and/or carbon block canister (e.g. have a total of six canisters with one membrain to process the waist water and pure water), there would be no waist water and the holding tank would fill up much faster. Yes, I would have a full mount in my storage room with a dedicated water source, and holding tanks. However, that would look damn cool have a seven stage fully incorporated RO/DI unit producing water.

Of course, I would have many more filters to replace every six months, but why the hell not to not waist water.


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## jasert39 (May 1, 2003)

personally, I know that if I run my 75gpd unit for a little over a day, I can get enough RO/DI water to run me for a few weeks of top off water and one 25 gallon water change. I dont use a float switch I just leave a note out for myself to check it everytime I leave the house (that however has not stopped me from overflowing, lol.) I then have another container under my stand that I mix some Kalk in and that is plumbed to a float switch and pump to top off in my sump. I manually fill that container (18-20 gallons i think) about ever fix days or so.


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## nismo driver (Jan 27, 2004)

jasert39 said:


> personally, I know that if I run my 75gpd unit for a little over a day, I can get enough RO/DI water to run me for a few weeks of top off water and one 25 gallon water change. I dont use a float switch I just leave a note out for myself to check it everytime I leave the house (that however has not stopped me from overflowing, lol.) I then have another container under my stand that I mix some Kalk in and that is plumbed to a float switch and pump to top off in my sump. I manually fill that container (18-20 gallons i think) about ever fix days or so.


i need to step up to an ATO.. right now im using drip lines out of of 1 and 2 liter bottles, i pre mix teh kalk ina 5 gallon and let it settle then fill the bottles with that and set them up to drip all day, its an ok system but day to day requires alot of dedication and definately not effective if i want to go away for more then a few days.

its like having a kid but worse i wont trust any babysitter with my tank.


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## jasert39 (May 1, 2003)

once you setup are ato you will never live without one. It a very inexpensive piece of equipment that pays for itself quickly. I can go away for a long weekend or vacation and not have to worry about topping off or trying to explain it to my tank sitter.


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## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

What would be best for my situation?

Set up a 30 gallon holding tank under my 125? I would like some water to use on my 125 too.

My 10 would be moved to a different room so would i just need a water pump (to fill a bucket) and buckets to move it?

What is the best method to make sure the holding tank doesnt overflow? Do you need a plumer to hook it up or could anybody do it?

Time to get technical:
View attachment RO_setup.bmp


This is my setup and the sink is literally about 1/2 a foot away from the tank so its not to far from a holding tank.

My question is: other then float valve show do you make sure the holding tank doesnt overflow? shut it off manually?

When the float valve tells it to stop does it produce waste water at all? could you please show me some pics of your ro setup or drawn pictures like mine lol


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