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Pet Forum / Aquaria / Marine Reef / December 2003RO Plant Set-Up
I love my little RO plant. Approx. $30 for the Rubbermaid trash can, a couple of bucks for the spigot, and about $10 for the blocks, and I was set!! I have a Kent float valve in the can, not expensive either. Here's a pic: http://www.stansrods.com/roplant.jpg Good Luck, Royce That looks good. I have a question though, how many tanks and how often do you change your water to justify the setting rather than just buying the water? I'm thinking maybe I don't do enough water changes :) 25% once a month... Ooops!! I meant to post the original as a response to "RO/DI setup" from Ct Midnite. Sorry!! I have a 90 gal with a 20 gal sump, and I do a 20% water change every two weeks. My system also evaporates about two gal/day. For me it was worth it. I bought several 5 gal water jugs, and going for water got old after a few months. I use 20-25 gal/week, and I was going every two weeks. There's not a source locally, so I was buying from one of those water machines at Wal-Mart. I was concerned about the quality of the water, too. Also, the cost and having to get change for the machine. If you're not needing a lot of water, there are some cheaper and smaller alternatives that connect to your faucet, then you can store it when it's not in use. I don't know much about them, or about the quality of the water they produce. Maybe some of the others that have experience with them can offer comments. Royce > That looks good. I have a question though, how many tanks and how often do > you change your water to justify the setting rather than just buying the > water? I'm thinking maybe I don't do enough water changes :) 25% once a > month... So does it stay full automatically or do you just run it when it gets low? I have been thinking about setting one up but I was worried that it would be counter productive if the water sat in the can too long (like a week or more) kelly If you keep the water circulating with a powerhead, it will not be an issue of stagnancy. If you consider top-off water and water changes, the unit pays itself off very quickly. And I always recommend the 100 gallon per day units because it takes 4.16g per hour. It sounds slow, but that is actually so practical when you get yourself in an emergency. In case you didn't know I sell them from my site. Marc > So does it stay full automatically or do you just run it when it gets low? > I have been thinking about setting one up but I was worried that it would be > counter productive if the water sat in the can too long (like a week or > more) > > kelly -- Personal Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com/oanda/index.html Business Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com Marine Hobbyist: http://www.melevsreef.com I have a Kent's float valve installed in my tank so that it shuts off automatically. If you look at the picture, it's inside of the tank where you see the blue tubing connect. Not very expensive, about $15. It works with normal (up to about 90psi) water pressure. This is a great method, and you'll always have a holding tank of RO/DI water. I haven't had any problems with water sitting in mine. It's a 40 gallon can, and I use approx. 20-25 gallons/week. If you need less water and you're concerned about it sitting too long, buy a smaller container. You shouldn't have problems with algae or impurities if the water is pure RO/DI. It probably helps to have an air tight tank that doesn't let light penetrate. Mine is a Rubbermaid Brute trash can and it works great. I once noticed a smell to my kalkwasser and water change water, I think it was probably bacteria. I drained the tank and let it fill again, and haven't had any problems since. I've had my unit for almost two years, and the inside of the tank is always spotless and it looks new. If you use the option of cleaning the tank with any kind of bleach solution, rinse everything thoroughly, then rinse it some more. I think the bleach poses a much greater risk to your inhabitants than anything that could grow in your tank. Depending on the amount of water needed, you don't need a high output system with a storage tank. Mine's 50gpd, and I just downgraded to 35gpd. Plenty for my needs. I really like this method a lot better than having to make it as you need it. The Rubbermaid can was approx. $35, the float valve was about $15, the spigot was about $2, and the blocks were about $10. It was a great investment and it took just a few minutes to set everything up. Probably a lot less time than needed to make one batch of water change water. Hope this helps. Royce > So does it stay full automatically or do you just run it when it gets low? > I have been thinking about setting one up but I was worried that it would be > counter productive if the water sat in the can too long (like a week or > more) > > kelly I haven't got mine yet. Coming today. But the way I understand it there is an inlet for tap water and two outlets, one for waste and one for the good water. Where do you put the valve? I assumed you had to shut off the inlet but what it looks like you all have done is shut off the outlet from the good water. If so does that stop the waste from running too? Ct Midnite >I have a Kent's float valve installed in my tank so that it shuts off >automatically. If you look at the picture, it's inside of the tank where [quoted text clipped - 30 lines] >> >> kelly http://www.geocities.com/ctmidnite53/ > I haven't got mine yet. Coming today. > [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > > Ct Midnite Depending on how you set it up. If you have a resoviour or a pressurize tank, it will stop when the pressure built up. Or if you do not have a pressurize tank / resoviour and simple turn off either from the main valve or have a manual valve of the blue line, it will stop. If like Royce with the float valve, the valve will close when it reach the water level. CapFusion,... By closing the valve on the output of good RO/DI water line, the pressure in the line will shut off the flow to the unit and the waste line will stop running. It takes about 10 seconds for you to hear it become silent, and at that point it is off. It is the same with a pressurized tank, like CapFusion pointed out below. Marc > Depending on how you set it up. If you have a resoviour or a pressurize > tank, it will stop when the pressure built up. Or if you do not have a [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > CapFusion,... -- Personal Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com/oanda/index.html Business Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com Marine Hobbyist: http://www.melevsreef.com If you need some help with the set-up, email me and I'll be glad to help (remove the "dot" from the email address). It's really simple though. You place the float valve at the maximum water level desired. Like Cap said, when the water reaches the level of the float, it floats and stops the water flow. Just like a toilet float valve, and you don't have to turn off the water that feeds the unit. For the waste water, you either run the drain line to a drain or somewhere to discard the water. Some like to save the waste water to water plants. My unit is on my back porch, and the drain line runs to a flower bed. The flowers like it!! Like Marc pointed out, protect against freezing. I drain my unit during freezes or use a clamp-on heat lamp pointed at the unit. Here's another pic that shows the location of the float valve and the max water level (the level the float's mounted at): http://www.stansrods.com/roplant1.jpg > By closing the valve on the output of good RO/DI water line, the pressure in the > line will shut off the flow to the unit and the waste line will stop running. [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > Business Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com > Marine Hobbyist: http://www.melevsreef.com I'm a farmer and know all about float valves and such. I just couldn't imagine how you could shut off the RO/DI output and have it shut the whole thing down. I had visions of float switches and electric shut off valves. None to cheap. I've got it set up and running. Just filling buckets with the stove timer right now. The fancy stuff later. :) For those of you who don't have one of these things, the one from Marc is very easy to install. It took me about 15 min to have it up and running. Very simple. He includes virtually everything you need. It's the coolest thing. You shut down the output and 10 sec later it all stops running. It's got some kind of internal switch activated by pressure from the output side. There is even a outlet for just RO water if you want to use it for yourself. Thanks again Marc. Ct Midnite >If you need some help with the set-up, email me and I'll be glad to help >(remove the "dot" from the email address). It's really simple though. You [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] >of the float valve and the max water level (the level the float's mounted >at): http://www.geocities.com/ctmidnite53/ Glad you're happy! <big smile> Marc > I'm a farmer and know all about float valves and such. I just > couldn't imagine how you could shut off the RO/DI output and have it [quoted text clipped - 34 lines] > > http://www.geocities.com/ctmidnite53/ -- Personal Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com/oanda/index.html Business Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com Marine Hobbyist: http://www.melevsreef.com Marc, you're the greatest!! > Glad you're happy! <big smile> > [quoted text clipped - 43 lines] > Business Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com > Marine Hobbyist: http://www.melevsreef.com I read both those articles and it sounds like there's nothing wrong with drinking it. I've always heard you're not supposed to drink it also. Wonder why? JT > I'm a farmer and know all about float valves and such. I just > couldn't imagine how you could shut off the RO/DI output and have it [quoted text clipped - 34 lines] > > http://www.geocities.com/ctmidnite53/ Perfect! Just make sure that unit never freezes (assuming you have cold wintry months. Marc > I love my little RO plant. Approx. $30 for the Rubbermaid trash can, a > couple of bucks for the spigot, and about $10 for the blocks, and I was [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > Good Luck, > Royce -- Personal Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com/oanda/index.html Business Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com Marine Hobbyist: http://www.melevsreef.com Royce, can I borrow that picture for others to use as an example? Give me your full name in email for photo-credit or as an emial link to contact you. Marc > I love my little RO plant. Approx. $30 for the Rubbermaid trash can, a > couple of bucks for the spigot, and about $10 for the blocks, and I was [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > Good Luck, > Royce -- Personal Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com/oanda/index.html Business Page: http://www.sparklingfloorservice.com Marine Hobbyist: http://www.melevsreef.com That Kent float valve is awesome, bought one last week for the same purpose. http://www.aquaticeco.com/aquatic1v1/itempg.icl?orderidentifier=ID10721469280937 87A22&eflag=0&iteminfo4=0&itmid=4847&passitemid=4847 BR549 Why is it ok to drink RO but not DI? Ct Midnite http://www.geocities.com/ctmidnite53/ This why we don't drink the DI water http://www.finishing.com/138/06.html > This why we don't drink the DI water > > http://www.finishing.com/138/06.html Hopefully you read down far enough to see that drinking DI or Distilled (or RO for that matter) is perfectly safe.... > > This why we don't drink the DI water > > > > http://www.finishing.com/138/06.html > > Hopefully you read down far enough to see that drinking DI or > Distilled (or RO for that matter) is perfectly safe.... Drinking RO/DI is fine but it would not taste too good. I would say it too pure [IMO]. Your body need those nutrient other than your food comsumption. Having puriest water for your aquarium, is for and to control and to know what you put in. CapFusion,... > Drinking RO/DI is fine but it would not taste too good. I would say it too This is a matter of taste. I like the taste of RO my self. > pure [IMO]. Your body need those nutrient other than your food comsumption. This is true. If you only drink water and your only water source is RO or better then you may become depleted in minerial after a few years. I do take trace minerals on a regular basis to cover this. This is a good practice anyway as most people tend to be low on trace minerals. One other point here. Pop/Soda doesn't count as it is all made with RO water as well. All IMO of course. :) Raymond IMO I would add a little Kalkwasser (or something to harden the water for storage) to this RO plant project, just to keep the DI water from eating the fittings an garbage can, DI water will come to equilibrium at no expence, this is my opinion BR549 > I love my little RO plant. Approx. $30 for the Rubbermaid trash can, a > couple of bucks for the spigot, and about $10 for the blocks, and I was [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > Good Luck, > Royce > IMO I would add a little Kalkwasser (or something to harden the water for > storage) to this RO plant project, just to keep the DI water from eating the > fittings an garbage can, DI water will come to equilibrium at no expence, > this is my opinion > > BR549 That sounds like something you would have to do for every batch of water. It would take very little. I would suggest some course sand in the bottom of the holding tank. It would disolve as needed and would last for quite some time.... Raymond I use a teaspoon full in a 35 gallon garbage can, if you use sand use aragonite not silica (silica is basically fine ground glass, no buffering qualities, please correct me if I am wrong), good idea Raymond, crushed coral would work good also. BR549 > > IMO I would add a little Kalkwasser (or something to harden the water for > > storage) to this RO plant project, just to keep the DI water from eating the [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > > Raymond |
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