??? about RO/DI

[vr697getta]

i have a water filter that works pretty good i got it because it produces no waste water but the filter last for about 100 gallons
and with a 110 tank they don't last one just fo fill the tank
my question is are there type of filter like the RO/DI that produce no waste the one i saw was 10 gallons of waste to 1 gallon of good water

 

[raynist]

Re: ??? about RO/DI

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8500502#post8500502 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by vr697getta
i have a water filter that works pretty good i got it because it produces no waste water but the filter last for about 100 gallons
and with a 110 tank they don't last one just fo fill the tank
my question is are there type of filter like the RO/DI that produce no waste the one i saw was 10 gallons of waste to 1 gallon of good water

Bean is probably the guy to ask around here.

I get about 2 gallons of waste for every gallon good.

I think you can add additional RO membranes and lower the waste, but I am not positive.

 

[Adam]

There are a lot of variables that affect RO waste water ratio, but 2:1 is probably typical for good quality hobby units. There is no RO unit that produces no waste.

If you are concerned about wasting water, just be creative about collecting and using the waste water. I collect my RO waste water in a plastic 55 gallon drum and use it for laundry and watering plants. NONE actually gets wasted.

Adam

 

[BeanAnimal]

With a 2:1 waste ratio, you will be passing A LOT of TDS though the R/O membrane (easily 10% more than if you ran at 4:1 with the proper flow restrictor). 4:1 will give you a TDS output of the RO that coincides with the manufacturers specification.

That said, here in Western PA, the winter water temperature is easily in the low 50's and sometimes colder than that. The lower the water temperature, the higher the waste ratio. It is not uncommon for a system that runs at 4:1 in the summer to run at 7 or 8:1 in the winter.

As Adam said, you can be creative. We use the waste water to fill the washer and do laundry.

You can add RO membranes in series to cut down the waste. With 4 membranes you will have almost zero waste water... You must remember that the added membranes reduce the available pressure in the system. This cuts down the efficiency and either mandates the use of a booster pump or turning up the regulator on your household supply line (not usually a good idea). You can TEE off before the regulator and add a second one just for the RO/DI but this gets expensive and begs the question, "Why not use the booster pump". Also remember that each added membrane and housing+ plumbing will add about $60 to the system price. The point of diminishing returns approaches very quickly!

Where were we...

Oh yes. For multiple membrane units you can check out spectrapure. They make quality (but expensive) stuff. Also
Filterguys.biz
purleyH20.com
buckeyefieldsupply.com

airwaterice.com (though I hear they have gone downhill lately).

Stay away from the $100 units that you find on eBay. A $200 unit from ANY of the above will pay for itself in short order compared to the $100 stuff you find on eBay.


Bean

 

[Buckeye Hydro]

Re: ??? about RO/DI

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8500502#post8500502 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by vr697getta
i have a water filter that works pretty good i got it because it produces no waste water but the filter last for about 100 gallons
and with a 110 tank they don't last one just fo fill the tank
my question is are there type of filter like the RO/DI that produce no waste the one i saw was 10 gallons of waste to 1 gallon of good water

Its likely what you have is a carbon filter, or a carbon and DI resin filter.

 

[Buckeye Hydro]

There is some confusion regarding multiple membrane systems used in the hobby.

Even with multiple membranes (plumbed in series) with the waste water from the first going to the in post on the second membrane, etc you don't end up reducing the water water. IF you have 2 100 gpd membranes plumbed in series, then you want a flow restricor that allows 4 x 200 gpd, or 4 times the permeate flow. Membranes plumbed in series act like a single long membrane.

Can you get less waste out of a multiple membrane system? Sure - but you have the same issue as with a single membrane system with a low wasteermeate ratio - you'll end up shortening the life of your membranes.

Russ @ BFS

 

[UNDERTHESEA(PA)]

I think he maybe talking about the KoldSterile unit from Poly Bio Marine. It doesn't produce waste, but it is also not an RO unit.

 

[vr697getta]

i just wanted a good filter that did not produce any waste water the RO unit sounds like alot more than i want to get into
i looked at KoldSterile on ebay and it was alot more than i wanted to spend the filter i have works pretty good but the filters
don't last for more that about 60 or 70 gallons and the are 30 bucks a pop is there any other option

 

[vr697getta]

it is made by aquarium pharmaceuticals its made for discus tanks it workd fine for me but the filters i go through way to fast i stop using it cause the filter is all used up and my water now has a film at the top of the tank

 

[Buckeye Hydro]

YOu'll find that an RO/DI system isn't terribly complicated once you have it in front of you and can trace the path of the water. Essentially just a series of filters...

Russ @ BFS

 

[Steven Pro]

Those Tap Water Filters/Tap Water Purifiers from Aquarium Pharmaceuticals are nice enough units for smaller aquaria (30 gallons or less), but become very expensive to operate in short order on larger tanks because of the costs of replacement cartridges.

 

[Bill King]

I used the TWP's for a couple years when I started my 1st reef tank. I was able to produce 35-40 gals. of very good D/I water with every cartridge.
After I "used-up" a couple cartridges I started to re-charge the resin at a fraction of the cost.
The instructions are posted on the web & it's a very simple procedure, using cheap, easily found chemicals.
When I had a couple spare empty cartridges, I started running several in series, 1st contained only carbon, then a couple D/I cartridges, when 1 became "used-up" it was easy to replace that one with a "new" ,recharged one.

It's not for lazy people, though, so I bought a good RO unit.

Good luck
Bill