questions about "dual purpose" ro/di system

[7808]

ive been putting off getting a ro system for a while but want to get one soon, but i want to use it for drinking water and for my tank, so it would most likely be installed under the kitchen sink. i only have a 20gal tank but would like to get somthing a little bigger this winter.

these dual output systems where as i understand has a T before the final DI filter to go to a drinking water tank like this one . but say i need 10 gallons of water, how long should i expect to wait to fill containters for this or an average say 75gpd system? because the little storage tank would be under the sink for drinking water, and id have to sit and fill somthing for tank water.


also, what do you guys think of r/o water being not good for drinking because its stripped of all minerals etc.. ?

and the drinking water tanks, how are they pressurized?

 

[nanojg]

the storage tank works for both drinking and tank water.

 

[7808]

why do alot of the systems i see have a seprate output for drinking and tank water then?

 

[mcarroll]

I've heard various reasons for not drinking DI water, the least of which is that it's supposed to taste bad. Nothing I've heard has been authoratative, so I'm also curious if anyone can chime in with more information.

-Matt

 

[Frogmanx82]

I looked at this and decided not to go that route. Your much better off getting rodi for the fish and get a particulate filter and good carbon block for the drinking water. RO for drinking water is not necessary and requires you to use more water and fit a tank under the sink since the flow rates are so slow. With a prefilter and carbon block you have on demand water much cheaper.

The reason they T off the DI portion is its just pointless to drink water stripped of ions that are good for you and you have to replace your DI unit more often. RO units have more capacity, but with the slow flow you need the tank. Do you really need to drink RO water?

Anyway, it just seemed too complicated to cram under the sink and figure out how I would get the DI water where I needed it. For about the same money I could have two separate units.

 

[nanojg]

why do alot of the systems i see have a seprate output for drinking and tank water then?

Mine has a spearate output for drinking and tank water (with DI) but they are both connected to the resevior tank.

 

[nanojg]

I have the dual home/reef from air water and ice

 

[7808]

i might look into a seprate under the sink system then

the reason i like RO water is our water (city water, from mississippi river) taste funny and after having gallons of ro water around and drinking it even bottled water doesnt taste right.

as for having your di and not di water going into the same tank, that makes no sense

 

[nanojg]

the di filter is after the resevior tank, makes sense now?

 

[7808]

oh ok yes it does.

 

[hansmatt]

I have a spectrapure maxcap 90g, and a reservoir that is about 25 feet away (plumbed under the floor) and it works fantastic. I have a Tee in place before the DI unit. There is a pressure "valve" inline that determines if the 5g reservoir needs filling, and it does so automatically. When I make RODI water, I turn a ball valve and it fills my Brute container. I'm very pleased with the service from Spectrapure, and they included all of the parts necessary for setup, and answered questions in detail both via forums and phone. I believe they have a customer appreciation sale for RC members, around $100 off, so around $250 for the unit itself.
I also understand that the DI water is not ideal drinking water, though the RO water tastes better than bottled IMO.

 

[Buckeye Hydro]

the storage tank works for both drinking and tank water.

It is best to avoid use of a pressure tank for water delivered to a DI unit.

It's OK for storing RO water (for drinking for instance), but don't send that water on the the DI stage.

With a little know-how you can add a drinking water set up (tank, faucet, etc) to any RODI configured for aquarium use = and if it is configured correctly, the water from the tank won't find its way to the DI.

We also have new systems that are configured to supply drinking water to a pressure tank and faucet, and RO water direct from the membrane on to the DI.

Russ

 

[Frogmanx82]

So does RO water taste better than just going through the carbon block? Some minerals in the water usually improves the taste.

I just ordered a spectrapure system 90 gallons a day for $149 with the Reef Central discount. They sent me the drawing for hooking up a faucet tap. I'm just not sure I want all that crammed under the sink. I think I'd rather have my rodi unit for the fish out in the open where I can read the tds meters and fill my storage containers.

No doubt you can make it work. If you really want to drink ro vs filtered water its not that big of a deal. It comes down to preferences.

Regarding the health effects of drinking water that is stripped of its minerals, I did some research on it and it seems to be a myth. RO is not as stripped as DI water. The only reason not to drink DI is its more expensive to maintain the DI unit than the RO unit.

 

[Rich976usaf]

I want to add that rodi water does not taste good. i like the ro water with another carbon block, i like my water better than bottled.