R/O Waste Water Uses

[klepto]

Good to see good ideas from all over!

Some recent uses:
Rinsing a variety of things: wetsuits, gardening stuff, aquaria refuse that I don't want in my drain etc..

I'm thinking about setting up a 'waste' water solar shower setup (yes like the camping ones) to use after getting out of the surf.

I recently started turning my unit off at night and trying to make water for water changes on warmer days (or at least around noon) so that membrane efficiency will be better. These steps have definitely reduced the amount of waste water that I am producing. Only running the membrane during the day has helped me remember to actually use the waste because I'm much more aware of the water consumption.

 

[goochesfish]

topping off the swimming pool

 

[bbl_nk]

I normally use it to wash laundry like many people do (waste line into washing machine) when I brainfart, I use it to errrr "wash" the garage floor when I forget to shut the darn thing off at night

 

[Eleez]

Washing machine for me! I've got a kid who's learning how to feed herself - makes for a lot of laundry!

 

[MATT CLOWNS]

I drink my ro/di waste water and no one that comes over can tell the deff.i just make them sine a wavor at the dor that says thay now have cancer

 

[teesquare]

wow.....

 

[drewp808]

how do you know when to stop putting water into your washing machine?

 

[klepto]

I drink my ro/di waste water and no one that comes over can tell the deff.i just make them sine a wavor at the dor that says thay now have cancer

:worried: sweet, thanks for the contribution mate.

how do you know when to stop putting water into your washing machine?

I would guess people judge how much water they need by how much the washer fills at any given setting when plumbed into the house normally.. And then you have to be around to fill it up again for the rinse cycle.. (unless you had this timing down like some people have accomplished). Although it does allow you to give things a thorough (maybe even double) rinse..

 

[cyruson]

to the toilet. I flush it often when I am drinking

 

[CWP]

I run mine into a pond. I have a "bog" upstream of the pond full of plants, and they love the high TDS water.

 

[briansbelle]

i use my waste water in the washer,water plants,the dogs, my rats, and i even put a little bit in my zero water and pur filters in the fridge...and then drink it....

my TDS out of the tap comes out at 250, out of the RO unit it comes out at 230, so its gotta be a little better than tap...and everyone here at my place drinks unfiltered tap water so the filtered has to be a little better...

once i can see grass again(we have close to 3 foot of snow in some parts(drifts) i will use it to water the flowers, and grass..

i only make about 5 gallons a week, 3 for a water change,2 for topoffs in my 14 gallon biocube.

 

[d0ughb0y]

how do you know when to stop putting water into your washing machine?

I setup mine so filtered water goes into a 5 gallon bucket with a float valve (works in conjunction with auto shutoff valve on rodi unit), then waste water line goes into washer. once the 5 gallon bucket is filled, the 20 gallons or so waste water is just right for an extra large wash cycle.

I then transfer the water to my spare salt buckets for storage. I like them better than brute containers as their lids have rubber gaskets that seals the container, and stack up for more efficient use of limited space I have in the garage (no basement in california).

 

[Capslock118]

Here's my question(s):

a) this is simple but I just want to talk it through. The vinyl tubing for the good and waste water from the RO/DI unit can be as long as you need it to be correct? Since the ro/di unit is driven by the pressure of the homes water line, It would be the same as if you ran a 3/4" cold water line up to where your fish tank is and then attaching the ro/di to that? versus say the ro/di connected right where the water comes in and then drawing the vinyl line out to the fish tank? I'm asking because if I can keep my ro/di where it is then draw out the waste water say 50 feet instead of it's curren 4 ft I can bring it right ourside.

b) does anybody use this auto-top off product? It looks like I can attach my RO/DI unit to it (again, as far from the ro/di unit as I require) and my ro/di auto-shut off feature will ensure this doesnt overflow my tank? I have a nano so I would have to have this blessed to work as expected.


Other then that I have to tank all of you for giving your ideas and what you do, i only have a 24gal nano and i do not think i produce that much waste water - I would like to not waste water and our intentions this spring is to implement a rain bucket under our gutters; i'm thinking im going to attache the waste line to this.

Thanks.

 

[d0ughb0y]

a. correct
b. correct if your rodi has autoshutoff valve, otherwise, your waste water line will keep on going as the input to the rodi will never be off.

 

[burnah]

any ideas whether RO water could be dumped into a 10.000 gallon swimming pond with plants? i guess that would not make any problems..

 

[Holyreefer]

this is a great thread.
One thing i have been thinking about doing is getting a poly high stand 500 gallon tank for the water waste from my ro system. What i would like to do is run water lines from the 500 gallon waste line tank from my garage to my water heater, my fridge (id have to add some type of pressure valuve for that) which gets ran through the filter again. My water bill is too high and i'd rather reuse it and recyle the water for showers etc...

 

[maynardjames]

have waste line draining into koi pond. keeps it topped off & koi don`t seem to mind

 

[NJ_Reefkeeper]

Pond in the back yard.

 

[klepto]

Lots of people seem to be using it for ponds. I wish I had a pond!!

Recently, I started using my waste water for washing clothes. Every time a water change happens, I coordinate a load of laundry. This is an easy way to utilize large amounts of waste water, and it reduces the need for waste w. storage.

I am proud to say that my waste is down to a gallon (if not less) for every gal of R/O.
People say "ohhhh R/O... that wastes SOO much water"... :hmm3: Not if you know how to utilize your resources it doesn't!

Water in my area (and in most I imagine) is only getting more expensive.

There are enough expenses in this hobby.. Water is one that I plan to manage responsibly.

 

[TheFishMan65]

I don't have an RO/DI yet. But I still have a lot of waste water. Every water change. So a little off topic. Is there a way to get the salt out so that you could use it to water grass? Could you use and old RO filter?