RO/DI in an apartment

[jakaufman]

I am working on setting up a tank in my apartment but the one thing which I am hesitant about is how to get good quality water. The DC water is pretty mediocre and for my freshwater tank I just use conditioner but I wouldn't want to do that in saltwater.

At my parents house, I set up an RO/DI filter in the garage which keeps a 50g trashcan full of clean water for topoffs and water changes. How can I get enough water at my apartment?? Anyone have suggestions or is the only real option to buy it or ask someone nearby for buckets of it?

-Joe

 

[dsn112]

Hook an rodi up to the kitchen sink when you want to make water. Depending on how much storage you have thats how much you can make.

 

[NirvanaFan]

I hooked mine up under the kitchen sink. I just fill up 5 gallon buckets and 18 gallon rubbermaids when I need water.

 

[marduc]

Agreed when i was in an apartment, I hooked mine up under the kitchen sink as well, just split off form the cold water line, and used a drain saddle to pierce the drain plumbing under the sink (I replaced the pierced piece when i moved out).

One other thing I did was ran 1/4" tubing from under my sink, around along the baseboards to a utility closet in the dining area (was a fish room for me though, lol) and kept my water there in a rubbermaid tub that had an autotop off.

The whole set up was unobtrusive, virtually invisibe, and highly functional, all while taking up virtually no space.

 

[jakaufman]

I have to look around my sink and see if I can figure out how to connect it where I can get enough water pressure. I'm not very good with plumbing so I may have some more questions hah. Thanks for the advice!

 

[Toddrtrex]

I rent a townhouse and didn't want to tap into the water line. So, like others have said just hook it up to your sink, work perfectly. Here is how mine is hooked up,

Close up

And when I am done making water I store it like below -- all the lines are above the unit so it won't dry out (( I put it under the kitchen sink ))

 

[reef93]

when I lived in apartment, I used quick connected kitchen faucet adapter and remove it when not in use.

adapter:

 

[robnuti]

reef93, Where did you get the quick connect kitchen faucet adapter? That would work great in my home.

 

[marduc]

most of these supplies can be had in any hardware store.

A brass compression tee and a drain saddle is what you are after if you want to do an under the sink install. Most likely in an apartment it is a braided fed hose, forget the diameter, but probably 3/8' or 1/2".

At home depot (or most any hardware/plumbing supply store) there is a tee that has two threads of that size with a compression fitting to accomodate 1/4" OD hose.

All you do is shut off the cold water supply at the valve under the sink, unscrew the braided line, screw in the tee, and insert hose to the compression fitting for the feed water.

A drain saddle can be used to run the waste water directly to your existing drain plumbing, these either require a small hole to be drilled, or are self piercing (make their own hole on installation).

either way, it is a simple task for both, or if you don't mind pulling your RO/DI unit out and hooking it up on an as needed basis just use the faucet adapter shown above

 

[reef93]

RC sponsor(thefilterguy, airwaterice...) will have it.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11967800#post11967800 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by robnuti
reef93, Where did you get the quick connect kitchen faucet adapter? That would work great in my home.

 

[mouscacha]

I hooked mine up to the laundry room in my apartment. Sits right over my "stacked" washer/dryer. I have a "Y" MPT connection from the washer's cold line with a valve on each output. This way, I can turn off the RODI with this valve, and not leave stress on the compression lines.

 

[iwishtofish]

I hooked mine up to the washing machine cold water line in my apartment, also. I have a strong shelf above the washing machine where my RO/DI sits, and I fill gallon jugs inside a shallow tub on the washing machine lid.

 

[mouscacha]

I just drop my line into a 5G water jug then lug the thing across to my reservoir.

 

[jakaufman]

awesome info and pictures ! that eases my worries about getting the RO water.. now its just a matter of how and where to store it! much easier when you have a garage or basement haha

 

[mouscacha]

Tell me about it... These guys who have "fish rooms" make me a little jealous. Just a little...

 

[SeanySean]

Mine is ontop of the washing machine if that helps...

Sean