Ro/di reservoir or straight to tank?

[Vogon poetry]

Hey guys.

Sorry if this isn't considered new to hobby but I am a newbie to sumps. I have a new 60 gallon cube with a trigger crystal sump/refugium. Slowly setting everything up. Next step is RO/DI. (or just RO..not sure if my tap water bad enough to warrant DI). I'm close to buying a vertex puratek 100 gallon RO/DI and a Tunze 3155 auto top off osmolator.

Two questions:

- better to plumb a direct line from kitchen (simple split from kitchen plumbing) to the tank or simply get an RO/DI reservoir and forego the kitchen plumbing altogether. I do like the idea of not even having to fill a reservoir every few days
- in either case, is it better to have RO water going into display tank or sump (above the water line of course!).

Many Thanks

 

[mcgyvr]

Only problem with straight to the tank is that if the RO/DI valve of whatever ever sticks on then you have an endless supply of water that "could" overflow the tank..

and I dump mine into the sump but it really doesn't matter much..

 

[dt204]

Mine is ran straight to a float switch. So if it ever fails, it will keep filling. You can install float switchs to control this. In my case I drilled a hole high in the sump with a line ran to the drain in the event of an overflow.

No matter the quality of tap water, vast majority of reefers would use DI. When it comes to algae etc better to start off as pure as possible. If your tap water is great, you'll just get more use from your filters!

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[CStrickland]

In a normal setup the overflow weirs keep the water level constant in the DT, and the baffles do the same in the sump. As water evaporates from the system the level drops in the last section where the return pump sends water into the tank. So that's where you want your sensor. You can have the ato adding the water anyplace but it's usually better looking and easier to plumb and wire in the sump. Also, if you are dosing in the topoff it's best in the sump cause it gets mixed in before it hits the DT.

Plumbing straight from the rodi is a flood risk like mcgyver said, also you can't use kalkwasser in your top off, or bleed off the first few cups of extra dirty ro (when a rodi is not in use some dirty water will creep across the membrane and it will use up di). Lastly, you still need to make water for waterchanges so you'd have to rig it to a salt mixing setup as well.

Using di isn't really about how dirty your tap water is. Idk the unit you're looking at but you can get a very good 4 stage rodi unit for $150

 

[thegrun]

Another reason for filling a reservoir rather than directly into the tank is that you will be able to make a lot more water with the same amount of DI resin. When you make small batches of RO/DI water the first minute or so the filter runs the water being processed is much dirtier leaving the RO membrane than after the unit has been running for say one minute. You will probably use 4 times the amount of resin if you only make enough to top off the tank.

 

[Vogon poetry]

Awesome info guys. Much appreciated. The DT is def a DT in that it's on display in our living room. So, I also wanted to avoid the sight of an ugly reservoir tank but I'm sure there are some nice looking ones if I search around. Spot on fellas re direct plumbing question. Continuous supply from kitchen too scary for me. Continuous Flooding overflow would suck!

I'll post some pix as I get closer. Thanks again for the replies!

 

[dt204]

I see lots of people using little benchs, or foot rest furniture for a reservoir. Blends into living room and can hold a few gallons

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[billdogg]

I would NEVER run anything straight to the tank that has the potential, through failure other than my own, to not only flood my house but in so doing, kill all the life in the tank as well which is exactly what will happen if (when) a float valve sticks allowing straight RO/DI to go into the tank unchecked. At least with some sort of reservoir you can limit the damage.

 

[heathlindner25]

I would NEVER run anything straight to the tank that has the potential, through failure other than my own, to not only flood my house but in so doing, kill all the life in the tank as well which is exactly what will happen if (when) a float valve sticks allowing straight RO/DI to go into the tank unchecked. At least with some sort of reservoir you can limit the damage.

Great advice. I would never run a ro/dI straight to a system.

 

[nereefpat]

Another reason for filling a reservoir rather than directly into the tank is that you will be able to make a lot more water with the same amount of DI resin. When you make small batches of RO/DI water the first minute or so the filter runs the water being processed is much dirtier leaving the RO membrane than after the unit has been running for say one minute. You will probably use 4 times the amount of resin if you only make enough to top off the tank.

Interesting. Always things to learn on here.

 

[Vogon poetry]

I'm still on the fence and in denial that it's risky! There seems to be so many redundant backup steps you can take along the way, it's tempting. From moisture sensors on floor that shut off water to about 5 different backups I have read about along the way. If you see me with a snorkel on in my living room, feel free to wag the finger at me

 

[Sapelo]

As billdogg said, the problem isn't that you risk having to clean up an overflow mess (we've all done that at one time or another) but that with your proposed setup you risk killing everything in your tank.
That's the kind of risk to be avoided even if it is unlikely to ever happen.

 

[reeferheadlouie]

+1 on above

 

[Jscwerve]

Second on not plumbing directly. Too much potential for failure.

Also, if it was plumbed direct, won't it be more difficult to get water for salt mixing?

Not that everyone does, or needs to, but for my own setup I've found that i like to have around 40gal of salt water just sitting mixed with a pump and heater all the time just in case and another 40 of fresh RODI, again, just in case.

I've learned that sometimes I have a tendency to "impulse buy", so if I see that special fish I've been waiting for at the store or find something I just HAVE to have I can buy it and have a QT setup and running in about 20 minutes. Having the water ready to go helps a lot.

 

[Vogon poetry]

all noted and absorbed guys. Sapelo, good point on the livestock loss. In my self imposed scuttlebutt on the plumbing convenience I forgot about what it's all about. Jscwerve, you are leagues ahead of me in terms of saltwater reservoir for qt. wow. kudos to you Bronco guy! Just bought my Tunze 5100 osmolator and the live rock that I have been storing after my living room disaster a few months back is now resurrecting itself in a vat of heated saltwater. All a matter of cash flow but hoping to get everything up and running before summer's out.

 

[Jscwerve]

I actually only keep a container of mixed saltwater heated and ready to assist in forgetfulness. I like to do small water changes more often than big changes all at once. Say 5-10 gallons every other day to three days. I used to forget to mix water the day before and have to put off a change for another day to mix a few measley gallons. Now I just keep a 40 gallon tank full with heater and powerhead and it's ok if I forgot to mix.

Also the impulse buy quick QT setup thing too. I keep some ceramic media in my sump seeded and ready for the canister filter I use. I tried to do the "no cycle" qt and other methods and I couldn't ever keep up with the ammonia and water changes.

 

[Vogon poetry]

stubborn as a coral mule

stubborn as a coral mule

not that there is such a thing as a coral mule (maybe there is!)

I can't believe I still am on the fence with direct water into sump instead of into resevoir especially with advice coming from rock solid pros like yourselves. Buddy of mine has 500 gallon (man the thing is large) freshwater tank. Fish are 2 feet long. I know it's off topic for coral community but what is interesting, relating to my original post, is that he runs water direct into sump from his RODI! No resevoir. I know it sounds crazy. All he has is float valve/shut off system running from RODI. Nothing else. No osmolator, nothing. Crazy. Hard to believe but he face timed the whole shebang to me.

He has a pump as he needs to run long line from unit to sump. In my case, if I did decide to go this route, same thing. I wouldn't need booster so much going INTO unit but rather pump FROM the unit and then its long journey - from downstairs basement to upstairs living room - into my sump.

I bring all this up just for interesting discussion. I know I'm an amateur at best but I find this stuff fascinating and in my virgo ways, want to make every step of my setup exactly as I want it. Plus to be very very honest, I don't relish the idea of lugging 5 gallon RODI water buckets up the stairs every 3 days.

Anyone think I'm crazy?

 

[homer1475]

Another question I would like to raise, how do you flush the RO/DI unit with it plumbed directly into the tank?

As for the FW tank, its fine that way. In a SW tank you have calcium precipitate that can clog up a float valve leaving it either stuck on, or stuck off. Trust me it happens, just happened to me. Luckily for me it was only 5 gallons in an 80G system so I didn't lose anything, but it can and will happen.

 

[Vogon poetry]

Ah. Not sure about the flush issue. I would have assumed whether it was plumbed directly into tank or into your storage trash cans (or however you store) the same flush setup would be happening? What am I missing?

Very interesting with calcium build up. I certainly can attest to that with past tank I had.

 

[homer1475]

My setup is just a valve I throw.

In one position its wide open, in the other it has a restriction so it forces the water through the system. Even with the valve in the flush position, I still get some water down the line which is usually pretty high in TDS.