RODI tanks and drinking

[sillygoose]

Aquaph8's BRS thread got me started on RODI and I didn't want to highjack his thread. (I went to BRS and watched their videos, etc which were very informative.)

What I need is an RODI system that will take care of my drinking water/fridge-ice maker load in my kitchen as well as fresh water for my tanks. Do any of you have or know of good household systems? How would something like a BRS system work in that application? I don't have a good sense of the system capacity that I would need to do both.

 

[Tanque Verde]

I read somewhere that RODI is not optimal for longterm human consumption because so many minerals are removed. I don't know whether that's true. But when researching my own RODI system, I discovered most of the home-consumption water businesses were selling RO systems only.

If all of the above is correct--and again, I'm not sure that it is--you would want to install a splitter between your RO chambers and your DI chamber.

Personally, I'd install two systems, for the reasons above and to save me the effort of carrying my drinking water, ice trays, etc., back and forth to the RODI unit.

 

[aquaph8]

Feel free to hijack any of my threads at anytime. I dont mind. Good questions too.

 

[scubabum1983]

ive also read somewhere that rodi is not good for drinking, you could run a ro then T it off for your drinking needs, then run a ball valve after the ro to a couple chamber di resin system for the aquarium needs.

 

[prickles]

I have heard the same thing about RODI. However, someone mentioned it doesn't matter unless your stomach is empty. You add a cheeseburger to RODI water and it's gonna have alot of TDS. You add a cheeseburger to just RO water and it's gonna have alot of TDS. Both will end up being high in nutrients...Perhaps if you're nutrient deficient, then it's a bad idea? I have been drinking RODI for 2 years with no apparent ill effects....

 

[scubabum1983]

i dont think its a tds thing at all. there are other elements to drinking water other than just h2o. im going to try and find what i read and post it.

 

[Bifferwine]

Tanque Verde is correct. RO water is perfectly fine to drink. RODI water will strip the mucous linings of your mouth, esophagus, stomach, etc. It doesn't matter if your stomach is empty or not. Your mouth and esophagus will still be affected.

 

[PurdueWaterGuy]

Submariners have been drinking RO water for decades with no apparent damage.

There are conflicting reports on consumption of DI water. Some say it's OK, some say not.

I have seen a coffeemaker plumbed into the ultra-pure water system at a semiconductor plant. People came from all over the plant to buy that coffee. Of course it wasn't DI water anymore after it leached all of the goodness out of the coffee grounds....

Tim

 

[Tucson Reef]

We use 3 systems, RODI for tanks, 1 44 gal Brute FW and 1 44 gal SW. RO under Kitchen sink for cooking/coffee. Carbon filter on Fridge icemaker/drinking water dispenser

 

[Bifferwine]

If I'm not mistaken, you can buy RODI units that branch off before the DI stage, so you can have just the RO water going to your fridge/icemaker.

 

[Garage1217]

On my maxcap rodi, I have it spliced before the DI stages to a 3G storage tank for RO drinking water for my family. Only the reef gets RODI. Spectrapure sells the parts and offers a diagram to hook up the maxcap system this way which IMO is the best choice for a RODI system.

 

[phil47952]

Safe drinking

Safe drinking

I've been drinking and cooking with RO/DI water for 25 or 26 years with no ill effects....I think :dance:

Phil

 

[PurdueWaterGuy]

One advantage to having a single RO system and splitting it's output to /DI for the reef/ice maker/tap is that it will get used more often, which is better for the membrane. Less frequent use means higher probabilty of bacterial growth on the membrane, which isn't good - hence automatic flush on the more expensive RO's.

Our 19,000 GPD RO runs 24/7 - when the RO permeate isn't needed it gets looped back to the input and runs thru the RO again. Yeah, it's not very energy efficient, but there are some over-ruling purity/reliabilty issues.

Tim

 

[Tanque Verde]

19,000 GPD RO

Biggest. Fish tank. Ever.

 

[PurdueWaterGuy]

Biggest. Fish tank. Ever.

Oh don't I wish it were so.

The 19,000 GPD RO is a small part of much larger system that makes insanely pure water for nano/bio/semiconductor research.

If I had a small tanker truck, or could bury a pipeline to my house......

Did I mention that I love my job?


Tim