Neptangelo
In Memoriam
What is your body fat percentage? Do you believe in the Sasquatch?
Wasting water, the RO/DI problem!
- Thread starter herostar
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What is your body fat percentage? Do you believe in the Sasquatch?
Huh?
James77
Team RC
Great answer to Randys question. If your tap water indeed has a KH of 9 and 440 calcium, using any standard salt mix on the market would give you sky-high calcium and KH readings. Is that the case or is the water used for freshwater aquaria?
Neptangelo
In Memoriam
I use Oceanic Sea Salt Mix. I do not have to buffer my water at all. The kh in the tank stays at 8.5 even if I don't have time to change any water for a few months. My ca stays at 500 to 520. My magnesium stays at between 1300 and 1375 depending on if I remembered when I dosed tech m last. Some times I reef under the influence and forget to update my google calendar....:beer:
all your levels stay where you outlined for months w/out a water change?
Neptangelo
In Memoriam
What's up neighbor I live out in lago Vista. Been out here 2 years now. The water is much harder out here in the hills than it is in town. I lived in central Austin for 13 years and had to buffer all the time to keep the kh up. My levels stay consistent just by using this natural lime water for TO. I made sure to not hook up the water softener when I built the house. It has been hell on the plumbing and the coffee maker..... It rules for reefing though.
I use Oceanic Sea Salt Mix. I do not have to buffer my water at all. The kh in the tank stays at 8.5 even if I don't have time to change any water for a few months. My ca stays at 500 to 520.
Using it for top off is one thing. You said you mix it with salt, which is ridiculous as the calcium would be over 900 ppm. Let's not play word games here trying to prove your water is good. It's crap for making artificial seawater.
As to using it for top off, it is probably OK, assuming it is not contaminated with the sorts of bad things that often cause problems in well and tap water, but it is a drastically unbalanced additive, with way too much calcium per unit of alkalinity, and it adds almost no alkalinity.
Limewater as top off cannot keep many tanks supplied with alkalinity, and your tap water is less than 10% as potent as limewater in terms of alkalinity. So it adds relatively little, even if it sounds nice to make claims about it. If it works for you, it is because you have a tank with a tiny demand for claicum and alkalinity. It could not work for most reef tanks with rapidly growing hard corals or coralline algae.
Using it for top off is one thing. You said you mix it with salt, which is ridiculous as the calcium would be over 900 ppm. Let's not play word games here trying to prove your water is good. It's crap for making artificial seawater.
As to using it for top off, it is probably OK, assuming it is not contaminated with the sorts of bad things that often cause problems in well and tap water, but it is a drastically unbalanced additive, with way too much calcium per unit of alkalinity, and it adds almost no alkalinity.
Limewater as top off cannot keep many tanks supplied with alkalinity, and your tap water is less than 10% as potent as limewater in terms of alkalinity. So it adds relatively little, even if it sounds nice to make claims about it. If it works for you, it is because you have a tank with a tiny demand for claicum and alkalinity. It could not work for most reef tanks with rapidly growing hard corals or coralline algae.
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Neptangelo
In Memoriam
Yo Randy,
Stop replying to my posts with your bull**** . Get a life and let me share my reefing hobby details with people who may be interested. You have no idea what my local water supply is like. SHUT UP!
Just kidding, SHUT THE **** UP!:uzi::uzi::blown::hammer::furious:
Stop replying to my posts with your bull**** . Get a life and let me share my reefing hobby details with people who may be interested. You have no idea what my local water supply is like. SHUT UP!
Just kidding, SHUT THE **** UP!:uzi::uzi::blown::hammer::furious:
Neptangelo
In Memoriam
Before I get kicked off here I better git this one in. If you would like I will fly you down here to Texas and let you test my home water supply with my foot up your smart ***!
Stop replying to my posts with your bull**** . Get a life and let me share my reefing hobby details with people who may be interested. You have no idea what my local water supply is like. SHUT UP!
I'm only going by your own supplied data for calcium in your tap water. If you don't trust your own test results, there's nothing I can do about it aside from suggest that people ignore your claims.
I'm only going by your own supplied data for calcium in your tap water. If you don't trust your own test results, there's nothing I can do about it aside from suggest that people ignore your claims.
TampaSnooker
Active member
wow, that was fun.
I still water the garden with it. For the poster who wanted to know earlier where to get irrigation stuff, I get it dirt cheap at wallmart. 1/4" drip irrigation tubing, T's, lots of different single or gang valves - even micro sprinklers. It's all in the garden section. I've got a big huge octopus in the back yard to make sure my favorite flowers keep moist in dry spells. And don't forget to pick up some couplings as well for the occasional errant shovel.
I still water the garden with it. For the poster who wanted to know earlier where to get irrigation stuff, I get it dirt cheap at wallmart. 1/4" drip irrigation tubing, T's, lots of different single or gang valves - even micro sprinklers. It's all in the garden section. I've got a big huge octopus in the back yard to make sure my favorite flowers keep moist in dry spells. And don't forget to pick up some couplings as well for the occasional errant shovel.
kc350twin
New member
Wow! Dude is that necessary?
kc350twin
New member
Hey when you use the drip tubing and the mini sprinklers do you add a pump of some sort? I had a drip system at my old house and I thought I remember it using 30psi to run the system. Thanks for the info.
TampaSnooker
Active member
I have a pressure pump on the RO system because I use piggy backed membranes. With that set up, I find that i don't need any other pressure. I suppose a traditional system would have enough pressure to push water. My discharge has 3 main lines with 2-5 discharge points on each line. Each output is simply a T with a valve at the end. I get even distribution by adjusting each valve. Not enough flow at one end - just reduce the output at the wettest valve. I'm pushing about 150' at the farthest point.
I have a question that is somewhat RO/DI related so I thought I would add it here. Hope that's OK. We just moved into our first house where I've setup the ro unit in the basement. The faucet down there has a 1/4" diameter hose attached to it and then that hose runs down the same drain as the washing machines discharge pipe. I understand why the hose is there, but is it really necessary? First time I have encountered this before, and all I can tell is that it wastes a huge amount of water while I run my RO unit. Not only do I have waste water running down the drain but I constantly have that 1/4" tube running more water then the waste down the drain.
I'd like to be able to switch the unit out and save some water but want to make sure that I'm not making some unseen mistake. With the laundry, humidifier and RO unit all draining into the basement drain I cant see how any thing could dry out without having this extra hose down there.
Any thoughts? Much appreciated.
I'd like to be able to switch the unit out and save some water but want to make sure that I'm not making some unseen mistake. With the laundry, humidifier and RO unit all draining into the basement drain I cant see how any thing could dry out without having this extra hose down there.
Any thoughts? Much appreciated.
TampaSnooker
Active member
So your source water is running all the time? You can get a shut off solenoid that works by pressure. When a valve or float switch is activated, the solenoid shuts off the supply water. I know Kent sells a kit that most stores have access to. Aqua FX and other manufacturers make them, too.
No, the this extra tubing only receives water when the basement faucets are turned on. Any time I run the RO unit from this faucet this line runs water down the drain. I'll try to snap a pic of it so that its more clear. I'll just replace the tap if its best to do so, as its an easy cut away and resolder job in the unfinished basement.
rfalvey89
New member
what science!
what science!
The wastewater went into a third bucket with a float switch, and I dumped it into my washer whenever doing the laundry. We set it up so that once the laundry bucket filled, the rest of the water drained outside into a rain barrel (and then onto our lawn).
good times!
...I love it !:celeb1:
what science!
The wastewater went into a third bucket with a float switch, and I dumped it into my washer whenever doing the laundry. We set it up so that once the laundry bucket filled, the rest of the water drained outside into a rain barrel (and then onto our lawn).
good times!
...I love it !:celeb1:
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