Water Changes Idea - will it work?
- Thread starter NeedBiggerTank
- Start date
NeedBiggerTank
Not Likely 2 Ever Grow Up
Turns out the Publix by us doesn't have a machine for water. I'll try the one near where I work tomorrow. We'll need to do a couple of water changes before we can get a RODI set up.
The TDS of 5 I got from the Walmart bottled water is more than 10,000% better (yes, literally) than the TDS of my well water... you do the math.
The TDS of 5 I got from the Walmart bottled water is more than 10,000% better (yes, literally) than the TDS of my well water... you do the math.
nightfire
New member
i am going to try this as well,i got water from publix tonight because they are on the way to going to vanderbilt and so im hoping to test that water that i have in a gallon jug,then ill test my tap water,then ill test the water i get out of my rodi unit and see which one comes out less.....im guessing it'll be the publix water,theres no way my tap water will come out better and this rodi i have has all fittings and all the filters and membrane but i did buy it used and have never tested it,i will tomorrow,but i do bet even that wont come out as good as the publix water,if it does by chance then lucky me that i can use these filters til i can replace them,however i crunched numbers and if by chance the tds from publix water is very low or even 0 then it would cost me only 15 bucks a months to get enough water to change out my whole tank....its cheaper then replacing the filters in most cases......this though wouldnt work for ones like many on here who have big systems.....though everything ive said just now is really no replacement for the piece of mind you get when it is your rodi system and its your responsibility for the filters and such....long story short for the short term water like publix is better thrn nothing but there's really no substitute for having your own rodi unit
poolkeeper1
New member
High TDS
High TDS
If your water is that bad you may find you are going to go through Pre Filters and Carbon Blocks pretty fast. I would suggest that you hook up a duel TDS meter and run one side on your water coming out of the RO Before it goes into the DI canister. This way you can tell when the Pre filters are ready to be changed separately.
Bill:idea:
High TDS
Turns out the Publix by us doesn't have a machine for water. I'll try the one near where I work tomorrow. We'll need to do a couple of water changes before we can get a RODI set up.
The TDS of 5 I got from the Walmart bottled water is more than 10,000% better (yes, literally) than the TDS of my well water... you do the math.
If your water is that bad you may find you are going to go through Pre Filters and Carbon Blocks pretty fast. I would suggest that you hook up a duel TDS meter and run one side on your water coming out of the RO Before it goes into the DI canister. This way you can tell when the Pre filters are ready to be changed separately.
Bill:idea:
Buckeye Hydro
.Registered Member
RO membranes like softened water. If you have super hard water you may get a shorter life span on the RO membrane than you would with softened water.
Rather than the 5 micron sediment and 5 mic carbon suggested above, I'd go for a 1 mic sediment and a 0.5 mic carbon. What is the pore size on the whole house sediment filter you're using?
Russ
NeedBiggerTank
Not Likely 2 Ever Grow Up
We have very hard water indeed. We don't have a filter specifically for sediment - our water treatment system is currently comprised of (in order from well):
* 1500 gallon holding tank w/ vigorous airation to release gases trapped in water
* clorine/peroxide injector (turned off)
* 100 gallon holding tank (water pumped in @ bottom - pressure pushes water out @ top - maually flushed to drain sediment that gathers at bottom of tank)
* Rainsoft Carbon backwash unit
Our plan was to add a sediment filter between the 100 gallon tank and the carbon filter. Then add something after the carbon backwash to remove more of the TDS. Our well water comes from a solid limestone aquifer - its approx. 400 feet deep. Watershed is a forrested ridge - no agriculture or farm animals.
We also need to replace our carbon backwash unit - as its been in service too long and the carbon needs to be replaced.
* 1500 gallon holding tank w/ vigorous airation to release gases trapped in water
* clorine/peroxide injector (turned off)
* 100 gallon holding tank (water pumped in @ bottom - pressure pushes water out @ top - maually flushed to drain sediment that gathers at bottom of tank)
* Rainsoft Carbon backwash unit
Our plan was to add a sediment filter between the 100 gallon tank and the carbon filter. Then add something after the carbon backwash to remove more of the TDS. Our well water comes from a solid limestone aquifer - its approx. 400 feet deep. Watershed is a forrested ridge - no agriculture or farm animals.
We also need to replace our carbon backwash unit - as its been in service too long and the carbon needs to be replaced.
Buckeye Hydro
.Registered Member
Why did you disable the chlrine injector? Was it originally installed to oxidize iron in the water?
If so, it would cause the iron to come out of solution - and then it has to be removed - that's may be what your flushable holding tank is for.
BTW - Iron and RO membranes don't get along well.
Russ
If so, it would cause the iron to come out of solution - and then it has to be removed - that's may be what your flushable holding tank is for.
BTW - Iron and RO membranes don't get along well.
Russ
NeedBiggerTank
Not Likely 2 Ever Grow Up
No - we don't have an iron problem. The chlorine injector was to kill bacteria/viruses only (at least that is what I was told by Rainsoft). Sulpher was the issue, and that was remidied by the 1500 gallon holding tank w/ the airation.
Jennifier615
New member
When I used to live in Woodbury it was a HORRIBLE area for sulphur water it's in almost all the aquifers in that area
Buckeye Hydro
.Registered Member
Good deal. Microbes no longer an issue?
NeedBiggerTank
Not Likely 2 Ever Grow Up
Issues I've come across in research
Issues I've come across in research
I've done a good bit of research and I'm concerned about two issues:
1) our well water is VERY cold, especially in winter. These RODI units seem to only work at peak performance w/ 76 or 77 degree water. I've never put a thermometer in our water, but I can tell you its no where near 76 degrees!
2) Although I can't find anything in print regarding how much reduction in TDS an RODI unit will accomplish, I'm concerned that our TDS is so high that spending $200 on a unit might be a complete waste of money. Maybe we need to get our whole-house system fixed to a point where it drops the TDS in half or so, then try an RODI? Just a thought.
We do have city water - well, we have a meter anyway. That's all we had the money for when they ran city water down our street last year. Although we don't have the money to run the water all the way up to the house - we can install a frost-free hydrant down at the meter. Is there a way to run water in say a barrel or tub through an RODI unit?
Thanks in advance!
Issues I've come across in research
I've done a good bit of research and I'm concerned about two issues:
1) our well water is VERY cold, especially in winter. These RODI units seem to only work at peak performance w/ 76 or 77 degree water. I've never put a thermometer in our water, but I can tell you its no where near 76 degrees!
2) Although I can't find anything in print regarding how much reduction in TDS an RODI unit will accomplish, I'm concerned that our TDS is so high that spending $200 on a unit might be a complete waste of money. Maybe we need to get our whole-house system fixed to a point where it drops the TDS in half or so, then try an RODI? Just a thought.
We do have city water - well, we have a meter anyway. That's all we had the money for when they ran city water down our street last year. Although we don't have the money to run the water all the way up to the house - we can install a frost-free hydrant down at the meter. Is there a way to run water in say a barrel or tub through an RODI unit?
Thanks in advance!
Buckeye Hydro
.Registered Member
You're right in that RO membrane performance is spec'ed by the manufacturer at 77 degrees F (and 50 psi, and 250 ppm softened feed water). However, nearly no one has tap water at 77 degrees. Lots of your fellow reefers use well water successfully. The production is slower at colder temperatures. How much slower? Check out the calculator on our website where you can plug in your pressure and temperature and see what your system will produce in gallons per day. You can compensate for low temperatures by increasing the pressure (with a booster pump).
The "RO" portion of an RODI system will reduce the TDS in by 90% to 98%. The "DI" portion of an RODI will remove the rest. So that your DI water will read 0 ppm TDS.
If the quality of the feedwater is very poor, you may need to treat it before you deliver it to the RODI system. If it is as bad as you imply, you may have other issues in addition to high TDS (e.g., iron, manganese, hydrogen sulfide). If you can tell us more about your feedwater we can advise you further. Have you had the water tested? Feel free to email the results to us at sales@buckeyefieldsupply.com
Sure is. You'd use a booster pump to re-pressurize the water. I don't know how practical it would be - I guess that depends upon how you'd get the water from the hydrant to the storage tank. If you can run a pipe/hose to do that then it would be pretty easy. If you are thinking about 5 gallon buckets, I don't think that would be a good long-term solution. Remember that if you have for instance a 75 gpd RODI system, it actually will go through about 5 times that much feedwater - RO systems produce about 4 parts waste water for every part pure water produced.
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