Unable to use RO/DI unit...but have another idea..

[PhoenixOne]

Ever since I started the hobby 6 years ago, I've always wanted to get an RO/DI system. But,...............the wife. *Sigh*. Wife did not want the tank under the sink. No ifs, ands, or buts. Went back and forth on this one. I lost:smash:. Hehe. Ok, so my bro in law introduced me to the Kold Steri unit. Great unit. No waste water. I mounted it under the kitchen sink cabinet. The only thing is the TDS meter reads 24. I've been battling cyano on and off, kinda like a seasonal thing but I've had it. I have lost some corals to that wicked stuff and I have since been keeping on a strict maintenance(don't over feed, reg water changes) and I am on the way to stable water parameters (nitrates 0 phosphates 0, PH 8.1 to 8.3, MG 1300, etc. All ELOS tests). The only thing left is the water source. Now I can't lug water from an LFS due to a permanent knee injury and I can't set it up in the basement with a rubbermaid and lug water up the stairs either. After reading that a DI resin will lower my TDS to or near 0, I was gonna get a single stage canister and put it after the Kold Steril. During one of my many trips to LFS's, I saw a unit at Pets Warehouse that caught my eye...Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Tap Water Filter which is a portable DI resin canister that connects to the tap water faucet. Instead of doing that, I am going to use a flexible clear hose from my Kold Steril faucet and use an adapter that connects to the AP Tap Water DI filter and let it slow fill a 24 gallon rubber maid on wheels (not allowed to keep that upstairs either.:irked I will let you all know how it works out. Which reminds me, gotta buy another TDS meter for the final stage water. *crossing fingers*.

 

[Lenny718]

I'm familiar with the API tap water filter since I use to carry them at my old store and even donated one at one of the MR swaps. It works but be prepared to change the cartridge ruffly every 5gals of water you make, not very cost effective. Try to convince the wife to let you get a real RODI unit.

 

[125reefer]

dude you can hook up an ro/di to an outside hose or an adapter to a sink or showerhead.and just leave it in a bathtub or hook it up to your washing machine hose with a y adapter and eith stick the drain out a window ,in a sink or even in your washing machine so no water is wasted.just use the discarded water to wash your clothes.the tap water filter is good for freshwater tanks IMO

 

[lfsmarineguy]

Plus, you can mount the R.O. units various stages so they are out of the way, but still accessible, under the sink. She won't even know it's there.

 

[niles1967]

A reading of 24 is unacceptable. I wouldn't even use that in my FO.

 

[James]

I have mine mounted under the sink, get the a storage tank with a faucet and convince her that tap water is dangerous to her and to the kids (if you have them) Really it is about the children. If she still says no, perhaps you could use a booster pump and install it in the basement with a line going up to the tank area for WC's and topoff?

 

[PhoenixOne]

It works but be prepared to change the cartridge ruffly every 5gals of water you make, not very cost effective. Try to convince the wife to let you get a real RODI unit.

???!!! Really? Only about 5 gallons before it needs to be changed? Ugh.

The other ideas sound like good ones. You guys are right, there has to be a way to set one up (like some ideas above). I didn't use the AP tap filter yet. Maybe I should just return it and really figure out how to hook up an RO unit. The idea of putting a single DI canister was from the guys at WetWebMedia. So I figured this portable one would be the same as a single stage DI. But I just realized, the RO unit would put out something like 5-10 TDS and the DI would put out 0....so yeah, I can see how the portable one or any single stage DI would run out fast with an incoming TDS of 24. I'm gonna bring up the subject with wife again and tell her what you guys said. This time, i'm gonna duck when I see the cast iron pan coming towards my dome:tongue1:. It was a lot easier dealing with drug dealers than dealing with her.:lol:

I also have another small prob. Putting a storage tank downstairs, I won't be able to bring top off water from the basement. And I won't be able to put a ATO from the basement to the tank.(holes in the living room floor? I'm beggin to get castrated). I am able to carry a bucket from the sink to the tank without a problem.

dude you can hook up an ro/di to an outside hose or an adapter to a sink or showerhead.and just leave it in a bathtub or hook it up to your washing machine hose with a y adapter and eith stick the drain out a window ,in a sink or even in your washing machine so no water is wasted.just use the discarded water to wash your clothes.the tap water filter is good for freshwater tanks IMO

Bathroom is out of the question. I could set up a slop sink in the basement and hook it up to that and drain it via washer machine hose. But getting top off to the tank is still a prob.

 

[dacaptain78]

An RODI Unit is essentially a portable device. You do not have to permenantly hook it up to one location, unless you want to. Just buy a faucet adaptor and hook the RODI unit up to whatever sink your wife wont complain about and make your top off/fresh salt water. Once you made enough water, unscrew the RODI unit and store it somewhere out of the way like a closet, garage, even in your tank stand if it fits.

 

[125reefer]

thats what i meant by using it in the bathroom.you can hook it up to the faucet,make your ro/di water,unscrew the ro unit and put it away till you need some more.they are portable.i use minne in the basement.i hooked up a Y by the washing machine,make my water water drains into the machine and put it away.then i do a load of laundry.my wife dont care because im DOING A LOAD OF LAUNDRY HAHA.

 

[PhoenixOne]

Ok. I may have an idea. I can put a unit in the basement next to the washer machine. Put an adapter in the washer machines drain line for waste water. Install a booster pump. Lead the output hose upstairs to the kitchen. And replace my Kold Steril faucet with one of these...

so I can use one side for the Kold Steril for cooking, drinking etc, and the other side for water changes and top offs. What do you guys think?

 

[dacaptain78]

I know nothing about RODI booster pumps, but I would just make sure it could handle the head pressure between your basement and kitchen. Otherwise, that idea should work. Just seems like a PITA to initially set up, but I am lazy and always go for the KISS method.

 

[PhoenixOne]

An RODI Unit is essentially a portable device. You do not have to permenantly hook it up to one location, unless you want to. Just buy a faucet adaptor and hook the RODI unit up to whatever sink your wife wont complain about and make your top off/fresh salt water. Once you made enough water, unscrew the RODI unit and store it somewhere out of the way like a closet, garage, even in your tank stand if it fits.

thats what i meant by using it in the bathroom.you can hook it up to the faucet,make your ro/di water,unscrew the ro unit and put it away till you need some more.they are portable.i use minne in the basement.i hooked up a Y by the washing machine,make my water water drains into the machine and put it away.then i do a load of laundry.my wife dont care because im DOING A LOAD OF LAUNDRY HAHA.

Both of you are right. Why am I gonna go through all that when I can just hook the damn thing up to the faucet and place the unit on the counter, fill what I need and then just remove it and store it in her shoe closet.(HA!) I can screw the unit on some kind of backboard with some kind of handle to make it easier to carry. Will I still be able to have a flush system for the membrane?

 

[PhoenixOne]

Figure I'd give an update on what I ended up doing. (I got this idea from another forum posted a few years back.) I kept my Kold Steril unit and I brought a dual stage color changing DI unit and plumbed it after the Kold Steril. I put a few T's and valves so I can use the Kold Steril for drinking and Deionized for water changes and top offs via my existing filter faucet. If I want, I can open the faucet on full but that would quickly deplete the DI filters. So I have the flow going just a tad bit faster than an RO unit and I am able to fill 15 gallons using a 20 gallon Brute in 35 mins...and the best part, 0 TDS and no waste water. I brought a flow meter to keep track how many gallons I use but it arrived DOA. My set up has been up and running since 2-10-2011 and so far the bottom 1/2" of the first DI canister has turned brown. I will see how long it will take to deplete both canisters and see if I need to make some flow adjustments.

 

[mbg75]

Figure I'd give an update on what I ended up doing. (I got this idea from another forum posted a few years back.) I kept my Kold Steril unit and I brought a dual stage color changing DI unit and plumbed it after the Kold Steril. I put a few T's and valves so I can use the Kold Steril for drinking and Deionized for water changes and top offs via my existing filter faucet. If I want, I can open the faucet on full but that would quickly deplete the DI filters. So I have the flow going just a tad bit faster than an RO unit and I am able to fill 15 gallons using a 20 gallon Brute in 35 mins...and the best part, 0 TDS and no waste water. I brought a flow meter to keep track how many gallons I use but it arrived DOA. My set up has been up and running since 2-10-2011 and so far the bottom 1/2" of the first DI canister has turned brown. I will see how long it will take to deplete both canisters and see if I need to make some flow adjustments.

Looks like u have basically everything but an RO membrane

 

[lfsmarineguy]

Did you take a baseline TDS off the kold steril before it gets to the DI?

 

[fishman1069]

Thats a great idea, imo. I think you should be able to get away with that. I converted a half batroom over to my fish room and my wife wanted to kill me lol. I did it when she wasnt home:sgrin: It was definitely easier dealing with dealers than my wife:knockedou Good luck dude!

 

[PhoenixOne]

Did you take a baseline TDS off the kold steril before it gets to the DI?

Yup. TDS off the Kold before the DI is 24. Tap is 35.

 

[PhoenixOne]

It's been about 2 months since I installed a dual DI addon after my Kold Steril. It has been giving me 0 TDS water and the first stage is 3/4 spent (turned brown). I've done four 15 gallon water changes and two 20 gallon water changes and multiple (didn't keep count) top offs and since then I have gotten rid of my cyano problem. I also have been running my sump without filter socks for about the same time so that could of helped as well since I got rid of a detritus source even though I replaced them every 2-3 days.

I have installed bypass valves so I can use Kold Steril water for drinking and cooking and simpley turn 3 valves to have Kold Steril + DI for 0 TDS on demand with 0 waste water. Since the first stage is about 3/4 spent, do I switch it with the 2nd stage? I remember reading that somewhere and was wondering if that is what I am supposed to do.

 

[lfsmarineguy]

It sounds like you are going to be buying a lot of DI, have you looked into the bulk media you fill yourself? After the RO membrane, the DI is the most expensive cartridge to replace. It sounds like you are going to burn through the DI a lot faster than if you were running them off a regular RO. I would look into modifying the system and maybe adding another stage somewhere to help reduce the Pre-DI TDS even more.

 

[PhoenixOne]

It sounds like you are going to be buying a lot of DI, have you looked into the bulk media you fill yourself? After the RO membrane, the DI is the most expensive cartridge to replace. It sounds like you are going to burn through the DI a lot faster than if you were running them off a regular RO. I would look into modifying the system and maybe adding another stage somewhere to help reduce the Pre-DI TDS even more.

I brought bulk media fill already. How long does a DI stage normally last with an RO system and do you mean I should add another stage of DI to make it a 3 stage DI? Thanks Jared.

Edit: Sorry, I see you said add a stage to reduce Pre-DI TDS. What can I put between the Kold and the DI?