Am I Loco?
- Thread starter bigbris1
- Start date
- Status
- Location
- Kings Park, NY
Only thing that can be happening is your passing both the RO water and wate water through the membrane...
- Location
- North Jersey
This kind of seems like youre just running it through a filter to filter it, but then contaminating it with the wastewater, therefor ending up with the same water you put in to begin with? Why bother filtering? TDS reading on my local water, not too far from you were -tap 265 brita 206 zerowater 0 and my rodi waste was above 330. Which makes sense given the approx 3:1 ratio.
- Location
- Kings Park, NY
You don't know because you have nothing to test it with. From the pictures I see no T to tie the waste water back into the RO unit so something tells me your likely getting RO water with some level of TDS in it. At the very minimum you are passing heavily laden waste water back through your RO unit likely killing your cartridges faster. Without a picture of how the RO unit is plumbed we can't tell.
- Location
- Bay ridge, Brooklyn
Uffff. I don't know if I can add much to this thread or if I can persuade you to change your way of thinking, like many previous members tried, but please, sit down for a couple of hours and take a good read, because what you are doing right now is wrong and it will soon lead to a disaster. Start here:
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-02/rhf/index.php
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/index.php
I agree with Stargzr27, from the pic it looks like you're passing waste water through the membrane. Just to inform you, at this point you would be better off using tapwater than the water you are making. It will still lead to massive algae, but there's no point having an RO/DI unit that makes water with TDS. I don't know how you tested your water but your parameters are impossible to achieve so either you tested it wrong or your test kits give false results.
And please, don't drink the waste water and tell everyone that it's as good as bottled water because it is not true. If you don't like the taste of RO water (which puzzles me cause it tastes just like tap) drink tap, it will be much healthier for you than drinking waste water from your filter.
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-02/rhf/index.php
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/index.php
I agree with Stargzr27, from the pic it looks like you're passing waste water through the membrane. Just to inform you, at this point you would be better off using tapwater than the water you are making. It will still lead to massive algae, but there's no point having an RO/DI unit that makes water with TDS. I don't know how you tested your water but your parameters are impossible to achieve so either you tested it wrong or your test kits give false results.
And please, don't drink the waste water and tell everyone that it's as good as bottled water because it is not true. If you don't like the taste of RO water (which puzzles me cause it tastes just like tap) drink tap, it will be much healthier for you than drinking waste water from your filter.
- Location
- Bay ridge, Brooklyn
Oh and here is a hookup diagram for ro/di unit with drinking water kit. It's for spectrapure unit, but it will work with most rodi filters.
https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=http://www.spectrapure.com/huds/3-STAGE-DWK-RO-AG.pdf
https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=http://www.spectrapure.com/huds/3-STAGE-DWK-RO-AG.pdf
Thanks for that diagram, my hookup is the same in that the ro out line is separate from the wastewater line (which goes straight up to the faucet in my pic above). I just don't have the tank or the additional filter for drinking water.
- Location
- Bay Ridge, BK
Wait let me understand this, you have your wastewater output going to your faucet and that is what you drink? Get a TDS meter and then see what you are doing, basically concentrating the bad stuff and drinking that.
No, prior to setting up the tank and buying some additional line and a ball valve (yesterday) I had both output lines (RO & Waste) T'd together and that line went up to the faucet. So we were drinking a mix of wastewater & RO water.
The way it is in the pic above is just waste water connected to the faucet which we're not drinking until I can straighten this out (until my TDS meter comes).
The new mystery is I'm making RO water with no waste water output. It comes out at the same rate as when the faucet is opened. Making more sense now?
- Location
- Bay ridge, Brooklyn
And that way you do nothing to filter your water. Mixing purified water with waste water gives you the same or worst tds than water straight from the tap. So again, what's the point of ro/di filter when you drink something you can get from your faucet? I'm sorry, but I'm lost with your way of thinking.
How do you know that when you don't have a tds meter? I'm sorry I disappointed you, but that's not a mystery, that is impossible. It's against the physics of RO/DI filtration. Only Kold Ster-il unit makes water without any waste.
You cannot be making real RO water without making waste water.
The fact that you say you still have the waste line plumbed to the faucet thing - which is not turned ON - means your waste is still coming out with what you THINK is your 'good' RO water.
Slap a cable tie onto that faucet thing and let the waste water escape...
- Location
- Brooklyn
I agree. Dude, you need to read MR and RC or something before you just jump into this. Or at the very least ask someone that knows what they are doing. You're cycling with a tang?
Why are any of us having this stupid conversation about RO waste water. It's called waste water for a reason. What is the issue? Your $20 a year water bill is too high that you need to use the waste water and cant 'waste' it down the drain? If you want more clean RO water, buy a 150g a day RODI unit. Seriously, drink the 35 TDS NYC water and use 0 TDS RODI water for the fish. You're drinking contaminated water. I just hope to god you aren't feeding this to your unknowing family and poising them because of your extreme ignorance.
Go back to having frogs as pets. I hope you treat them better than the fish you tortured.
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You cannot be making real RO water without making waste water.
The fact that you say you still have the waste line plumbed to the faucet thing - which is not turned ON - means your waste is still coming out with what you THINK is your 'good' RO water.
Slap a cable tie onto that faucet thing and let the waste water escape...
This is what I was looking into, whether or not RO can be made sans waste water. When the TDS in/out meter comes I'll report back. Also, the faucet has a function where it stays open if you just flip the handle up. Kinda cool actually.
So, I'll check TDS at the tap, after the RO membrane and at the waste water point and let you know what I find. Thanks.
- Location
- Kings Park, NY
You can make RO water without making waste water BUT...See that BUT? You can't do it with the units we use as it requires VERY high pressures and VERY expensive units.
With brand new cartridges you could very well see 0 TDS even if your mixing waste water back into the supply line. The problem with that is your going to SIGNIFICANTLY reduce the amount of time the cartridges are useable. If your not CAREFULLY monitoring the output each time you make RO you will get to a point where your producing RO water with a higher TDS than what your supplying it with.
Without the proper tools or equipment your "Experimenting" is doing nothing but putting your tank occupants in a stressful/torturing to a certain extant situation. The fact you don't seem to care about that and disregard the advice given here is disturbing to a certain degree.
- Location
- Kings Park, NY
Your not going to find out anything those of us with RO units don't already know. I don't see the point?
- Location
- Brooklyn
He's like a child, if you ignore him, he'll eventually go away.
Close this thread for the sake of all of our sanity. He is adding nothing but frustration and hate to this thread/board. Isn't there a rule against this?
- Location
- Kings Park, NY
Although I agree I don't think stupidity or ignorance are grounds for thread closing or banning. (Although there have been a few that warrant it Lol)
You cannot be making real RO water without making waste water.
The fact that you say you still have the waste line plumbed to the faucet thing - which is not turned ON - means your waste is still coming out with what you THINK is your 'good' RO water.
Slap a cable tie onto that faucet thing and let the waste water escape...
Just hooked up the TDS meter, I'm getting ~055 in and ~016 out without the wastewater faucet running. With the wastewater faucet open it's slowly dropping, at 013ppm right now.
Within 5 minutes it went to ~038 in and 002 out. I have to go back to the office but I will post more as time progresses (and after I change the filters).
Corals are all open and happy. The fish aren't breathing heavily and are eating voraciously. The only casualty so far was the purple firefish but he was in rough shape when I got him ($20 at a local Petland). Replaced him with a banded goby from FT who looks happy and has made a burrow for himself with vista views
Thanks
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