RO/DI Water Help

HALOCOD · Feb 21, 2008

Anyone have any opinions on the "Glacier Water" vending machines outside of grocery stores? I believe most of you have your own RO/DI systems in your own homes. I am in an apartment and don't have much access to setting up my own system. So instead I've been getting my water from those "Glacier Water" vending machines. The machines state they use a Carbon Filter, Micron Filter, Ultraviolet Light, Reverse Osmosis, another Carbon Filter, and another Ultraviolet Light. Looks good to me, but am I really getting good water???

I have been to their website, but cannot find any details on the specifics of their filtration. So, anyone have anything to say about using there water? I appreciate the help...thanks.

L.A.-Lawman · Feb 22, 2008

Hi welcome to Socalireefs.com

I would avoid those machines. they generally dont get serviced often enough. I would find a water store near you and buy water from them. for the water stores to operate they must provide water tests results from an independent lab. they also run a clean shop too.

the water store near me ofters two types of water. RO and Distilled. The R/O is a zero TDS reading. and the distilled is the best. My shop passes the R/O thru a DI resin and then is distilled.

the R/O is .59/gallon and the Distilled is .69 for distilled with larger discounts for buying in bulk.

the best way is to make your own. when i had my apartment i put a RODI unit under my sink. I ran a bypass for the DI so the icemake and drinking water were fed by the RO and a i could flip a vlave and run the DI to make uo some top off or mixing water....

Puffalicious · Feb 22, 2008

They're pretty decent, I use to use their water before I bought an ro/di unit. Never had problems when I used them.

ASommers · Feb 22, 2008

I live in an apartment and have my RO/DI under the kitchen sink. I use a quick connect valve and then a long piece of the cheap waterline hose that I run over to my ATO reservoir then cram it back under the sink when I'm done. I found I was more prone to skip water changes or let my sump run low if needing to go out every time I needed water.

zplay · Feb 22, 2008

I've used it and never had any problems. You can see when the last date of maintenance was done near the coin insert. The machine I've been using changes date weekly. I've even tested it for phosphate and it had zero reading.

HALOCOD · Feb 26, 2008

Well, I've been looking into some RO/DI systems. I am a "costco guy"

So I found a couple RO units there. Figure I can then add on the DI portion. Couple questions I have about this setup and hoping some of you guys can help out...

1. Where does the waste water go? (I've heard that the waste water is still good to use with watering plants, etc.) How is it collected?

2. The "selling point" for my wife was that we can have CLEAN drinking water. Should I "T" off our drinking water after the RO portion of the filtration? Or is it still safe to drink after the DI portion?

MadMax · Feb 26, 2008

Me thinks this thread will answer ALOT of your questions:

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=619925

Couple of quick answers:
1) having an apartment has no relevance as to where/how you setup an RO/DI unit. (the size is insignificant)

2) Yes, hooking the RO unit to your refridgerator/icemaker is an excellent choice (use RO-only for this purpose), but you must have the small pressure/storage tank hooked-up to your system. ~$40

3) a quality RO/DI unit is arguably the smartest purchase you can possibly make for both your home and your reef. The benefits you received from a mere $200 investment is incredible. 'tiss a no-brainer

L.A.-Lawman · Feb 29, 2008

I would "t" off the DI portion. DI water has no minerals in it so it isnt desirable to drink.

the waste water will drain into your sink drain line. it will some with a saddle type connection so the drain will work.

you can get standalone canisters just about anywhere. which will work fine for the DI portion. I bought a 5 stage unit from a local store then added two single canisters piggy-backed together,

in the 1st position i run a 5 micron sediment filter
2nd and 3rd are carbon blocks, the unit then pushes the water to the membrane. the output is then put thru a small polisher (taste). I run my "T" there to the house.

the standalone double canister unit is where i run two DI carts in series. I gt my DI resin from bulk reef supply and refill the carts.

all in all. it is low cost, and easy on my back from hauling water.

I used to have to buy 50gallons of distilled water every two weeks.

$ for water, $ for the 5 gal containers, $ for fuel two and from, $ for advil and beer for the back.

RO/Di unit priceless!

RO/DI Water Help

HALOCOD

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L.A.-Lawman

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Puffalicious

2

ASommers

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zplay

2

HALOCOD

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MadMax

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L.A.-Lawman

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