The RO/DI dumb questions thread...

[Bongo Fury]

I'm considering an ro/di unit for my 29 gallon reef tank. I've done some research and looking around, but I know very little about how they're used, setup, etc. Please help me out if you can:

1. The basic units seem to be three canisters, which I assume is where the filtration takes place. What hook-ups are required? Obviously you need water coming in, but I understand a lot of waste water is created. Would you need to connect to a drain for this, or would you just collect the waste in a bucket or something?

2. Where is the clean water stored? Do you need to attach some sort of storage tank, or does the filter work fast enough to fill a container "on the fly", so to speak? In other words, do I just leave the filter "on" (i.e., connected to the water input supply), and I can walk up anytime with a 5 gallon container and fill it up on the spot?

3. If you do need a storage tank, is some special type required or can you use any large container? And what happens when the container is full--won't if overflow and flood everything?

As you can see, I'm clueless about these things. Help!

 

[kcress]

Please just look down the forum. There are countless threads on this, one only two down from this one.

 

[vorlx]

1. The basic units seem to be three canisters, which I assume is where the filtration takes place. What hook-ups are required? Obviously you need water coming in, but I understand a lot of waste water is created. Would you need to connect to a drain for this, or would you just collect the waste in a bucket or something?

http://www.melevsreef.com/rodi_install.html - This page will give you the general install details of a RO/DI unit. You can connect in several different ways. You would need somewhere to store the good water, a 5 gallon container, a 32 gallon brute rubbermaid, etc. The waste water can be hard lined into the drain or simply hanging in the sink or a larger bucket, the waste water would fill much more quickly. Alot of people use this for running a load of laundry or something else non fish related.

2. Where is the clean water stored? Do you need to attach some sort of storage tank, or does the filter work fast enough to fill a container "on the fly", so to speak? In other words, do I just leave the filter "on" (i.e., connected to the water input supply), and I can walk up anytime with a 5 gallon container and fill it up on the spot?

I answered this above. If you did have a container tank then you could fill 'on the fly' depending on the size of the tank. However what I think most do is prep in advance and run into a seperate container. This is a very lengthy process as the 50/75/100 gallon per day # is for a 24 hour period and under optimal conditions. It is not unlikely to get only half of the listed rating. The guy from Melevs reef reports that during the winter it takes 82-85 min to fill a 5 gallon bucket (due to the water being colder) and 55 minute in the summer.

3. If you do need a storage tank, is some special type required or can you use any large container? And what happens when the container is full--won't if overflow and flood everything?

I answered this above. You can get a float vavle to shut the water off when it reaches a certain level or just set a timer to check on the container if a float vavle isn't feasible. There are quite a few threads on this already.

Thanks!

 

[animalman]

Vorlx, you said it all bro. The only thing I could add would be these ro/di units are more ez to hook up than you might think. OH and don't think of it as waste water, cause you can use it to do alot. Water the plants, for a FW tank, as metioned above the laundry, and dishes. See its not wasted. I use it for my plants and FW tank.