Ques. (Question of the day) RO/DI water. what do use? How often do you make it and how do you store it?

[Cpage101]

We all know we are most successful using RO/DI in our systems due to the 0 TDS and silicates. What kind of ro/di system do you utilize, what’s your waste water ratio and how is your rodi hooked up. What is you schedule for making water and how do you store it.

I have been in the hobby quite some time now. Due to crazy work schedule and life I have taken it upon my self to fully automate my RO/DI production system. I have a Melevs Reef 150 GPD RO/DI system the Ratio is 1gallon rodi to 2 gallons of waste water. Through my apex with (2) solenoids and (2) optical sensors on my 65 gallon drum tank I fully automate production. The system turns on when tank 65G tank gets below 40 gallons from low water optical sensor. Flush solenoid the turns on for 1 min then switches over to fill solenoid. it then fills up for about 6 hrs to fill back up to 65 gallons where high water optical sensor shuts off production. I have another safety in programming if runs longer than expected solenoid will shut off. I also have a float switch inside the tank JIC solenoid fails to shut off. (WE ALL KNOW WE HAVE FLOODED THE AREA AT LEAS ONCE My waste water line is run over into the basement slop sink where it is secured in place.
Clearly this is all not necessary but part of this hobby is always tinkering and I love to tinker and build stuff.

 

[GobyWanKenobie]

My rodi is 75 gpd with a 1:4 ratio. I don't know the brand, but it is 5 stage and located in the basement. I run it for an hour or two every night. The water is stored in 2-5 gallon water jugs, and the waste goes outside to water the garden and the lawn. Since I have 4 separate all-in-one tanks, I manually top off each one by using 1 gallon water bottles. I spend a lot of time refilling these, but there's no other way. Two of my tanks are in the family room, and I don't want a lot of noise or exposed equipment. When I run my RODI, I wear the ugliest bracelet I own as a reminder, and I set a reminder with Alexa. I still occasionally flood the basement.

 

[BiGGiePauls33]

150 gpd with additional di filter. I run 1 micron sediment, 1 micron carbon, chloramine filter, spectre pure silica buster. Have a 30 gallon barrel in the garage and thanks to @Cpage101 fishing RODI line through my ceiling, technically whenever I hook stuff up to the GHL profilux, I can pull water from there to top off my sump using the GHL maxi doser.

 

[Kens Bees]

I have a system that’s been Frankensteined together. One, 1 micron sediment, two carbon filters, two DI canisters with color change media and a 100 gpd membrane. This directs water to one of two 65 gallon drums, one for top-off and the other for new salt. These each have a separate float switch to stop production but neither seems to work regularly so like gobywan I trust the force to remind me when I’m making water. The storage tanks are on the unfinished side of the basement and add/drain through 1/4” rodi tubing.

Both my display tanks are on continuous water change through GHL. Each tanks gets about 20-25% change per week. One is using a maxi Doser and the other is using high head submersible dc pumps to drain and refill with salt. Top off for both is using the submerged pumps in the storage tank.

Automating water production and changes were a game changer for me.

 

[Joe Rice]

My RO/DI system is in the basement. The output goes to a 5 gallon reservoir in my fish-room behind my display tank. I've automated it using a Flood Guardian that's plugged into a timer so that at 10 am every morning it fills the reservoir. The output of the reservoir goes to a float valve in my sump, providing gravity-fed automatic top-off to my system. A tee fitting on the output also allows me to have RO/DI water on-demand from a faucet as well.

The float valve in the reservoir is just a backup in case the Flood Guardian fails, which it never has. The Flood Guardian is a great product. Highly recommended.

In the basement I have valves that allow me to divert the RO/DO output to a 50 gallon Brute container where I can mix up saltwater for my automatic water change system. I have to do this once every three weeks or so.

I also have valves so I can divert the waste water to a rain barrel outdoors which I can use for watering the garden in the warmer months.

The RO/DI system itself is about 9 years old and came from Bulk Reef Supply. It's the kind with two RO filters so the pure water to waste water ratio is 1:2. I've had to replace the pressure gauge and I've added a second TDS monitor and a second DI stage.

 

[SteveDola]

I have the BRS 200gpd 5 stage plus that gets 1.5 : 1 ratio. I have it plumbed to a 55g drum on float. I usually will make 30 + gallons at a time and let it run about 2 mins to clear out the water in membrane. Ive experienced thats the most efficient way to make it. I like spectrapure filters and cartridges once these BRS filters are exhausted. I dont have it automated but rather just make it when I need and set a timer on my phone to check. This makes water so faast that its not worth the extra effort to add apex functionality (IMO). The only thing I will upgrade to in the future is my ATO will be spliced in to the line to auto fill that bucket when low. So far its been great and Ive noticed I do much more water changes without having to carry buckets. (since picture Ive cleared the chemicals off shelf above even thought I cut doors into the top of the barrels). In the summer I will fill my watering cans for plants with the waste water.

 

[Chris.sturgis]

I have a Saltwateraquarium.com RO system (AquaFX) 100GPD with the additional membrane. It runs through a booster pump>prefilter>carbon block>both membranes>2 cation resin cartridges> 1 anion resin cartridge. Using 2 brute trash cans one for my permeate with a automatic float shutoff and the other is mixed up salt water. I also have a 10 gallon brute trash can that i use as my ATO resevoir and that is controlled through my Apex with a LLS and a solenoid valve with a float as a back-up.

In addition to my RODI setup i have a whole house spindown filter>katalox-light media filter>water softner. I am on well water so without these i would be going through filters on my RO unit.