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chastings 
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 Topic: RO waste water
Posted: January 12 2009 at 5:03pm |
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I hate how much water ends up going down the drain with these dang RO units. I once read somewhere that you can run the waste water back into your water heater, but can't figure out how to do it, or even if it's a good idea. I know that it's probably against code, but we drink the ro water, and the other water would only be used to flush toilets, do laundry, and bathe. I would love to come up with a good way to use this water. Anyone out there have a creative solution besides this?
Thanks,
Charlie
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Mike Savage
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Posted: January 12 2009 at 5:10pm |
I think it is a great idea. There has to be a way to do it.
Mike
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Andreason
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Posted: January 12 2009 at 5:29pm |
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We use ours in the washing machine. I think others here do as well.
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Dion Richins
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Posted: January 12 2009 at 5:45pm |
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Ive done that before. Some ro units waste 5g for every 1 produced.
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Mark Peterson
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Posted: January 12 2009 at 7:05pm |
Don't worry about it. I once took a tour of a sewage plant. They had to add water to the sludge coming down the pipes. That means the water our RO units produce just saves them from adding a little water. But if you are really interested, check out the link below. Any RO unit can be switched to a Kold-steril which wastes absolutely no water. I have set up several hobbyists with this kind of water system. It works great. http://www.poly-bio-marine.com/
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TriggerHappy
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Posted: January 12 2009 at 7:55pm |
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Try a permeate pump, not only do you get less waste, but also longer filter life. Better all the way around!
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210 gallon Mixed Reef
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Andreason
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Posted: January 13 2009 at 9:48am |
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It isn't just about wasting water. It is also about the bill. My sewage bill is based on my water usage. So, the more water I go through the higher my water and my sewage bill are.
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Mark Peterson
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Posted: January 13 2009 at 10:09am |
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Then the Kold-steril is your most economical option. It's about $50 to convert with all new media.
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Andreason
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Posted: January 13 2009 at 10:11am |
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I looked at the site and it was too technical for me. Does it do the DI as well? Is it just I take out the media I am using (and the membrane) and put in new media and viola? And it will basically take it to <10ppm?
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Adam Blundell
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Posted: January 13 2009 at 11:13am |
 Mark Peterson wrote:
Don't worry about it.
I once took a tour of a sewage plant. They had to add water to the sludge coming down the pipes. That means the water our RO units produce just saves them from adding a little water.
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Really? I didn't know that. If that is true it would really make me feel better about wasted water like that.
I'm going to check on that.
Adam
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Come to a meeting, they’re fun!
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jfinch
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Posted: January 13 2009 at 11:20am |
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Cold Sterile does not make RO nor DI water. It leaves almost all the dissolved ions in the water. It supposedly removes the copper, lead, arsenic and other heavy metals and phosphates and organics. The outlet will have the same tds as the inlet. IMO, if you want to try cold-sterile, just save your money and start using tap water. A lot of the tap water along the wasach front is not really that bad. I've see a few tanks using just tap water that look just fine. But I personally prefer RO/DI because it's easy to know if it's "ok".
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Connie
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Posted: January 13 2009 at 11:22am |
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I run a line out to my pond. I fill my ponds and my tank at the same time.....
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I have flying monkeys and I'm not afraid to use them.
180 gallon money pit that I love.....
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jessedidthis
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Posted: January 13 2009 at 11:41am |
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I don't have time to read the whole thread. Sorry.
But - I've always thought of putting a large 50+gallons container in the ground and watering the lawn with the waste. 75% of our water bill goes to watering the lawn.
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Jesse Stewart
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larhalli
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Posted: January 13 2009 at 12:34pm |
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In the winter months I just seem to waste the RO waste water and it goes down the drain, but during the summer I take that water and water my gardens and the large flower pots in the yard. It has worked pretty good the last couple of years. I like the idea of putting it in the ponds but then I worry about the added minerals and chemicals that are filtered out of the RO water and wonder what effect they may have on my pond fish. Connie have you noticed any problems? I doubt what little waste water I would get daily would have any noticable change in my large ponds and I would still have to add other water as well.
Jesse I am glad to see that you are still around, I have not seen many posts from you for a while and I asked Kalli if you were still around. Hope all is well.
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Larry Halliday
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Ryan Thompson
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Posted: January 13 2009 at 1:50pm |
Ok so I have an idea. I don't want to hijack this thread but let me explain where I am coming from. My Dad and I are looking into breeding discus as there is no where in the state to get a good discus for a decent price. So when breeding discus you have to change the water daily in the breeding tanks. So with us having (10) 29 gallon tanks we would be going through almost 150 gallons of RO a day. We are not about to waste/spend the money on over 600 gallons of water a day!
So my thought was, couldn't you just fill up a water tank and then pump that water through the RO unit? Then have the waste water go back into that tank and be run through again? We can use the waste water in the grow out tanks but not the breeding tanks so that helps save water too.
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Mark Peterson
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Posted: January 13 2009 at 2:28pm |
Sure that can be done. I'm sure there are other Discuss breeders in Utah. The increase in tds of the waste water is an insignificant amount. It is fine ordinary water. After all the TDS in St. George is ~500 vs. ~200 in Centerville where I used to live. Even the waste water there was cleaner than what I drink from the drinking fountain here. (that's why we drink our own RO water. 
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Ryan Thompson
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Posted: January 13 2009 at 2:34pm |
Mark Peterson wrote:
Sure that can be done. I'm sure there are other Discuss breeders in Utah. |
I don't know of any and I watch a lot of the discus forums out there. I would love to find one and talk to them.
I am glad to hear that my suggestion could be done. I don't know the TDS here in Lehi.
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Andreason
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Posted: January 13 2009 at 3:32pm |
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Lehi is usually 220. There used to be a discus breeder up in Layton. Have you checked with GSLAS?
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Andreason
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Posted: January 13 2009 at 3:36pm |
Yep, Mike Dennis still breeds Discus. Here is his website.
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chastings
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Posted: January 16 2009 at 1:24pm |
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Thanks everyone for your input. I think I'm going to try to plumb the waste water into my water heater. I've been talking to someone that sells RO units, and he's telling me that all I need is a check valve, and possibly a delivery pump. I'm still working out the specifics, but should know more soon.
My logic is as follows, if St. George, and undoubtedly numerous other municipalities have tds levels that vary so widely, the difference I'll be creating won't harm my appliances, and since I don't drink the water, it will only effect me in that my water will become a little "harder" (is that the correct terminology, or is hardness a reflection of other measurements?).
I'm wondering if I (or more likely my wife) will even notice a difference, will my showering become somehow less pleasureable, any thoughts?
Thanks,
Charlie
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