What do you do with your RO/DI wastewater?

slevesque · 07/13/2006, 10:42 PM

Hi, I'm about to buy my first RO/DI system. I have some moral issues with the high wastewater ratio. What can we do with this waste-water? Is is clean enough to fill up the washing machine? safe for watering plants? I guess it's good to clean up the house.

Reefrus2003 · 07/13/2006, 10:43 PM

I water the plants, and trees and also fill up the bird baths, I have a long piece of tubing running from the waste so I can move it around pretty much anywhere in the backyard..........

tgunn · 07/13/2006, 10:47 PM

I used to fill up the washing machine with it... I overflowed the washing machine a couple times when I was making a lot fo RO/DI and forgot about it overnight.. Needless to say it made a huge mess...

I now have it running down my fish room sink drain. I have used it to cure DIY cement rocks though too; works great for that.

slevesque · 07/13/2006, 10:52 PM

I forgot about the use for curing cement rocks. I will do that for sure. It would be such a relief to use it as such

. It would be amazing to hook up the waste line to the toilet intake!

tgunn · 07/13/2006, 10:54 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by slevesque
I forgot about the use for curing cement rocks. I will do that for sure. It would be such a relief to use it as such . It would be amazing to hook up the waste line to the toilet intake!

Curing with RO/DI waste was the only way I could get my cement rocks to ever cure (otherwise I couldn't change the water often enough manually). I just had a 5 gallon bucket sitting in the sink with the line into it.

Tyler

raynist · 07/14/2006, 06:56 AM

Sometimes I fill a 32 gallon garbage can and use the water to wash cars.

Sometimes I use it to change the water in my Oscar tank.

--Ray

old salty · 07/14/2006, 07:24 AM

Washing machine mostly. I wouldn't lose too much sleep over the waste water. The water going down the drain goes right back into the ecosystem; it's not gone forever. I probably waste more water giving a courtesy flush than making RO/DI water!!

BeanAnimal · 07/14/2006, 09:51 AM

Washing machine and the drain.

xtrstangx · 07/14/2006, 11:29 AM

I pour all of mine straight down the drain.

If your worried about wasting water, there are easier ways to do it. (Shorter showers, turn it off when brushing teeth, dishwashers, laundry machines, etc)

Gudwyn · 07/14/2006, 11:56 AM

I have a 44gal brute container in my yard sitting on a 4' tall shelf made with 2x4 and some framing brackets.

The RODI waste goes in there and a drain tube sends the excess into a gutter downspout. The bottom of the brute container has a 1/2" bulkhead with a ball valve and a hose bib attached.

We water the potted plants, fill the kids wading pool (it sits on SW corner of house and the water gets nice and warm), I use it to flush the SW down the drain after a waterchange, etc.

Most of it still just ends up as waste.

ReefMeister2 · 07/14/2006, 12:36 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by old salty
Washing machine mostly. I wouldn't lose too much sleep over the waste water. The water going down the drain goes right back into the ecosystem; it's not gone forever. I probably waste more water giving a courtesy flush than making RO/DI water!!

Very good point. This is not a moral dilemma in any way-shape-or-form. All water is recycled in the macro-vision scheme of things. The only impact is to your municipality's water-treatment plant...not the environment. If you were producing toxic waste as a by-product then, sure, you may have a legitimate concern.

One very important thing to point out: NEVER impede the flow of your waste water output! I know those of you who've overflowed things on accident are temped to put a shut-off valve or restrictive device of some sort to control the output. Don't

TCU Reefer · 07/14/2006, 02:27 PM

I save mine until the end of the week and take a bath in it.

My fiance thinks I should bathe more than once a week though.

Wes11 · 07/14/2006, 04:32 PM

Ok guys think about what we use a RO unit for......get rid of the chemicals etc. You don't think all the chemicals just stay in the unit do you................

Nothing like taking a bath or watering your plants with polluted waste water!

coraladdict · 07/14/2006, 05:08 PM

A good way to reduce waste water is with a permeate pump , you will save up to 80% of wate water and it's none electrical.
That's what I have on mine.Check out :http://www.airwaterice.com/

bassnman11 · 07/14/2006, 10:05 PM

The waste water is not polluted, it just has a higher mineral content. I piped mine to my swimming pool.

zaireguy · 07/15/2006, 05:45 AM

washing machine

Flatlander · 07/15/2006, 06:33 AM

I agree. Its no more poluted than my tap water, so why ant it be used for various things. I use it for the washer also and watering plants, both inside & out.

jackforester · 07/15/2006, 07:17 AM

I'd agree with that. I just wouldn't drink it...That 2.5ppb of lead in my water is not acceptible at 15ppm. Now if I'm getting 80% waste water, I'm probably still okay (as long as I'm not eating old paint chips). I'm assuming all impurities are flushed out with the waste water.

I used to run a ROPU (our acronym for Reverse Osmosis Purification Unit) in the Air Force, but it also had filters that could remove nuclear waste particles. We could run our wastewater treatment output directly into the ROPU unit and out came drinking water. The waste water was used for showers and hot tubbing (water was kept in an "onion", open topped flexible holding tank). We had a circulating pump and a heater.

slevesque · 07/15/2006, 07:44 PM

I was probably brainwashed as a kid to not waste anything! So the term waste-water kicked me in the guts. Ok, city water taken from the lake is going back to the lake. Got it. Probably even cleaner than it was at the start!

Maybe I could twist the procedure a bit: put the waste pipe in the washing machine and fill it up, let's say 10G. As a byproduct I get 3G of pure RO/Di water! It's all in the presentation I guess! Even GreenPeace would be happy whith that.

Thanks everyone for sharing, you helped me save my peace of mind

.

mufret · 07/16/2006, 07:36 AM

I use it to water the garden.

07/13/2006, 10:42 PM	#1
slevesque Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Montreal Posts: 377	What do you do with your RO/DI wastewater? Hi, I'm about to buy my first RO/DI system. I have some moral issues with the high wastewater ratio. What can we do with this waste-water? Is is clean enough to fill up the washing machine? safe for watering plants? I guess it's good to clean up the house.

07/13/2006, 10:52 PM	#4
slevesque Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Montreal Posts: 377	I forgot about the use for curing cement rocks. I will do that for sure. It would be such a relief to use it as such . It would be amazing to hook up the waste line to the toilet intake! __________________ Stephane Levesque The Shrimp Guy! Current Tank Info: 55 + 20L

07/14/2006, 07:24 AM	#7
old salty Genius Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: The Island of Misfit Toys Posts: 3,131	Washing machine mostly. I wouldn't lose too much sleep over the waste water. The water going down the drain goes right back into the ecosystem; it's not gone forever. I probably waste more water giving a courtesy flush than making RO/DI water!! __________________ "The man who reads nothing at all is better educated than the man who reads nothing but newspapers." Thomas Jefferson Current Tank Info: Out of the marine aquarium hobby

07/14/2006, 02:27 PM	#12
TCU Reefer Premium Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Fort Worth, TX Posts: 1,044	I save mine until the end of the week and take a bath in it. My fiance thinks I should bathe more than once a week though. __________________ Steve - DFWMAS Member Click on the red house to view my build thread Current Tank Info: 215g starboard SPS in-wall, AC Jr, 3 x 250w MH's, 10k Reeflux, 320w VHO actinics, closed loop w/ Sequence Dart and OM 4-Way, Tunze wavebox, VorTech, 2x modded MJ 1200's, ASM G4 recirc/meshwheel, Geo 618 Ca reactor, custom Melev sump, Mag 9.5 return

07/14/2006, 05:08 PM	#14
coraladdict Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Canada Posts: 646	A good way to reduce waste water is with a permeate pump , you will save up to 80% of wate water and it's none electrical. That's what I have on mine.Check out :http://www.airwaterice.com/ __________________ Experience is a terrible thing to waste Current Tank Info: 120g ,mixed reef , Deltec 600 MCE , 2 VorTechs with BB,Tunze osmolator,Diy Nelson reac.Pacific Sun Hyperion 2

07/13/2006, 10:43 PM	#2
Reefrus2003 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Houston Posts: 260	I water the plants, and trees and also fill up the bird baths, I have a long piece of tubing running from the waste so I can move it around pretty much anywhere in the backyard..........

07/13/2006, 10:47 PM	#3
tgunn Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Cupertino, CA USA Posts: 4,027	I used to fill up the washing machine with it... I overflowed the washing machine a couple times when I was making a lot fo RO/DI and forgot about it overnight.. Needless to say it made a huge mess... I now have it running down my fish room sink drain. I have used it to cure DIY cement rocks though too; works great for that.

07/14/2006, 06:56 AM	#6
raynist Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Posts: 4,921	Sometimes I fill a 32 gallon garbage can and use the water to wash cars. Sometimes I use it to change the water in my Oscar tank. --Ray

07/14/2006, 09:51 AM	#8
BeanAnimal Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Pittsburgh Posts: 20,772	Washing machine and the drain.

07/14/2006, 11:29 AM	#9
xtrstangx Premium Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Shawnee, Kansas Posts: 4,568	I pour all of mine straight down the drain. If your worried about wasting water, there are easier ways to do it. (Shorter showers, turn it off when brushing teeth, dishwashers, laundry machines, etc)

07/14/2006, 11:56 AM	#10
Gudwyn Premium Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Redmond, WA Posts: 493	I have a 44gal brute container in my yard sitting on a 4' tall shelf made with 2x4 and some framing brackets. The RODI waste goes in there and a drain tube sends the excess into a gutter downspout. The bottom of the brute container has a 1/2" bulkhead with a ball valve and a hose bib attached. We water the potted plants, fill the kids wading pool (it sits on SW corner of house and the water gets nice and warm), I use it to flush the SW down the drain after a waterchange, etc. Most of it still just ends up as waste.

07/14/2006, 04:32 PM	#13
Wes11 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Columbus,OH Posts: 18	Ok guys think about what we use a RO unit for......get rid of the chemicals etc. You don't think all the chemicals just stay in the unit do you................ Nothing like taking a bath or watering your plants with polluted waste water!

07/14/2006, 10:05 PM	#15
bassnman11 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Corona Ca. Posts: 674	The waste water is not polluted, it just has a higher mineral content. I piped mine to my swimming pool.

07/15/2006, 05:45 AM	#16
zaireguy Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Bucyrus,Ohio Posts: 2,311	washing machine __________________ have you been touched by a angel? My life was for ever changed when my daughter was born my wife and I have come to a new understanding! I don`t ask and she doesn`t have to say no anymore Current Tank Info: 300 gallon main tank,70 Gallon sump,70 gallon remote sump, reef octopus 300- 12 inch skimmer, skimz Biopellet reactor

07/15/2006, 06:33 AM	#17
Flatlander Premium Member Join Date: Oct 1999 Location: BC, Canada Posts: 2,886	I agree. Its no more poluted than my tap water, so why ant it be used for various things. I use it for the washer also and watering plants, both inside & out. __________________ Doug TOTM April 2001 Current Tank Info: 50g sumpless sps tank..Evergrow 2081 led..Apex control..Tunze 9012 skimmer..Tunze calcium reactor..Tunze kalk reactor..2 rw8,s..1 MP40..1 Hydor Korillia 1200gph..Tunze ATO..all propagated sps frags

07/15/2006, 07:17 AM	#18
jackforester Awaiting Email Confirmation Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Dawsonville, GA Posts: 8	I'd agree with that. I just wouldn't drink it...That 2.5ppb of lead in my water is not acceptible at 15ppm. Now if I'm getting 80% waste water, I'm probably still okay (as long as I'm not eating old paint chips). I'm assuming all impurities are flushed out with the waste water. I used to run a ROPU (our acronym for Reverse Osmosis Purification Unit) in the Air Force, but it also had filters that could remove nuclear waste particles. We could run our wastewater treatment output directly into the ROPU unit and out came drinking water. The waste water was used for showers and hot tubbing (water was kept in an "onion", open topped flexible holding tank). We had a circulating pump and a heater.

07/15/2006, 07:44 PM	#19
slevesque Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Montreal Posts: 377	I was probably brainwashed as a kid to not waste anything! So the term waste-water kicked me in the guts. Ok, city water taken from the lake is going back to the lake. Got it. Probably even cleaner than it was at the start! Maybe I could twist the procedure a bit: put the waste pipe in the washing machine and fill it up, let's say 10G. As a byproduct I get 3G of pure RO/Di water! It's all in the presentation I guess! Even GreenPeace would be happy whith that. Thanks everyone for sharing, you helped me save my peace of mind . __________________ Stephane Levesque The Shrimp Guy! Current Tank Info: 55 + 20L

07/16/2006, 07:36 AM	#20
mufret Moved On Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Canton, GA Posts: 144	I use it to water the garden.