Got RO Unit finally!
 

so as many of you may recall back a few months ago, I had a crash due to Kent Carbon, and they ended up sending me a few goodies, well as it may turn out some of the stuff sent, came in damaged or just didnt work, SO I contacted them and they allowed me to ship back the damaged goods, at my expense (about $40) and they would help me to insure the new items sent would be in working order. So this time I got a 50gpd RO unit by coralife and a few of each replacement cartridge. It should be here tomorrow or monday, and has a faucet attachment which is perfect for me cause I cant really tap into the plumbing in our apartment.

It will go under the kitchen sink for now, and will be mounted there. Now I have no previous experience with ro or ro/di except for the ro from the store lol...

I remember reading my water report a while back and asking on here if I needed the full RO/DI system and was told it was necessary as my water was treated with either chlorine or chloramine, any way I cant remember which it was, but was told the DI wasn't needed for this step by a few people.

So a few questions

50gpd, does this mean it takes 24 hours to produce 50g?

Anything I should know before putting the water in the tank? I mean I hear to "waste" the first 20-50g's?

does anyone know if its possible to eventually tap into it and add DI if need be in the future?

Is ro from an aquarium RO system safe for consumption? I hear mixed results? I hear DI isn't safe to drink?

any other tips are appreciated :)

So stoaked I wont have to lug around jugs to and from the store anymore!

50gpd = 50 gallons in 24 hours, but that's ideal, most of the time it's lower.

You can run it for a bit but 20-50 gallons of waste seems a bit much, as soon as you get a TDS reading you're happy with you're good to go.

You can add DI anytime

Yes safe to drink, both RO and DI, DI will may taste funny but it's not harmful. I drink RO/DI water.

Get an inline TDS meter, it will tell you when to change pre-filters. An auto flush is also nice or remember to flush the membrane often.

thanks shelps wouldn't by any chance know what a tds meter is worth?

NVM found them online :lol:

ahh google

inline ones that measure TDS in and out of the filter usually run for around $40, most LFS sell them as well.

http://www.jlaquatics.com/phpstore/s...t_ID=ro-aftdsi

I've read page 6, 7 and 8 from this WHO Report and due to this, I will not drink DI water

What happened with the Kent Carbon? You're scaring me! I use kent carbon lol

http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/sho...+carbon+recall

Yup. RO/DI is not good for our bodies at all. Neither is distilled water (unless it is re-mineralized).

We drink tap water.

:faint2:

I've been drinking RO since I set it up late winter, but I'll revisit the report and make a decision then

Kenny, you can plumb in a DI unit anytime you like
Have a look at my ratsnest :wink:
It's on the first page of my build

The only thing I know about ro/di units is that they are the cause of many household insurance claims. Make sure you have a proper system to stop the process once your container is full!

lol I'll only be doing like 5 g at a time as the thing hooks to the SINK
LOL jebus... that was bad

Kent carbon has had a known issue, I believe it was releasing everything back into the water column. If you use it I would highly consider switching brands. Alot of LFS refuse to carry sell or even look at it.

yup high copper content and arsenic in some batches

still make sure you have something to switch it off, I flooded my kitchen many times making 5 gls of water, even with setting the timer on the stove...mine is in the basement now, only had 1 incident since moving it down but at least it won't cause any damage now...:redface:

and thanks for the correction, that could have been an awkward vision.....

:lol: STUPID PHONE!

I don't know if it's possible for you or not, but I installed a bulkhead at the top of my RO/DI storage container with a PVC hose going to a floor drain. I definitely did not do this because I forgot to turn off the unit a few times!

Not to go off on a tangent but mineral water is not tap water! Mineral water is good, it's basically filtered tap water and remineralized or from a pure source. Tap water may contain good minerals but it contains far more contaminants that are not healthy at all. So before you freaking out about how rats urinated more from a water drinking study and how important it is to obtain that 0.0005% daily intake of calcium from water consider the following.

• Tens of thousands of chemicals are used, only a few dozen are actually tested and regulated by water treatment.
• Both government and independent scientists have linked even low levels of hundreds of legal contaminants in tap water to cancer, reproductive difficulties, and other diseases. There are more than 2100 known drinking water contaminants that may be present in tap water, including several known poisons.
• Drinking water regulations are out of date, many treatment plants were built decades ago to remove only harmful bacteria and nothing else.
• Pharmaceuticals have been found in the tap water, water treatment plants are not currently required to test for pharmaceuticals.
• Studies in some areas of Canada have shown high lead content in tap water, lead can increase the risk of learning disorders in small children.
• Every year, 18 billion pounds of new pollutants and chemicals are released into the atmosphere, soil, and groundwater.
• The only way to ensure pure, contaminant-free drinking water is through the use of a point-of-use filtration system such as an RO unit.

If you're worried about mineral content, take a multivitamin. Personally if you have RO water in your house I think you'd be a fool not to drink it. DI may be a separate issue but not something I worry about but those who do can simply tap in before the DI filter to access RO water for drinking purposes.

a well written post, but for for others reading, and as a student of toxicology, risk assessment and evaluation I gotta ask, are you suggesting tap water is not safe to drink?

i use RO water for my coffee, RO/DI for my aquarium and drink tap water...

What is safe to sum may not be safe to others, and water in some places is much better than others. Just sharing what I know and trying to clarify a few things. We can each make out own decisions on what we deem safe or best for us. For me it's not about whats safe, just what I believe a better option. My main point of that tangent was really to clarify differences between mineral water and tap water.

Sphelps is east of Calgary. The water east of the city is in very bad shape, and there are loads of pollutants in it that the treatment plants don't remove (according to a friend of mine who works for the government testing water). While his reaction to tap water may seem a bit extreme, it is understandable (I would feel the same way if I were east of here).

Been there too, if your doing it in the kitchen make sure you put the bucket your filling in the sink so if it overflows it goes down the drain.

On the topic of drinking RODI water, I feel it's a personal decision just like anything else. If your tap water sux and you have RODI why not drink it? From what I've read there is a risk of bacteria collecting in your DI but if you use it regularly I think it further reduces the chances. If you follow conspiracy theory rumors at all you probably already drink ro water to avoid the brain washing chemicals and junk lol. I personally don't drink my rodi cause it's in a bin downstairs and I don't have a water cooler for easy access other wise I would drink it. It all boils down to personal choice, I smoke and drink that's my choice as is bathing and mowing my lawn. If you feel comfortable drinking it then do it, if not then don't, or tap off before the DI stages and drink that water.