Igotcorals
Active Member
I did not see anyone mention Plastic Tanks, Water Tanks, Polyethylene Storage Tanks, Septic Tanks
Sometimes they have clearance items and have many locations in the us. You can do local pick up if there is one around you
water storage
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I did not see anyone mention Plastic Tanks, Water Tanks, Polyethylene Storage Tanks, Septic Tanks
Sometimes they have clearance items and have many locations in the us. You can do local pick up if there is one around you
RO/DI water has been stripped of all its ions so is agressively trying to get back to its natural "dirty" state. It eats brass and most all metals other than high grade stainless and exotic metals like titanium and tantalium.
I am using the same 23 gallon Rubbermaid containers as Heathd.hd and with the normal Spears ball valves found at HD and Lowes. been set up that way for 7 years now and still working perfect. The valves turn a little tight at first but loosen up once broken in.
When I worked in the treatment plant we used the high $$ Sch 80 ball valves pictured and they are not any better than the Spears valves for our purposes. If you want to go that route and plumbing supply house or industrial plastics vendor will have them on the shelf locally. Here is one I used a lot:
Harrington Plastics Store Finder
I am using the same 23 gallon Rubbermaid containers as Heathd.hd and with the normal Spears ball valves found at HD and Lowes. been set up that way for 7 years now and still working perfect. The valves turn a little tight at first but loosen up once broken in.
When I worked in the treatment plant we used the high $$ Sch 80 ball valves pictured and they are not any better than the Spears valves for our purposes. If you want to go that route and plumbing supply house or industrial plastics vendor will have them on the shelf locally. Here is one I used a lot:
Harrington Plastics Store Finder
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Paul B
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I have almost the exact same thing as Patto005 but I use plastic valves. I used a 30 gallon garbage can and installed a bulk head fitting near the bottom. Been using it for many years.
Big B
Active Member
This is exactly what I am doing right now. 44 Gallon Brute on top for RODI and a 20 gallon brute on the bottom for mixing.
BlueZreef
Active Member
Have you checked your local craigslist? There is literally always someone selling those 55 gal barrels around here for $20-30. Brute is probably the next best budget friendly solution.
Patto005
Active Member
I ordered a new valve from pvcfittingsonline.com and lots of other fittings since I'm re-plumbing my sump and other projects. But I have been using the brass valve for several months and have done numerous water changes without any ill effects on my reef. But I do not have a copper test kit. Should I drain the water from the container once my new valve comes in or will it be ok. Like I said, I haven't had any problems whatsoever this far.
Fin
Professional Procrastinator
Personally, I would not drink water that has gone through DI resin. It may cause some health issues. If you want to prepare drinking water from your unit, I would place a T and valve before the resin canister, so you would be saving only RO water for your consumption. An excerpt from an article I found on this subject...
Drinking DI Water
A 2004 report from the World Health Organization concluded that DI water without further enrichment with some minerals might not be fully appropriate for consumption. The possible health consequences of low mineral content water consumption includes intestinal mucous membrane problems, decreased intake and metabolism of calcium, magnesium and other essential elements, possible increased dietary intake of toxic metals and possible increased bacterial growth.
Read more : Is Deionized Water Dangerous to Drink? | eHow
Is Deionized Water Dangerous to Drink? | eHow
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The WHO has been trying to prove this theory for decades but it has never been proven yet. The problem is man cannot live by drinking water alone and even 1 potato chip replaces what is stripped form many gallons of DI water. This is a myth that as been around for decades.
While I do not drink DI water it is because it has a very bland or blah taste and is not refreshing, many do drink it and are just fine. What it comes down to is drink whatever turns you on and eat a sensible diet. We do not receive our minerals and supplements from the water we drink nor is DI going to strip our bodies of nutrients, we get our minerals from the foods we eat.
It is very easy to ge both RO drinking water and RO/DI for reef use out of the same system with the addition of a simple $8 check valve. It is done very day and I did it myself for years. Note the placement of the check valve between the RO and the DI in this diagram:
http://spectrapure.com/huds/4-STAGE-DWK-RODI-NAG.pdf
This gives you pressurized RO water for drinking and cooking if you have a pressure tank or non pressurized if you don't and makes your DI directly from the membrane and not the pressurized RO which suffers from TDS creep.
I would not use the water with the potential copper contamination if it were me and I would stick some Poly Pads in the display or sump to suck up what copper has already bee transferred to the water. Copper can be a problem at extremely low levels and it is something that is cumulative meaning it does not go away on its own.
While I do not drink DI water it is because it has a very bland or blah taste and is not refreshing, many do drink it and are just fine. What it comes down to is drink whatever turns you on and eat a sensible diet. We do not receive our minerals and supplements from the water we drink nor is DI going to strip our bodies of nutrients, we get our minerals from the foods we eat.
It is very easy to ge both RO drinking water and RO/DI for reef use out of the same system with the addition of a simple $8 check valve. It is done very day and I did it myself for years. Note the placement of the check valve between the RO and the DI in this diagram:
http://spectrapure.com/huds/4-STAGE-DWK-RODI-NAG.pdf
This gives you pressurized RO water for drinking and cooking if you have a pressure tank or non pressurized if you don't and makes your DI directly from the membrane and not the pressurized RO which suffers from TDS creep.
I would not use the water with the potential copper contamination if it were me and I would stick some Poly Pads in the display or sump to suck up what copper has already bee transferred to the water. Copper can be a problem at extremely low levels and it is something that is cumulative meaning it does not go away on its own.
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Windy
Active Member
It was my understanding that the leaching was due to the PH of the water and so RO-DI would not leech as would salt water. Can you give me a reference to your source as I have copper pipes and valves to my fish room. Have been doing this since 1996.
The pH of RO/Di is basically neutral or 7.0. You cannot accurately measure it and there is much confusion on this but there are hundreds of good articles on the pH of RO/DI or distilled water on the web.
The agressiveness is due to the fact the water has been stripped of everything except the hydrogen and oxygen so is very unstable. This is why it is stored in PET,Nalgene and similar plastics and sealed or capped so it does not attract things out of the container or the air in the room.
As long as copper piping is before the RO membrane you are fine, the pH of tap water is required by law (EPA Lead and Copper Rule of 1991) to be slightly alkaline and have a positive Langlier Index so it tends to scale rather than corrode. Once water has passed through the RO membrane it should not come into contact with metals other tha high grade stainless or titanium and similar exotic metals. This is why modern distillation units are made of things like epoxy or glass lined exotic metals and pyrex glass so the treated water never comes into contact with metals that will corrode and add TDS back to the water.
The agressiveness is due to the fact the water has been stripped of everything except the hydrogen and oxygen so is very unstable. This is why it is stored in PET,Nalgene and similar plastics and sealed or capped so it does not attract things out of the container or the air in the room.
As long as copper piping is before the RO membrane you are fine, the pH of tap water is required by law (EPA Lead and Copper Rule of 1991) to be slightly alkaline and have a positive Langlier Index so it tends to scale rather than corrode. Once water has passed through the RO membrane it should not come into contact with metals other tha high grade stainless or titanium and similar exotic metals. This is why modern distillation units are made of things like epoxy or glass lined exotic metals and pyrex glass so the treated water never comes into contact with metals that will corrode and add TDS back to the water.
Windy
Active Member
Maybe the difference is that I don't use a DI cartridge. I have 23 TDS input and zero output with just RO and prefilters. I have a RO drinking water system that delivers to a pressure tank and storage tank.
RO only is also agressive. You are not using the pressure tank to store aquarium water are you? The reason is TDS cree becomes and issue each time the system cycles to fill the pressure tank when it accumulates and can eventually get as high as the tap TDS. It is always wise to make RO directly from the membrane for reef use or to make RO/DI.
While you may be getting an indicated 0 TDS from RO only it really isn't 0 since a membarne is only a 90-98% efficient device. It takes DI to actually get to true 0 TDS. There are things such as nitrates, silicates and phosphates a membrane are not particularly good at removing and do not registerwell on a TDS meter since they are weakly ionized so your water is probably not what you think it is. I would isolate from the pressure tank and add DI if it were me.
While you may be getting an indicated 0 TDS from RO only it really isn't 0 since a membarne is only a 90-98% efficient device. It takes DI to actually get to true 0 TDS. There are things such as nitrates, silicates and phosphates a membrane are not particularly good at removing and do not registerwell on a TDS meter since they are weakly ionized so your water is probably not what you think it is. I would isolate from the pressure tank and add DI if it were me.
BS, that is a myth plain and simple.
BryanB
Community Member
Ok just what I was told and I am no expert in the field
The World Health Organization has been trying to prove this for decades but it has never done so. The reason is we don't get our minerals from water and man cannot live on water alone. Even one potato chip replaces much more than is removed by the treatment process. You would literally drown your cells by drinking too much water before you could do yourself any harm from depleted minerals. I dn't know if you remember but 15 or so years ago there was a radio contest to see who could drink the most water without going to the bathroom and a woman died from waterlogged or drowned cells in her body. That is what would happen before you would be harmed from minerals being sucked out. Its just a myth. Not to say if I were doing the Ironman Triathalon I would drink only RO/DI and not eat any solid foods or supplements but that is an extreme case and not the norm. Eat a sensible diet and drink whatever makes you happy.
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