Rain water instead of rodi

GARRIGA

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uv sterilizer?
Along with ozone or peroxide would reduce the need for chlorine but perhaps not completely. Pools using AOP still deploy chlorine although at a far lower dosage.
 

GARRIGA

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Just tested phosphates and it shows > 1.8 ppm it won’t be worth the hassle unfortunately.
from rainwater captures in a container or run off from a roof, for example? That high and never even considered it would have any being rain is evaporated water and I'd expect similar to distilled plus any pollutants that exist in the atmosphere.
 

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Absolutely. I mean, there's not necessarily any reason to fear the bacteria in rainwater. It might die from the salinity, might not. I wouldn't purposefully introduce bacteria to a tank, but every tank in any house is getting bacteria from dust in the air.
Then again

 

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from rainwater captures in a container or run off from a roof, for example? That high and never even considered it would have any being rain is evaporated water and I'd expect similar to distilled plus any pollutants that exist in the atmosphere.
I had figured that the collected water from a dehumidifier would be like that too

60 TDS

And 6 something pH

Definitely not distilled
 

KrisReef

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I think like 5-10 years ago a big storm in Louisiana sucked up frog eggs and when it rained over Connecticut a few days later they started hatching and raining frogs.
Well, that settles it then, the egg come first.
 

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Just tested phosphates and it shows > 1.8 ppm it won’t be worth the hassle unfortunately.
yup, those pigeons on the roof would be a concern. I collect rain water now and again but I use it to water house plants. The lawn always greens up after a rain her in Southern Ca. Our solar panels get covered in a layer of dust in the summer and after a good rain they are still not properly cleaned. A prefilter and lanthanum chloride could help with phosphates, but the dust and dirt are always going to interfere with roof water collected in this neighborhood.

The rainy season also impacts the collection of sea water from the ocean, they measure the first rain runoff and call it "the first flush."
 
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yup, those pigeons on the roof would be a concern. I collect rain water now and again but I use it to water house plants. The lawn always greens up after a rain her in Southern Ca. Our solar panels get covered in a layer of dust in the summer and after a good rain they are still not properly cleaned. A prefilter and lanthanum chloride could help with phosphates, but the dust and dirt are always going to interfere with roof water collected in this neighborhood.

The rainy season also impacts the collection of sea water from the ocean, they measure the first rain runoff and call it "the first flush."
Our tap water coming from local reservoirs is also fairly high in phosphates, the clouds are most likely picking up that water high in phosphates, if that’s even possible.
The roof is fairly clean and it’s made out of concrete tiles.
 

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Keeping a reef, especially something like Acropora, is challenging enough without throwing unknown risks in there. It’s easy enough to produce good quality RO/DI cheaply. Why risk it?
 

GARRIGA

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I had figured that the collected water from a dehumidifier would be like that too

60 TDS

And 6 something pH

Definitely not distilled
But that TDS likely leaching by the dehumidifier. Farmers use runoff from dehumidifiers with some dehumidifiers being better than others based on construction yet all easier to clean than tap where some might have TDS of 200 plus. Just run that water through RODI or just sediment, carbon and DI. It's only 60 ppm therefore may not waste much DI. Gravity fed likely enough to run it through RODI.

Key is that for some accessing tap or well may not be an option or rather not waste to create and reclaiming what they seek. End of day, so long as filtered then rain water shouldn't be more detrimental than tap or well.
 

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Our tap water coming from local reservoirs is also fairly high in phosphates, the clouds are most likely picking up that water high in phosphates, if that’s even possible.
The roof is fairly clean and it’s made out of concrete tiles.
I wonder if the concrete would bind phosphate like aragonite does? The falling of low tds water would then likely gather some of the phosphate as part of chemical equilibrium?
 

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It seems like the general consensus is that rainwater is perfectly fine...if you invest in a filtration system for it. That seems like what most people do with tap water so why use rainwater if you're filtering it anyway?
The quality will vary depending on many variables and wont be consistent...
Just spend $100 USD on a RODI filter system.
 
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It seems like the general consensus is that rainwater is perfectly fine...if you invest in a filtration system for it. That seems like what most people do with tap water so why use rainwater if you're filtering it anyway?
The quality will vary depending on many variables and wont be consistent...
Just spend $100 USD on a RODI filter system.
I believe the conclusion so far would be for areas with high TDS water in the tap would prolong the life of the RODI membrane vs straight from the tap. My water from the tap comes at 90 ppm and the rain water is 12 ppm I remember reading folks having it above 300 ppm.
 
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I wonder if the concrete would bind phosphate like aragonite does? The falling of low tds water would then likely gather some of the phosphate as part of chemical equilibrium?
Could be possible although I believe I’ve read somewhere that this absorbing capability was only possible with aragonite. May be wrong though.
 

livinlifeinBKK

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I believe the conclusion so far would be for areas with high TDS water in the tap would prolong the life of the RODI membrane vs straight from the tap. My water from the tap comes at 90 ppm and the rain water is 12 ppm I remember reading folks having it above 300 ppm.
I don't think anyone mentioned that...its true that it woyld prolong the life of your RODI filter...that implies that you would still be using an RODI system. Didn't your original post just mention using rainwater and asking if there might be downsides?
 

GARRIGA

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It seems like the general consensus is that rainwater is perfectly fine...if you invest in a filtration system for it. That seems like what most people do with tap water so why use rainwater if you're filtering it anyway?
The quality will vary depending on many variables and wont be consistent...
Just spend $100 USD on a RODI filter system.
My municipality has been known to increase the chlorine levels to sort of flush the system. Fine if you know before hand but otherwise some could get through the filtration. Plus for some like myself would be easier to collect rain water or HVAC condensate then plumb the tap. Not all situations created equal.
 

Solo McReefer

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But that TDS likely leaching by the dehumidifier. Farmers use runoff from dehumidifiers with some dehumidifiers being better than others based on construction yet all easier to clean than tap where some might have TDS of 200 plus. Just run that water through RODI or just sediment, carbon and DI. It's only 60 ppm therefore may not waste much DI. Gravity fed likely enough to run it through RODI.

Key is that for some accessing tap or well may not be an option or rather not waste to create and reclaiming what they seek. End of day, so long as filtered then rain water shouldn't be more detrimental than tap or well.
It only makes like a litre a day

Rather [what is halfway between unimpressed and impressed?] with the performance
 

livinlifeinBKK

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Oh yeah, I just reread your posts and you were 1 person who said that! I noticed you also mentioning that you assumed rainwater wpuld be similar to distilled water plus all the pollutants but if he invests in a filter system, it should be fine...Im not sure why you would expect rainwater to be similar to distilled water or why you believe that the pollutants you believe to be present would be filtered out as efficiently as tapwater through an RODI filter, but hokey dokey...
 

GARRIGA

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It only makes like a litre a day

Rather [what is halfway between unimpressed and impressed?] with the performance
Yeah, that's not worth tapping. My home HVAC produces gallons daily. Something I've considered accessing to automate the top off post filtration. Have a thread on exactly that but for replacement water wouldn't be functional and as is requires drilling to floors and likely an abandoned idea. Rain water for my application currently most viable considering it's wasted water regardless and plumbing that in my garage through RODI much simpler and less concerned with my municipality screwing something up.
 

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