RO station Diagram - does it make sense?

Ky_acc

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Hey just wondering if I could get a sanity check on my planned ro system — main thing is I want to be able to pump RODi into the salt container without risk of getting salt in the rodi container (I.e., use two separate pumps as I know I would turn the wrong valve one time and flood my RODi with salt water if the containers shared pumps)

I’m planning to use a norwesco 105 gallon reservoir for the RODi water and a norwesco 55 gallon container for the salt water (this literally uses every possible Inch in my closet)

6B679E97-185F-4E80-86DC-7061D84AD5AB.png


thinking since I don’t have room for two 105 containers I should make the salt water container smaller so that there is always rodi available for mixing salt.

also planning on doing kalk, auto water changes and two ato’s for redundancy.

Note: planning on using an external pump on the salt mixing container since the top opening is so small that I couldn’t fit a powerful enough pump in there.

Note: the “3 way valves” may end up being two ball valves in series — apparently 3 way valves are hard to find / expensive for some reason. Just want to be able to pump only RODi or only salt as needed.
 
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Terry Le

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I think you can do that. Most included myself we use one external pump in between the 2 tanks. By using shut off valves to control which way is the water going. With this same pump I move water from RO/DI tank to salt mix tank, mix salt and pump to my sump for water change. It’s all about the valves
 
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Ky_acc

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I think you can do that. Most included myself we use one external pump in between the 2 tanks. By using shut off valves to control which way is the water going. With this same pump I move water from RO/DI tank to salt mix tank, mix salt and pump to my sump for water change. It’s all about the valves
Have you ever flooded salt water into your RODi?

I just feel like I would for sure screw up the valve direction some day and flood my saltwater into the RODi
 

Terry Le

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Have you ever flooded salt water into your RODi?

I just feel like I would for sure screw up the valve direction some day and flood my saltwater into the RODi
No I haven’t flooded saltwater into Ro/Di tank in over 4 years. In order to do this I would have to opened up 2 wrong valves. Sorry I don’t have a picture of my set up but do a search
 

KStatefan

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Is your external pump going to lose prime when shut off?
 
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Ky_acc

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Is your external pump going to lose prime when shut off?
I am not sure but that is a fair consideration -- thanks for bringing that up!

Im hoping it would just pull the water and not rely on being primed but im not sure as I have not really used external pumps before
 
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Ky_acc

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I might have to put the external pump on the ground rather than on top of the 55 gal station if priming is an issue
 

KStatefan

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I am not sure but that is a fair consideration -- thanks for bringing that up!

Im hoping it would just pull the water and not rely on being primed but im not sure as I have not really used external pumps before

Most if not all external pump used in the aquarium industry are not self priming.

You could reverse your flow direction and place the pump at the bottom of the tank
 
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Ky_acc

Ky_acc

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Most if not all external pump used in the aquarium industry are not self priming.

You could reverse your flow direction and place the pump at the bottom of the tank
That’s great — exclactly why I posted this question I appreciate it!
 

Chuk

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I would recommend a couple of things:
1) make sure you have an air gap in the line from the DI water to the saltwater bin. Otherwise you could siphon saltwater back to your DI storage tank. I don't see one on your drawing specifically and you probably were doing it anyway but just make sure you don't put the pipe down into the normal level of the saltwater tank.
2) Your saltwater tank is currently not able to be fully drained, that may or may not be a problem for you. I would recommend 2 options
A) use a conical bottom tank with the outlet at the bottom so you can pull straight off the lowest part of the tank
B) as said above reverse the pump flow direction and use a suction pipe on the extended inside towards the center of the tank with a 45 on it to get the pump suction pipe within ~1/2 in of the bottom. This will act as a siphon drain and when the pump runs will suck all the way down to the bottom of the pipe until air gets in. Add a 1/4 RO tube connection / valve to drain right before the pump. That way you are able to drain down to 1/2" of water to deal with if you need to clean out the tank or move it somewhere.
3) Depending on the flow of your external saltwater mixing pump you may want to route the return piping inside the tank to create a whirlpool so that the salt actually mixes in the entire bottom of the tank. If you have the pump suction in the center of the bottom and the water directed in a swirling fashion on the outside it will minimize dead spots and all for more even mixing without piles of salt on the tank bottom.
4) Last one I promise. I don't see any level monitoring on there you will definitely want at a minimum low level switches to cut off your pumps if your water gets too low. Pumps aren't cheap, especially external ones, so you will want to protect that investment. You can DIY a quick level switch with a relay for like $10-$15 ($25 if you want a fancy box for it) relay to kill power to the pump if the level is too low and save your pump if you don't have enough water.
 
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Ky_acc

Ky_acc

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@Chuk thank you for this I really appreciate the insight here. This is all really helpful stuff

I am taking note and will incorporate each of these, greatly appreciate your time!
 
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Ky_acc

Ky_acc

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After this discussion I’m now thinking that I should just use the same traditional design most everyone else uses (shown below) — and just be careful not to turn the wrong ball valves

C666DC55-5E31-4D41-AC6C-80E61EDF032D.jpeg
 

Terry Le

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Cool, from my experience I wish I would have add another valve to be able to get saltwater ( like what I did to get Ro/DI anytime) . Now that I have a couple nano tanks I just need a couple small buckets
 

RobB'z Reef

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I might have to put the external pump on the ground rather than on top of the 55 gal station if priming is an issue
I second this, I feel it would not work as hard as most of these pumps are not lift pumps. They are design to push water not pull it.
 

Jedi1199

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My system is far more simplified. I collect fresh water into a 32 gallon Brute can. pump it over to a 20G can that is kept at tank temp. then I pump that water into another 20g can on wheels that I mix salt into (also kept at tank temp). I keep the 2nd can because I don't have ATO for any of my tanks so I want fresh water at ready temp for top offs. Each can has its own pump so I have never had an issue with backflow. A little more hands on than what you propose, but it works for me.
 

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