WELL WATER AND COPPER PIPES AND WATER SOFTENER

[EASTERN INDIGO]

I just bought a house with no municipal water, only a well and water softener. The house has 39 yr old copper pipes. I have over 1300 gallons of water total between reef and FOWLR, so buying distilled water is not an option.

Will my RODI system make this water safe?

Thanks in advance.

 

[polyppal]

Yeah if it’s got enough stages. All ROs aren’t the same you’ll prob need more stages if your using something basic

 

[MERKEY]

Sending of a water analysis through culligan or any water company in your area will get you a good idea of what kind of ro and di you will need.

Depending on what kind of metals and other organics are in your water they will deplete you ro and di differently.

But yes a rodi unit will remove what you don't want.


With just a Softener first and then the rodi depending on how high the metal levels and other organics are, you could be going through di like crazy.

 

[sumtingbig]

I am on well water and no softener. Have the BRS RODI unit. Everything is fine. I get 5 gallons of DI and 15 gallons waste. Do laundry, mop floors and water plants with waste.

 

[131696]

Every house has copper pipes same copper has 40 years ago. All water comes goes through copper or galvanized, all plex houses have copper fittings also.

 

[Dburr1014]

The smartest choice you'll make today might be to buy a water softening system. There will be more advantages than you might anticipate. You should check out some of the top products that AFWFilters has to offer. Take into consideration this entire set of a water softener. It comes with a fiberglass resin tank and high-capacity resin. A safety float Noryl plastic bypass and a metered regulated valve are components of the brine tank. The presence of the float is advantageous because it prevents overfilling and cooperates with the overflow drain to stop any further water sludge.

OP has a water system currently.

I just bought a house with no municipal water, only a well and water softener. The house has 39 yr old copper pipes. I have over 1300 gallons of water total between reef and FOWLR, so buying distilled water is not an option.

Will my RODI system make this water safe?

Thanks in advance.

No worries about copper pipes.
They won't "pickup" copper as you run water. But rodi may so don't store water in a copper drum.
As for the softener, they add salts and the rodi will take it back out. Your membrane may be depleted faster.
Your discharge from the softener should not be going into a septic system if you also have that at the new house. Salt and cement do not play nicely. As code in some states have been seperating them.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

No worries about copper pipes.
They won't "pickup" copper as you run water. But rodi may so don't store water in a copper drum.

What do you mean by that? Copper is most homes does come from their own pipes. That’s why municipal water companies must test for copper and lead in water from taps in homes.

 

[Dburr1014]

What do you mean by that? Copper is most homes does come from their own pipes. That’s why municipal water companies must test for copper and lead in water from taps in homes.

Well, I guess it wouldn't be enough that the rodi unit wouldn't be able to handle.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Well, I guess it wouldn't be enough that the rodi unit wouldn't be able to handle.

That is certainly true. An RO/DI will remove any problematic levels of copper.

 

[Enderg60]

Copper pipes, everyone has them, it wont make a difference in filtration.

Well water can be hit or miss. A TDS meter would help figure out how bad it is. I would get a 5 micron carbon filter just to serve the house off a well, so an extra stage or two of micron filters would probably take care of extra sediment. Youll spend more on filters, but it will still be cheaper and easier than buying water.

A water softener is a whole other beast. Its literally salting your water. You do not want softened water to go through a RO unit. Just make sure the RO tap is BEFORE the water softener.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Copper pipes, everyone has them, it wont make a difference in filtration.

Well water can be hit or miss. A TDS meter would help figure out how bad it is. I would get a 5 micron carbon filter just to serve the house off a well, so an extra stage or two of micron filters would probably take care of extra sediment. Youll spend more on filters, but it will still be cheaper and easier than buying water.

A water softener is a whole other beast. Its literally salting your water. You do not want softened water to go through a RO unit. Just make sure the RO tap is BEFORE the water softener.

Many people in newer homes do not have copper, and if they do not, then one may be able to use the water company data to know if the water is pure enough.

As to the RO, most experts recommend the softener before an RO/DI if there is hard water because the softener swaps out ions such as calcium and magnesium for ions such as sodium that do not have as much chance of clogging the RO membrane by calcium carbonate precipitation.

A water softener doesn't substantially increase the total ion charge present, just changes them from calcium and magnesium to sodium.

IMO, there's a minor issue that it may make the Di deplete faster because sodium is harder to remove by RO then calcium, so more of it gets to the DI.

 

[KStatefan]

A water softener is a whole other beast. Its literally salting your water. You do not want softened water to go through a RO unit. Just make sure the RO tap is BEFORE the water softener.

A RO membrane is much more effective removing sodium then it is magnesium or calcium. If you have hard water and a softener use soft water for your RO system.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Reverse Osmosis Rejection Percentages – Pure Water Products, LLC

Typical rejection percentages of various contaminants for a standard thin-film composite reverse osmosis membrane.

www.purewaterproducts.com

Calcium

96-98%

Sodium

92-98%

Magnesium

96-98%

 

[Enderg60]

While I would never argue anything with the almighty RHF, as a plumbing engineer even with all plastic piping in a house the feed line from the meter is copper. And the piping from the plant where the water is tested to your house is a huge question mark.

I have seen TDS numbers at a house 10x greater than what was quoted by the municipality.

Just food for thought, otherwise what RHF says is gold.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

While I would never argue anything with the almighty RHF, as a plumbing engineer even with all plastic piping in a house the feed line from the meter is copper. And the piping from the plant where the water is tested to your house is a huge question mark.

I have seen TDS numbers at a house 10x greater than what was quoted by the municipality.

Just food for thought, otherwise what RHF says is gold.

That may often be true.

 

[ChampionLighting]

While I would never argue anything with the almighty RHF, as a plumbing engineer even with all plastic piping in a house the feed line from the meter is copper. And the piping from the plant where the water is tested to your house is a huge question mark.

I have seen TDS numbers at a house 10x greater than what was quoted by the municipality.

Just food for thought, otherwise what RHF says is gold.

That is true! I had a customer on the same municipal water supply that I'm on, except he was on the outskirts of town and at the end of the water main. I had to set him up with 4x20" sediment cartridge before the RO/DI due of the amount of iron and sediment that was in his water.

 

[131696]

You can get a yearly report of towns well water yes that's what they used they drill a well, you can get that report from water companies before they treat it. Or bring your well water to a pool service place and they can put it on there machine For free. Or send your well water sample to ATI analysis and get online see how bad it is. Some places are great Don't have to do anything just add salt,there's a main coral company in Florida has a saltwater well that's what they use how lucky they are ,never having to buy salt ever they save so much money that way.