# Look what I got in the mail today!



## bmlbytes (Aug 1, 2009)

My brand new RO filter that attaches to the sink!









It is set up and running right now. I have to run it for 30 minutes to remove a biocide that they put on the RO membrane. 

The DI attachment comes next!


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## grogan (Jan 23, 2011)

Nice! How much did this run you?


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## bmlbytes (Aug 1, 2009)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/230729932077

$69.99
Free shipping to USA

EDIT: Looks like he changed the shipping price. I didn't pay shipping on this one.


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## funlad3 (Oct 9, 2010)

Dude, you got scammed! You could have gotten a 4 stage RODI for $130 shipped!

http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/store/build-your-own-ro-system.html


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## snyderguy (Feb 9, 2010)

That's awesome! I didn't know they hooked right up to the sink. Definitely will be looking into my own soon.


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## grogan (Jan 23, 2011)

Yeah but a full blown ro system is kind of intense. Considering all the things it needs, the amount of space it takes up. Plus needing to be plumed into your house. Not the best for people who rent. Good purchase


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## bmlbytes (Aug 1, 2009)

Actually funlad3, using their tool, if I ordered exactly what I got with that site, I would have paid $5 more. I also would not have gotten one that attaches to the sink faucet. I live in an apartment, so I can't mess with the plumbing. 

This model is modular as well. I can quite easily add stages to it. The DI stage is like $20. I can also add a prefilter stage for another $20. With shipping costs, that probably adds up to about $130.


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## funlad3 (Oct 9, 2010)

All right then, sweet!


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## snyderguy (Feb 9, 2010)

grogan said:


> Yeah but a full blown ro system is kind of intense. Considering all the things it needs, the amount of space it takes up. Plus needing to be plumed into your house. Not the best for people who rent. Good purchase


Agreed, I definitely need this. The cost of buying water from the LFS every week is starting to add up and would have been easier to buy an RO unit.


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## grogan (Jan 23, 2011)

Oh man hauling buckets in for water...did that, and it got old quick. I switched back to tap water real quick.


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## snyderguy (Feb 9, 2010)

Oh it is quite old. Trust me, as soon as I get money, I will be getting one of these fancy RO mechanisms.


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## bmlbytes (Aug 1, 2009)

Never mind. Misread it.

The RO system is nice. It is rated at 75 gpd, and I tested that last night. It makes almost exactly that much water. The water also tastes good. AZ water is so hard that my dishes always look like they are covered in chalk. The top of my tank gets calcium deposits on it. Having that removed from the water makes it taste so much better. 

I'm sure my fish will appreciate it.


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## snyderguy (Feb 9, 2010)

Start slowly when putting that much in. Like, I would start with less than 25% RO and the rest tap water when putting it into your tank during a water change.

Is there a water restriction in AZ?


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## bmlbytes (Aug 1, 2009)

I didn't put a full 75 gallons in. I did 25 gallons in my 100 gallon tank. However, it did make 25 gallons in almost exactly 8 hours, which is 75 gpd.

What do you mean by water restriction? I am not aware of any restriction on how much water I can use.


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## AquariumTech (Oct 12, 2010)

funlad3 said:


> Dude, you got scammed! You could have gotten a 4 stage RODI for $130 shipped!
> 
> http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/store/build-your-own-ro-system.html


Yea thats not bad.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

RO filters do make about 2:1 "waste water" which has a higher concentration of everything that isn't in the RO water. If you can find a way to use the waste water, you can keep your water bill from soaring.


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## bmlbytes (Aug 1, 2009)

This is actually a 1 part product to 4 parts waste (1:4) RO filter, which is pretty common for them. Only the really expensive ones that are listed as "water savers" offer close to 1:2 product to waste.

Fortunately, I don't pay my water based on how much I use. Instead, we pay based on how many people live in our apartment, and how much water costs (usually around $35 for 2 residents). Our apartment does not have a water meter on it, so wasting water does not cost me more money. I was considering using it for laundry though. I met a reefer one time who did that.


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## bmlbytes (Aug 1, 2009)

I also wanted to point out to everyone that the waste water is not unusable. It's only slightly higher TDS than the tap water. About 25% more in the case of my filter. 

Here is an image I drew to demonstrate this.









Assuming there is 200ppm of TDS in your water. The RO filter has a 1:4 product to waste ratio. We will split the total water into 5 parts. Each part will get 40 ppm of the total 200 ppm. When it passes through the filter, the first part becomes 0 ppm, and the other 4 parts gain 10 ppm (1/4 of the TDS from the RO water). This leaves each part of the waste water with 50 ppm, or 25% more than raw tap water.

If you took 5 parts of the waste water, that would be 250 ppm. While it is a significant increase, it is not unusable for things like your laundry.

I probably wouldn't drink it though, as you have 25% more chlorine, fluorine, lead, heavy metals, bacteria, etc in the water as well.


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## snyderguy (Feb 9, 2010)

bmlbytes said:


> What do you mean by water restriction? I am not aware of any restriction on how much water I can use.


I've heard about how some states get monthly water restrictions and was curious if AZ was one of those states.


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## snyderguy (Feb 9, 2010)

You could use the waste water for all kinds of different things.


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## AquariumTech (Oct 12, 2010)

RODI is whats up.


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