Questions about RO systems

[FishyD]

If you ran a booster you could buy a 200g per day unit and you'd be set. I store my water in 5 55g drums. I started out with 3 but it wasn't enough and I had to essentially run my rodi unit everyday. Now I'm looking into 2 400g storage tanks plumbed together with a valve between and autowater. I'm tired of manually changing water every couple days

My wife is pretty cooperative but she may not approve of your water storage plan. I could store in the basement but I would need another pump with good lift to move the water to the higher floors where the tanks are.

 

[Magnum Man]

this is the pump I use to go from my reservoir, to my tanks, & it will pump up multi floors... and will stall, if you put a valve on the outlet hose, it turns on & off automatically... I have mine with no valve on the hose, & just turn it off & on, via a switched extension cord

Amazon.com

 

[FishyD]

this is the pump I use to go from my reservoir, to my tanks, & it will pump up multi floors... and will stall, if you put a valve on the outlet hose, it turns on & off automatically... I have mine with no valve on the hose, & just turn it off & on, via a switched extension cord

Amazon.com

Thank you! I was hoping for something smaller, but I have messed with pumps enough to know what you posted was about what I will need. I will buy one soon but I will need to get a tank that holds a little more water. A valve sounds handy, but I'm not sure cutting off flow is going to do the pump any good.

 

[Magnum Man]

my tank is a 35 gallon translucent poly drum, so I can easy see the water level in the tank... Ideally a 55 gallon would be better, but I had to shoehorn mine through the whole house, through a 24 inch door ( 100 year old farm house ) & down a stairway to the basement... both my RO unit, barrel & pump easily fit under the basement stairs, towards the bottom part that I cant use for anything else...

 

[FishyD]

After reading description it sounds like it is supposed to turn itself on and off on demand when a faucet (or valve) is opened. Can you think of a reason why that wouldn't be a good idea?

 

[FishyD]

my tank is a 35 gallon translucent poly drum, so I can easy see the water level in the tank... Ideally a 55 gallon would be better, but I had to shoehorn mine through the whole house, through a 24 inch door ( 100 year old farm house ) & down a stairway to the basement... both my RO unit, barrel & pump easily fit under the basement stairs, towards the bottom part that I cant use for anything else...

This sounds workable for sure. My tanks on the second floor as smallish, but I could upsize one if moving RO water wasn't such a chore. Actually pressuring the line to my upstairs bathroom would make it easier too because I could just add an RO unit at the correct location that would have decent output. I am glad you mentioned this before I bought something that won't handle a 25ft lift.

 

[Magnum Man]

nope, that's what it's designed to do... I just have a stainless hook shaped piece of tube on the end of my hose, to hook on the tanks, so it doesn't blow off while filling, & I didn't incorporate a ball valve on the tank end, & I could have put one on the pump end, but I already had the switched extension cord, so it was just as easy... I'll be putting a "T" on my hose, & a couple of ball valves, when setting up my 250 gallon on the 1st floor, at that point, I'll likely put a ball valve on the fill end of that line, since it would be on a different floor from the rest of my tanks, & the switch for the cord...

 

[FishyD]

nope, that's what it's designed to do... I just have a stainless hook shaped piece of tube on the end of my hose, to hook on the tanks, so it doesn't blow off while filling, & I didn't incorporate a ball valve on the tank end, & I could have put one on the pump end, but I already had the switched extension cord, so it was just as easy... I'll be putting a "T" on my hose, & a couple of ball valves, when setting up my 250 gallon on the 1st floor, at that point, I'll likely put a ball valve on the fill end of that line, since it would be on a different floor from the rest of my tanks, & the switch for the cord...

Sounds like a lot of possibilities actually. You can't see my house of course, but even if I just had a way to move from a larger tank in the basement to a smaller tank two floors up that wouldn't look too utility, I would be all good. I would be set for the smaller tanks upstairs that don't need too much volume on WC day. A pond pump could move it the last mile with python type hose. Not dragging a garden hose through the entire house a couple times a week would make my wife less annoyed which is a helpful bonus. As I have mentioned she is tolerant, but garden hoses in the house would get old for her.

 

[Ceez]

My wife is pretty cooperative but she may not approve of your water storage plan. I could store in the basement but I would need another pump with good lift to move the water to the higher floors where the tanks are.

They have tanks that fit through doorways at 28" wide. Fairly convenient for space saving. My drums are on a walkway on the side of the house between the house and a brickwall so they can't be seen. I want those tanks asap but whole home generator has to be my first priority right now

 

[FishyD]

They have tanks that fit through doorways at 28" wide. Fairly convenient for space saving. My drums are on a walkway on the side of the house between the house and a brickwall so they can't be seen. I want those tanks asap but whole home generator has to be my first priority right now

It freezes hard here so the basement is going to be my best option for a larger tank. I don't have a need for a huge tank anyway, but that could change. I am just back to the hobby recently so we will see how bad my MTS flares up this time. For now I want to make things not a burden to maintain. I am retired and putting in some work is fine, but I would like it to be more efficient this time. Last time I had 11 tanks and about 5 tub ponds. After a few years that was less enjoyable. Anyway, excited to make some improvements. A tank, transfer pump and speed up my RO production are summer projects I need to get done.

 

[Fishfunn]

I had an RO system with DI module for years, it makes pure H2O. I mix the RO with tap water to get soft water with minerals that I use for my tanks. I have a 30 gallon storage container with an automatic shutoff so it doesn't overflow. I love it, and so do the fish and plants. The best upgrade I ever did.