r/o units > why the waste water ?

[newfishliny]

I am curious why most of the makers of r/o units donot mention anything about waste water : if they do its not spelled out.
on average , to make 1 gal of pure water it waste 4 gals down the drain . so 4 x 100 = 400 gals of waste water
thats hard to swallow .
Yes I understand the benifits for our reef tanks , but is there another method so we don't have to waste this water :
price is not an issue .
What is the reason behind the waste water or someone explain how the r/o unit works .
THERE MOST BE FILTERS OUT THERE THAT DONOT HAVE WASTE WATER BUT ACCOMPLISH THE SAME OR BETTER
THANKS - LOOKING FOR YOUR INPUT
NEW FISH
DON

 

[phil1964]

The waste water is being flushed over the RO membrane to keep it clean. (that is very expensive and needs to be kept clean). I have put about 800 gallons of water thru mine and am starting to notice less flow. I wish I would hav bought one with a RO flush. Maybe next time!

 

[krux]

if you look at the specs on a lot of units it will tell you the percentage of waste. i know for example that the new kent ro/di units produce very little waste. you might look intom changing to another unit if the waste is too expensive, or it bothers your environmental ethics (is that a term?). so no, not all units are water hogs.
HTH

 

[prater]

How much water is still usable if it is just used to flush?? Could you not run the water back through the RO unit via a collection sump?? Maybe just a couple of times then start fresh again.

 

[tangman99]

Actually, the waste to good ratio is misleading. It goes along with the water quality that you have to start with such are hardness and the same factors as what determines how many gallons you can get per day such as pressure and temperature. About the best you can hope to get is a 3 to 1 ratio. Some of these units that claim 4 to 1 may actually be wasting as much as 10 to 1. The only way to tell is to capture it and see.
If you use a storage tank, the backpressure of the bladder can cause significant waste. For a storage tank, check into getting a permeate pump. It uses no power and can eliminate up to 80% of the waste water. From my understanding, you can only use these on a system with a storage tank.

 

[broncofish]

You guys do realize that the water goes directly down the drain right. It gets recycled right back to a treatment plant. If it wasjust being polluted and thrown in some sort of holding cell then I would be worried, but it is in a closed loop system of TAP-Waste Drain-Water Treatment-Homes&farms(rinse and repeat as desired ) I am a enviromentalist, and I see know problems with RO systems.

 

[reef fool]

I run mine through my water softener first,then the r/o d/i. Less waste that way i believe. With well water, it is a necessity to use an r/o IMO

 

[seaham358]

Have u looked into Kold Sterile. No waste.. Not sure of water quality. I know several people that use it and like it. I am still tossing around both ideas. Need to decide soon. tired of paying for water and lugging the jugs around.

 

[reef fool]

Hey Seaham,
What is the concern with the waste? Weak well? or is it an enviromental thing? Just wondering.

 

[seaham358]

A little of both, we had a hard summer last year and my well was getting low, I could tell from the smell of the water. It usually does not smell due to the lack of rain I would guess that the well was stressed. I hate to waste the water.. The pump running.. It all adds up in the end. Thats why the interest in Kold Sterile, NO waste just turn it on and there is the water. I understand what Ed is talking about. Do I want to chance an algae bloom!! I don't think so at this point.

 

[stpabr]

Town Water costs me $34.00 for the first 5000 gals, then $7.50 for every 1000 after...at 28000 gals usage for three months...I'm not wasting any water...Good thing is that it's good for my tanks...no Phos..Nitrares..or silacates...just detox the cloramine..