Ro/Di Setup Location

[hnf2k]

could i hook this up to the water supply to my washing machine or am i a moron for asking this? only reason i ask is that it's the closest place to the tank that i could put it. i cant go in a bathroom or the kitchen, where do most of you guys have yours? i have a slop sink downstairs, but lugging gallons of water up and down the stairs could be a mess and heavy. any ideas?

 

[addicted1]

My buddy just finished installing his ro/di unit. It is probably the most impressive I've seen. He put the unit in the basement and drains the water into a 55gal. plastic drum. Once he reaches his desired amt. of rodi water he adds the salt and mixes to normal tolerances. Then comes the impressive part. He installed a pump and plumbing to the 1st floor in the wall behind his 125gal. reef. He just installed a faucet above the tank. So to add water all you do is open the faucet and it goes straight into the tank.

 

[shadow678]

In response to your question, yes, this is fine. I have my RO/DI hooked to a Y-split on my washing machine supply line, and run the output line through the wall directly to the tank for topoff in my FOWLR, or into jugs to be mixed with salt for water changes, or into a jug to be mixed with kalkwasser for my reef. The washing machine supply is the same tap water as everywhere else in your house, so the quality will be the same. Just be sure to hook it up to the cold water side, as teh extreme heat of the heated water will damage your membrane.

 

[hnf2k]

shadow do you have any pictures of your setup? or could you explain how far your tank is from the washing machine, etc? i would love to do that. but i doubt im capable or running plumbing through a wall. im only 18 and my mom would probably kill me. where does your waste water run? i wanted to have the water go into a garbage can or something. and then i was gonna buy a pump to pump water from the garbage can into the tank so i wouldnt hafta lift a single thing. would this work? but i cant figure out where to put my waste water.

 

[shadow678]

Currently, my waste water is running down the drain for the washing machine, but I am going to learn from the example of the other guys here and start using it for my yard to conserve water. Making the hole in the wall to run the product water was easy for me, as the wall in sheetrock. I simply used a power drill with a 1/4" bit to drill a small hole in the wall next to the shelf my RO/DI unit sits on, which is on the opposite side of the wall as my tank room. I then used a long, thin steel rod inserted into the hole to poke a tiny hole in the opposite side of the wall, and used the drill to open the corresponding hole to the proper size. With careful aim, you can simply push the hose through the holes and out to the other side of the wall. If you don't like the look of an empty hole in the wall when the hose is pulled out, you can either hang a picture frame over it, or put rubber grommets in the holes to give it a slightly more finished look. Or, you can go the easy route and run your product water into a new, sterile trash can and use a good, strong pump to pump it into your tank. lol Either way, always remember to keep a close eye on your water level when the unit is running. Ask me how many times I've flooded my floor by distracting myself while the RO was on. rofl