RO/DI Water and water bill

sal t. nutz

sal t. nutz

Member
I am getting ready to fill my new 300 gallon tank, and I want to use my RO system to do it. What I am worried about is the fact that it takes 3 gallons of water to make 1 gallon of RO water. SO when I leave this thing running for the 6 days that it will take to fill it up, it's going to use 900 gallons of water minimum. Any ideas what that will do to a water bill? Has anyone ever faced this in filling a large tank?
 
shadow678

shadow678

Member
When I filled my 200-gal tank, it made my water bill go up only about $15. I use a 100-gpd Aquatic Reef Systems Oceanus 4-stage RO/DI unit, so it took me 2 days to fill it. The difference in water bill was not enough to be too noticeable.
 
broomer5

broomer5

Active Member
"Toilet flushing accounts for 45% of indoor water use, or approximately 32,000 gallons per year for a family of four using 5-7 gallons-per-flush toilets. That's $56 a year per toilet based on the average cost of water ($1.76 per 1,000 gallons), for those still using inefficient toilets."
I flush and I use RO/DI water for my tanks.
I'm with Ed, and don't consider either to be an problem in my household.
My wife and I also water flowers & houseplants, bathe and shower each day, cook, clean, make coffee, wash cars, do laundry, water the lawn and occasionally will give the stinky dog a bath now and then :rolleyes:
Water is cheap - controlling nuisance algae is no fun. Compared to the investment in equipment, time and money involved with this hobby - the additional cost of good quality water is a non issue for me too.
 
wamp

wamp

Active Member
I know this is not hte best thing.... When I filled my 180, I used both waste and RO water from the unit. It goes through the carbon and sediment filter. You still get less contimanits. If I were doing a FO tank, Thats what I would do. But a reef, would be all RO... Not the bast thing but............................
 
wamp

wamp

Active Member
Anthem,
I know... I used a new membrane when I filled it. I did not mind the contaminets that much... I had no choice but to do it that way. Had to fill it in a hurry..
Like I said, I don't recomend it. But I did it.. It was still better than tap water.
 
wamp

wamp

Active Member
Nolo,
Lowes has them.
Also, Get yourself a flush kit. THEY, not me, say the make the membranes last longer. I have one. Could not tell you if it's any better now or not.
 
wamp

wamp

Active Member
It's an adapter on your waste water outlet that bypasses he restricter inside the tube. It flushes water cross the membrane and rinses the scum off the top of the RO membrane supposedly increasing it's life.
 
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