Swingline77
Active Member
I have an iSpring 7 stage RO filter that is really meant more for drinking water than reef tanks, but it will do the trick. What I'm planning to do is mount it a few feet away from the water tank, a few feet off the ground. I bought an adapter so that I can hook it to the water tank, which is supplied with water from a well. The tank is somewhat pressurized, but I don't know by how much.
Beyond this, I'm planning to have a "concentrate" line running from the RO filter to outside. This "waste" line will be about 30 ft. The purified water will be run to one of two barrels next to the aquarium. One will be for freshwater, the other for salt.
I'd guess that the "concentrate" will flow easily enough from the RO filter to the end of the connected tubing. This tubing will run flat for most of its length, and downhill for a little ways as well. The aquarium is a 90 gal cold water tank. This will mean that I will have less issues with evaporation than I would with a warmer tank, but I don't know what my evaporation losses will be. Here's where things get tricky. The distance from the RO filter to the holding tanks next to the aquarium is about 30 ft (as a rough guess) horizontally. The line from the RO filter then has to travel upwards to the top of the tanks. Do you think that there will be enough pressure in the system to transport water this distance horizontally, then vertically? (I don't yet know what this distance will be, and it's dependent upon whether I get a 5, 10, or 15 gal bucket to hold the salt.) If not, would adding a booster pump solve the issue? At this point, I don't want to add a booster pump. I have no problem calculating how long it will take for the RO filter to produce a given amount of water, then checking on its progress after sufficient time has passed.
The other issue is how exactly to set up the fresh and salt tanks. From the standpoint of used space, the smaller the tanks the better. From the standpoint of convenience in not having to refill the tanks constantly, the larger the tanks the better. Additionally, I don't know how long RO water or saltwater can sit around. At some point, I'd assume plasticizers from the holding containers would dissolve into it. Is this an issue, or can it sit for months?
If 80F degree tanks lose 1-2 gallons per day in evaporation, I'd guess I'd lose half this, but I don't know. I'm thinking of getting a 5 gal bucket for freshwater and either a 10 or a 15 for salt. Does this seem reasonable? If not, what should I get? Should I get a larger freshwater bucket? I plan to change out 7 gal of salt water per week.
Thanks
Beyond this, I'm planning to have a "concentrate" line running from the RO filter to outside. This "waste" line will be about 30 ft. The purified water will be run to one of two barrels next to the aquarium. One will be for freshwater, the other for salt.
I'd guess that the "concentrate" will flow easily enough from the RO filter to the end of the connected tubing. This tubing will run flat for most of its length, and downhill for a little ways as well. The aquarium is a 90 gal cold water tank. This will mean that I will have less issues with evaporation than I would with a warmer tank, but I don't know what my evaporation losses will be. Here's where things get tricky. The distance from the RO filter to the holding tanks next to the aquarium is about 30 ft (as a rough guess) horizontally. The line from the RO filter then has to travel upwards to the top of the tanks. Do you think that there will be enough pressure in the system to transport water this distance horizontally, then vertically? (I don't yet know what this distance will be, and it's dependent upon whether I get a 5, 10, or 15 gal bucket to hold the salt.) If not, would adding a booster pump solve the issue? At this point, I don't want to add a booster pump. I have no problem calculating how long it will take for the RO filter to produce a given amount of water, then checking on its progress after sufficient time has passed.
The other issue is how exactly to set up the fresh and salt tanks. From the standpoint of used space, the smaller the tanks the better. From the standpoint of convenience in not having to refill the tanks constantly, the larger the tanks the better. Additionally, I don't know how long RO water or saltwater can sit around. At some point, I'd assume plasticizers from the holding containers would dissolve into it. Is this an issue, or can it sit for months?
If 80F degree tanks lose 1-2 gallons per day in evaporation, I'd guess I'd lose half this, but I don't know. I'm thinking of getting a 5 gal bucket for freshwater and either a 10 or a 15 for salt. Does this seem reasonable? If not, what should I get? Should I get a larger freshwater bucket? I plan to change out 7 gal of salt water per week.
Thanks
