R.O. Flood. :(

[Faccia di Pesce]

I just flooded my basement due to leaving the hose on and my R.O. bucket overflowed. Ugh!! Totally forgot that I had the hose running. 80% of my basement is unfinished so not as bad as it could have been. I had to pull off my baseboards and pull up floating floor and need to replace it with tile. So I had to unhook my 40 gallon from the sump and move it. I have heaters and circulation pumps going. How long can I run it like that safely without the sump? Should I go and buy a cheap HOB filter. I am trying to get someone asap to do the floor so it might be a few days.

Thanks

 

[Garf]

I just flooded my basement due to leaving the hose on and my R.O. bucket overflowed. Ugh!! Totally forgot that I had the hose running. 80% of my basement is unfinished so not as bad as it could have been. I had to pull off my baseboards and pull up floating floor and need to replace it with tile. So I had to unhook my 40 gallon from the sump and move it. I have heaters and circulation pumps going. How long can I run it like that safely without the sump? Should I go and buy a cheap HOB filter. I am trying to get someone asap to do the floor so it might be a few days.

Thanks

Should run fine like that for as long as it takes. Welcome to the unintended puddle gang.

 

[Ron Reefman]

I have a huge RO/DI system, but it's in my garage (warm weather climate). I let mine overflow a couple of times. Not much damage as water runs out of the garage OK.

But now when I start the RO system, I set the timer on my phone in case I forget.

The top unit is my backup. The big system makes 45gph. And I store the reject water in a 180g cistern to use for doing laundry.

 

[Faccia di Pesce]

Should run fine like that for as long as it takes. Welcome to the unintended puddle gang.

LOL. Thanks. It's an honor to be an official member. . I guess I am not the only one.

 

[Garf]

LOL. Thanks. It's an honor to be an official member. . I guess I am not the only one.

You’re not a proper reefer until you’ve flooded something. You’ll just want to keep salinity down by replacing evaporation, but I’m sure you already know that. Good luck on the refurb.

 

[Faccia di Pesce]

You’re not a proper reefer until you’ve flooded something. You’ll just want to keep salinity down by replacing evaporation, but I’m sure you already know that. Good luck on the refurb.

. LOL. Thanks!

 

[Dbichler]

Once, who has only done it once? Lol I seem to do it often. My wife gets ticked but luckily I have a floor drain right next to my storage so not too big of a deal.

 

[TriggerFinger]

Your tank will be fine with heat and circulation indefinitely; a lot of people run without a sump. Keep in mind that the sump water can get pretty gross if it’s not circulated. Sorry about the flood, I forget my rodi on at least once a month. Phone alarms, float valves and leak detector kits are used by a lot of people; I apparently like mopping my basement because I have yet to add any of that stuff.

 

[piranhaman00]

Set a timer on your phone next time! I have done it and so have everyone else lol

 

[NeonRabbit221B]

ADHD kid here... Set multiple alarms on different devices... You can also get a float valve.

I think I am on #9 for leaving the RODI on.

 

[clm65]

I‘m a member of the club too. I now have a float valve on my bucket and I also use a battery operated hose timer to limit how much water can overflow in case the float valve fails.

 

[Fernthereefer]

This is what happens to everybuddy at some time. There was a poll about it a few months back lol.

The 5th time it happenned my wife said: either I shut my tank or I find a solution:

XP Aqua RO/DI Flood Guardian - Electronic Auto Shut Off Valve Kit (AKA The Marriage Saver)​

Well there you go (I did not put that AKA title myself)

 

[vetteguy53081]

It happens to all of us.
I know leave light on in laundry room as a reminder and also a post it note on tv remote

 

[MichaelReefer]

We've all done it at least once. I flooded my garage a few times. lol.

Get a float valve or something, that's what I did.

 

[Faccia di Pesce]

It's good not know I am not the only one. Thanks all. I could have been much worse, thankfully only minimal damage.

I hooked the tank back up to sump and its running well. Have a tile guy coming at 2pm to give me an estimate.

I am NEVER going to let me RO flood again! EVER. until the next time I do

 

[Scolymia88]

I'm not going to say I haven't flooded my basement after getting a wifi plug timer but it defintly reduced how often it happens. They are handy for other things and gives you the ability to set; let's say a 17 min timer and will automatically turn off after that time. You can do this from your couch or when you're not even home. Ive been using for 3 years and never had a failure.

Where I mess up is not being home and saying I better get some after going some water ready for when I get home". Get home, ohhh I forgot to put the bucket back

 

[CMMorgan]

Heck, I think I've done that three times in the last month. I set timers, then walk away and don't hear them. My next trick is going to be to plug the RO into a timer, so it shuts off after 30 minutes automatically. We'll see how that plays out.

In regards to the flooring... just my two cents on tile... (I am in construction, so take it for what it's worth.)
Fish tanks on tile place a lot of weight on a small area. If the tile is not perfectly level, you run into all sorts of issues. Likewise, the tank weight can easily crack a tile. There is a product known as an uncoupling membrane that essentially separates the tile from the actual concrete slab. It is by Schluter and called Ditra. Ditra This is a cool thing because it allows the subfloor to expand and contract seasonally, without cracking tile. It also redistributes the weight of your tank across the whole floor. There is a thicker version made by Schluter that actually lets you run heat under your tile. Soooo nice on the feet. Ditra Heat Naturally, like so many things in this business - this is the higher dollar solution.

Regardless of how the tile is laid, water can still get under if you have a flood (again). Grout is porous. Depending on the amount of water, how dense the thin set was laid, etc... you can have efflorescence or tile lifting due to water damage. If you go this route, by extra material for potential repairs and keep some grout in a sealed plastic bag.

As an alternative, there are amazing floors out there made of virgin vinyl. They are known as LPV. It is a waterproof, click lock floating floor. They are rated for installation on grade and approved for wet areas. Lifeproof (sold by The Home Depot for about $3.00 a sq ft.) has a treatment on most of the flooring called UltraFresh. It is a mildewcide that is impregnated on the top and bottom of the plank. Life proof has a PVC core, so there is not swelling or potential damage. Pretty cool stuff. Do not confuse this with Pergo or other knockoff LAMINATE floors. Luxury Plank Vinyl is making that completely obsolete.

I wish you a dry, healthy and Merry Christmas.

 

[CMMorgan]

I'm not going to say I haven't flooded my basement after getting a wifi plug timer but it defintly reduced how often it happens. They are handy for other things and gives you the ability to set; let's say a 17 min timer and will automatically turn off after that time. You can do this from your couch or when you're not even home. Ive been using for 3 years and never had a failure.

Where I mess up is not being home and saying I better get some after going some water ready for when I get home". Get home, ohhh I forgot to put the bucket back

I ordered these last week!

 

[Faccia di Pesce]

Heck, I think I've done that three times in the last month. I set timers, then walk away and don't hear them. My next trick is going to be to plug the RO into a timer, so it shuts off after 30 minutes automatically. We'll see how that plays out.

In regards to the flooring... just my two cents on tile... (I am in construction, so take it for what it's worth.)
Fish tanks on tile place a lot of weight on a small area. If the tile is not perfectly level, you run into all sorts of issues. Likewise, the tank weight can easily crack a tile. There is a product known as an uncoupling membrane that essentially separates the tile from the actual concrete slab. It is by Schluter and called Ditra. Ditra This is a cool thing because it allows the subfloor to expand and contract seasonally, without cracking tile. It also redistributes the weight of your tank across the whole floor. There is a thicker version made by Schluter that actually lets you run heat under your tile. Soooo nice on the feet. Ditra Heat Naturally, like so many things in this business - this is the higher dollar solution.

Regardless of how the tile is laid, water can still get under if you have a flood (again). Grout is porous. Depending on the amount of water, how dense the thin set was laid, etc... you can have efflorescence or tile lifting due to water damage. If you go this route, by extra material for potential repairs and keep some grout in a sealed plastic bag.

As an alternative, there are amazing floors out there made of virgin vinyl. They are known as LPV. It is a waterproof, click lock floating floor. They are rated for installation on grade and approved for wet areas. Lifeproof (sold by The Home Depot for about $3.00 a sq ft.) has a treatment on most of the flooring called UltraFresh. It is a mildewcide that is impregnated on the top and bottom of the plank. Life proof has a PVC core, so there is not swelling or potential damage. Pretty cool stuff. Do not confuse this with Pergo or other knockoff LAMINATE floors. Luxury Plank Vinyl is making that completely obsolete.

I wish you a dry, healthy and Merry Christmas.

Thank you so much! This is great info and greatly appreciate taking the time to explain.

So here is what I had on the floor, Smartcore vinly planks

https://www.lowes.com/pd/SMARTCORE-12-Piece-5-in-x-48-03-in-Canberra-Acacia-Luxury-Locking-Vinyl-Plank-Flooring/50076955

I had to pull them up as water got underneath. The planks themselves are waterproof with rubber lining but had to get the water up. Are you saying that this is better than tile? if so I should just stick with this? What do you think? I figured tile would be safer but sounds like its really not.

Thanks!!!!! Merry Christmas.

 

[CMMorgan]

Thank you so much! This is great info and greatly appreciate taking the time to explain.

So here is what I had on the floor, Smartcore vinly planks

https://www.lowes.com/pd/SMARTCORE-12-Piece-5-in-x-48-03-in-Canberra-Acacia-Luxury-Locking-Vinyl-Plank-Flooring/50076955

I had to pull them up as water got underneath. The planks themselves are waterproof with rubber lining but had to get the water up. Are you saying that this is better than tile? if so I should just stick with this? What do you think? I figured tile would be safer but sounds like its really not.

Thanks!!!!! Merry Christmas.

Great stuff. I do not know if Smart Core offers the mildewcide or not but yes, good option. I have had many clients with tanks. I have done tile and I have done vinyl. There is no perfect solution - other than doing an epoxy finish on bare concrete. Having been down the road with both, I would opt for the vinyl. Realistically, if everything is fully connected and you caulk your base molding... it should be impermeable.