How do you use your RO wastewater?

[beerfish]

I've seen a lot of threads with RO/DI questions lately, and I thought a thread existed for this somewhere, but couldn't find it, so here's a new one.

What creative ways have you come up with to use your RO/DI wastewater?

The two big ones that come up are watering plants, and laundry, but I'm sure some of you have much more interesting things that you use it for.

Let's hear it!

 

[Dre]

I use the waste water in my FOWLR although it's not recommended and fresh water fish tanks when i had them.

 

[sharkbait69]

flowers and garden. I don?t know about using it on my laundry.

 

[beerfish]

Anyone using it to take a bath after working in the tank?

 

[anthony27]

mr. ranger cat, i am also intrested in this, but I have a littel fresh water tank can I use the ro wast water on that tank

 

[armani4o3]

i run mine to a drain and call it a day

 

[Rayzor]

I have a 55 gallon freshy....coinciding my ro/di production with a w/c in the freshwater seems like a very good idea.....I'm sorry but what exactly is waste water.........
Is it water that has bypassed the filtration.......?
or is it water that has been partially filtered that is rejected or insufficient somehow......and then released?

 

[beerfish]

An RO membrane works a lot like a cell wall. (Remember high school bio?)

Basically it allows pure water through, and rejects the dissolved solids in the water. The dissolved solids need to be carried out by something, and that something is waste water.

This waste water is high in dissolved nutrients, making it ideal for plants, planted tanks, etc.

 

[Rayzor]

Thanks....i get it now....water that remains is the concentrated water leftover from filtering thru the membrane.....like the large pebbles leftover when sifting sand thru a screen....as i would tell me students....
i see how this water could be helpful to a planted freshy but could it be detrimental to a non planted one....eg....algae, hyper-nitrates......?

 

[JimmyR1rider]

I like Armani run my line to a drain and donate it back to the wonderful water system that we have here in my town. If I had flowers or a garden I may have used it on that as well- but my botany career started and ended with the use of a certain plant that I used to sample in high school.:tongue1:

 

[cali_reef]

This waste water is high in dissolved nutrients, making it ideal for plants, planted tanks, etc.

It should be referred as "higher" total dissolved nutrients. at a 1:4 rejection ratio, you are looking at a 25% increase in TDS. But I bet that water is cleaner than the water out of your tap since it has been filtered with a prefilter and a carbon block filter.

 

[beerfish]

This is true. It's all relative to the starting TDS, and assuming you prefilter, you're probably right about it being cleaner than the tap water.

 

[Rayzor]

:scratchch hmm...better i guess if we all just stick with :beer:!!!!!!!

 

[beerfish]

Booze, saltwater, and electrical equipment make for fun nights!

 

[beerfish]

FYI... The small wastewater hose is perfect for filling up water balloons.

 

[House of Laughter]

Mine goes to the local water table

House

 

[batt600]

Why not just get a 2 chamber filled with DI and tap the waste line to it .You will get 0 tds on the waste side as well, instead of wasting water use it for your tank. problem solved.

 

[Wes]

Why not just get a 2 chamber filled with DI and tap the waste line to it .You will get 0 tds on the waste side as well, instead of wasting water use it for your tank. problem solved.

If you do that you should just go DI only...because the same amount of solids would be going thru DI regardless.

ps: it's called "Reject Water" waste water is something different.

 

[Wes]

It should be referred as "higher" total dissolved nutrients. at a 1:4 rejection ratio, you are looking at a 25% increase in TDS. But I bet that water is cleaner than the water out of your tap since it has been filtered with a prefilter and a carbon block filter.

clean enough to push through the membrane a few more times. All you need is a break tank, pump, conductivity control, and a few solenoids..:spin:

 

[pweissma]

I use it to lube my drain. I barely have enough space to collect the RO/DI water for my next water change.