waste water usage

[fugupuff]

Hello all,

I'm wondering if the waste water from the r/o DI unit can be used for anything. the ratio is one gallon of good water and 5 gallons of waste water under normal pressure and temperature. so that means I'd be wasting hundreds of gallons of water weekly.

What is the composition of this water and could it be reclaimed or used for something? even the lawn? Maybe JPTC can answer this?

Wes

[ludnix]

You could definitely water your lawn with it. It has a higher TDS than your normal water and I wouldn't drink it, but I've heard of people using it for laundry, watering plants, etc.

[SeanT]

I have my RODI water coming into the unit where my washer and dryer are (a simple WYE from Home Depot) I run the waste water into the washing machine.

When it gets full I run a load of laundry.

Sean

[fugupuff]

but the extra hard water, for laundry, does it make it feel weired, or smell funny at all? and plus, my laundry room is far upstairs, i don't want to run a water line all the way up, my wife will be ****ed.

and for water the lawn, would the extra added, "salts" kill the lawn? what chemical composition is in the effluent water?

[BeanAnimal]

the effluent is the same stuff you drink, just a bit more concentrated. It would not hurt you to drink it either. It will not hurt your lawn or your laundry.

[kcress]

Mine is no where near as high a TDS as my tap water! This 'waste water' has been run thru filters and a 5 micron carbon block! It should certainly have a lower TDS than your tap water even if it is subsequently slightly richened by the RO.

There are RO systems that pump the waste water back into your house water. Usually the water heater. They do require electricity for the return pump process.

[mflamb]

I water my rose garden and top off my pool with it. The valves control where it goes.
http://i126.photobucket.com/albums/p117/mflamb/DSC00197.jpg

[fugupuff]

so maybe i'm not understanding this correctly, the waste water coming out of the r/o unit has a lower tds than tap water, but what's in it?

can you use it for a fish only tank? does it have nitrates or the sodium is too high or any of the elements ?

[jdieck]

the great majority of the TDS in tap water is calcium, magnesium and carbonates, waste water is concentrated only about 25% so if you have TDS of 300 the waste will be 375 which for most uses makes no difference and as mentioned above the waste water has been aready filtered from sediment, odor, volatile organics and chlorine so it is good even for drinking. I would not use it on a marine aquarium but will be OK for fresh water one.

[sharkmanstudio]

use it for anything plants, dishes, toilet. you just have to collect it and strore it

[Aerowen]

when i get my system i will use it to do WC on my fresh water tanks

[fugupuff]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12619069#post12619069 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jdieck
the great majority of the TDS in tap water is calcium, magnesium and carbonates, waste water is concentrated only about 25% so if you have TDS of 300 the waste will be 375 which for most uses makes no difference and as mentioned above the waste water has been aready filtered from sediment, odor, volatile organics and chlorine so it is good even for drinking. I would not use it on a marine aquarium but will be OK for fresh water one.

is this pretty acurate information? do you feel comfortable running that directly into a tank of freshwater fish?

thanks for the info. !

[jdieck]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12619634#post12619634 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by fugupuff
is this pretty acurate information? do you feel comfortable running that directly into a tank of freshwater fish?

thanks for the info. !
Yes although I would not use it on species that require acidic or soft water like discus fish.

[8BALL_99]

Mine runs outside to a storage container.. I use the water for our animals and dump the rest in the garden. If I'm feeling froggy I carry buckets of it to our koi pond for topoff.. I agree with the above.. The water has already went through several filters. So its as good if not better then tap water for most uses.. We dont drink Tap water though lol.. Thats one of the reason we have RO unit!.

[h2joe]

no when your using the waste for a pond with koi do you have to worry about any chlorine that could potentially hurt your fish or has it already been removed by a filter? not trying to hijack, just wondering

Mark

[BeanAnimal]

The chlorine is removed by the pre-filter (carbon block).

Bean

[8BALL_99]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12621465#post12621465 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by BeanAnimal
The chlorine is removed by the pre-filter (carbon block).

Bean

Yep. Like bean said. The water has already went through Prefilters including a micron filter and carbon block. But really for a pond chlorine isn't a big deal inless its a small pond or your adding alot at one time..