RO/DI Storage and Transport question

[errattiq]

Hello all, I have a pretty interesting question regarding the way to set up my MAXCAP RO/DI from spectrapure. I purchased my first home, moved in with my wife (who I married a month prior) and 4 days later, the US Army shipped me off to Iraq for the final days of the conflict! So, I'm currently waiting out the rest of my deployment in Kuwait and am trying to plan my 180-240 gallon reef I'll set up when I return. My house is a raised ranch and I'd like to place a 55gal container with RO storage water in the garage (marked as the blue rectangle). I need to figure out a way, without hand carrying 5 gallon buckets across my house and up the stairs to where the tank will sit in my living room (marked as the yellow rectangle). The orange line is the proposed method I was thinking of, getting a powerful enough pump in my storage container that is able to push water the distance I need, 75-100 feet at the very most. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! I've never set something of this magnitude up so I'm at a loss on this one....

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e119/errattiq/rodiquestion.jpg

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

A diaphragm pump like a Reef Filler is perfect for this application. Flow is slow (various sizes up to 30 gallons per day), but the distance and height it can pump is way more than you need.

[LA-Lawman]

I used a pressure rated Iwaki and stepped down the 1" or 3/4" fitting to an R/O line and hooked it to a float switch....

I had to go about 40ft and 2 stories up.... worked great... I also had it rigged on a switch so i could manually fill.

I also had a duplicate system for water changes.

[errattiq]

awesome, I'd be using it to do water changes as well so a higher pressure system would be the way i'd go... What were you getting for flow from the iwaki?

[TheAquatard]

You also want to take into account that you need to be able to activate the pump from upstairs, you don't wanna be running up and down to turn it on and off

[errattiq]

extension cord will take care of that ^ :) got a few of those hanging around...

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

awesome, I'd be using it to do water changes as well so a higher pressure system would be the way i'd go... What were you getting for flow from the iwaki?

Wouldn't it be just as good or better to do the changes slowly on a timer?

I do 1% daily automatic water changes with a dual head reef filler pump. The changes are spread out over many 15 minute periods each day. :)

[Plato]

Spectra pure has the liter meter 3 available with a slave pump that are calibrated to one another that are set up to do automatic water changes. Up to 30 gallons a day. If you just want to do say weekly 10% changes then a blue line 55 will work. It has a 28' vertical shut off.

[errattiq]

Wouldn't it be just as good or better to do the changes slowly on a timer?

I do 1% daily automatic water changes with a dual head reef filler pump. The changes are spread out over many 15 minute periods each day. :)

I'd do this but that would mean 2 permanent lines run all the way across the bottom level of my house,up the stairs, and across my living room to my tank. The idea would be to have a line of tubing, whethere it be RO tubing or vinyl tubing, that I could coil up next to the RO/DI in my basement then unravel and bring it to my tank upstairs to complete a water change.

@Plato, I am familier with the litermeter, but that is a fairly expensive setup for what I need to do, also, according to their manual, the two calibration containers need to be mounted higher than the container they fill (ie our sump) to prevent a siphone effect. They recommend mounting on a wall behind the tank. With my new house, I'm definitely not sticking two buckets above my tank on the wall LOL. My wife would KILL ME!!! haha

[Plato]

Liter meter has check valves. To calibrat just use a measuring cup. It times how long to fill 500ml. And is only done ever 300hr of rune time.

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I'd do this but that would mean 2 permanent lines run all the way across the bottom level of my house,up the stairs, and across my living room to my tank. The idea would be to have a line of tubing, whethere it be RO tubing or vinyl tubing, that I could coil up next to the RO/DI in my basement then unravel and bring it to my tank upstairs to complete a water change.



OK, I ran such a line from the basement, through the radiator hole, and behind things over the to sump, but whatever works for you. :)

[wildman926]

First off, thank you for your service!

But please reconsider the Litermeter solution. It is a very nice, tried solution. You don't want to rig up something that will cause an accident down the road and flood your house. Since you so afraid about your wife on a bucket in your new house, wait till you have a flood from some hairbrained contraption that floods your new house.

[fishgate]

Massachusetts? I would be concerned about the water freezing in the garage, even with a heater in it. Better get a 300 watt heater just to make sure. That will impact your electric bill.

[errattiq]

I'll keep that all in mind, thanks :)