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Unread 11/23/2017, 04:15 PM   #1
Mikepl84
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Rain water throught RODI

quick i have a well that collects rainwater , i was was wondering if i rig up a setup that would pump rain water through my RODI 6 stage 150 GPD Dual system would it make the water reef safe ?

just wondering


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Unread 11/23/2017, 04:19 PM   #2
outy
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Yes it should, but I would check the TDS. It may be very high and just deplete filters and resin way to fast.


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Unread 11/23/2017, 11:49 PM   #3
WVfishguy
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For some reason, there is a tendency to vilify rain water. I think people sometimes forget that all the water we use originally fell from the sky.

Tap water has chemicals added to it specifically to make the rain water neutral / alkaline, simply to prevent erosion of water pipes.

That why people in Flint, MI got lead poisoning: The tap water was not treated properly, and came through while still soft and acid - essentially rain water - and began dissolving lead corrosion in old pipes. Armchair chemists will tell you lead is insoluble in water, but lead pipes have been poisoning people since ancient Rome; it's a possible explanation of the Fall of the Empire.

Anyway - there is a fraction of the dissolved solids in rain water compared to tap water. I have been using filtered rainwater since I was in my teens. I'm 61 now.

I pump rain water to 55-gallon plastic barrels, filter the water through diatomaceous powder and carbon (Magnum filter) and use it for discus, native fishes, cardinal/neon tetras, certain cichlids, etc. (This soft acid water will kill plants without the addition of a calcium/magnesium/bicarbonate.) I also use in FOWLER marine aquariums - have done so for years.

I should add that one time - ONE rain event over 40 years - the rain water was polluted by the factory across the river from where we live. The collection barrel smelled bad, so I dumped it. But that is very, very rare, and I live in an industrial valley.

If you have a cistern well and the ground rock is limestone, then it may have a lot of TDS. But a regular cistern well is simply a storage area for rain water. Test the TDS with a meter - I'll bet its a lot lower than your tap water- if you even have tap water! A lot of folks in West Virginia still use wells!

If you run regular, soft rain water through a RODI, the filters and resin should last much, much longer than if you used tap water. You will need to use a particulate filter on collected water prior to sending it to your RO unit - there is a lot of dust in rain water. I'll wager your cistern water already runs through a filter.


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Unread 03/05/2018, 02:21 AM   #4
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Using rain water for aqurium

Hello,
I live in n.s.w. australia, we only have rain water available on our property. We have a good filtration system on the rain water including uv light filter for out drinking water. For my aqurium water, i run it througb another 4 stage ro di filter into 2 barrels. The water test no phosphates or anything nasty and very low kh, after good quality salt everything tests fine.
I have a hydor skimmer which i am going to upgrade, carbon and phosban reactors in 1 sump and another 100LT tank with deep sand bed and live rock where algae grows.

My question i need help with, i have quite a bit of diatoms in display tank and can not get rid of it . . Silicas? How do i test if so? I scrub and remove, continues small water changes, full clean large water changes. . Including removing all rock and scurribing in seperate tank using the same tank water. I have corals but they just not thrive like i hope!

I have to be doing something wrong, i just dont know what to look at or change! Any help or ideas will help. I figure that after a massive clean and water change and still get algae, its in my water source.

Thank you and sorry for the long post.

Also, i have 2 new hydor 26 hd lights that are 1 month old. My tank is 4ft long, 2 foor wide and 3foot deep. Water goes quite high as i use a overflow box system not a bulk head.


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Unread 03/05/2018, 05:47 AM   #5
mcgyvr
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new to this,
How old is the tank?
Diatoms are very normal in the first few months of a new tank and will stop..
It might also help to post pictures as it may not be diatoms..

If you are using a full RO/DI system (you do have the DI stage right?) then you are likely fine but there are silicate test kits..
https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/salif...-test-kit.html


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Unread 03/05/2018, 07:25 AM   #6
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Gday mcgyvvr,
Photo is a good idea, i will do that shortly and upload.
The display tank is 2 years old, but rock and sand was from my previous tank and established for a few years. The sump tank is 1.5 years old and added few pieces of new rock to display and sujmp. Refuge is 1 year old, with 2 bags of fine sand and rock combined with macro algae and green algae. . The macro does not really grow but the green algae does.

All good questions mcgyyvr, i do have a full ro di unit. . However its not the top of line and have veen thinking how good is the quality. Also how many hours/litres before filter changes? Might upgrade and try a silica test kit and see where i stand.
I know it is hard to tell, but is is possible of phosphates leaching from early rock? How long do you peoples keep rock or how often do you swap out?
Thank you


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Unread 03/05/2018, 11:38 AM   #7
Kevin Guthrie
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Not that rain water won't work well, but if your rainwater collects somewhere (your roof?) then the rain washes the dust etc from there into your cistern. There is nothing particularly safe about the stuff on your roof; it contains airborne contaminates including lead from power plants and herbicides, bird and bug poop, and decomposed petrochemicals from the shingles. OTOH it will be soft and the RO/DI should clean it up just fine.


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Unread 03/05/2018, 08:25 PM   #8
skimjim
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I guess my big question is.....why go thru all this trouble?
Google "rain water alkalinity" and you'll find rain water in North America is VERY acidic
I would imagine you'd have trouble getting your tank to 8.0 PH without buying additives

If rain water was that good of a water source...trust me.... Huge corporations like Coke and Pepsi woukd be selling "filtered bottled rain water" at $3 a bottle for profit. Thwy DONT bc the water is toooo acidic.

Your water company works hard at removing harsh chemicals AND getting the PH to a neutral 7.5.
Yeah yeah yeah they add chemicals like chlorine but its still a better source of water than natural rain water.

RODI systems rejects 4gals of water to produce 1gal of RODI.

So to get 50gals of RODI you'll be rejecting 200gals of rainwater. Plus i would imagine rainwater would use up the filters and DI resin at a higher rate bc of allnthe pollutants from cars to factory bad air (acid rain).


Again....why?.....unless thats your only water source.

I'd put my time and energy into using rain water to water my lawn during the summer tjru a DIY irrigation project



Last edited by skimjim; 03/05/2018 at 08:48 PM.
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Unread 03/06/2018, 03:39 AM   #9
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Where i live in Australia rain water is our only source of water. I use a recirculation set up with my ro di system. clean water goes in one barrel with a overflow to a second barrel. The over flow barrel i mix salt in and the other stays clean for top up water,the waste water goes into another barrel with a float switch. Once filled, the float switch activates a pump that pushes the water back into one of our water tanks. Then filtered again before we drink it.Therefor Zero waste.

I have also our rain water and also waste wate tested, both are fine for human consumption. We dont live in a heavly populated area or pollution rich area, the authorities have deemed our rainwater fine.

I agree it is a hassel, however.
Since i can not find, time lines or water quantities before filters should be changed on the ro di unit, i will change them all and see where i stand after that.


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