R/O Water and Water Filtration

tgrover

Reefing newb
Ok, I have a question that I think is stupid. I deal with commercial R/O systems every day but I'm confused about my aquarium.

Are the water systems that are being sold as R/O recirculating systems or do the systems replace water?

If they replace I will need a wRer source and drain for the waste water.

If they recirculate I will have a much easier time as my tank is in our family room

I want to clean the water... I need to understand this first.
 
I'm not sure what you are asking -- sorry. The RO units for our aquarium just consist of several stages of filters. The water goes through it, and comes out the other end. The waste water goes out another another line. They just hook up under your kitchen sink with a line coming off of the cold water source. The line for the waste water just hooks into the drain beneath the sink.
 
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What Biff said. Water goes in one end, comes out the other all polished and cleaned

There's usually a 4 to 1 ratio of waste water to RO water. For every one gallon of RO made, four gallons ends up in the waste line down the drain.
 
There's usually a 4 to 1 ratio of waste water to RO water. For every one gallon of RO made, four gallons ends up in the waste line down the drain.

Yeah. This sucks, but is unfortunately true. You can spend more money and get a more efficient unit. There are some (expensive ones) that don't produce any waste water.
 
My unit is a 2:1 ratio of waste:clean water, 'cause it's got some sort of check valve that prevents too much waste water being made, so it slows the water flow down in order to minimize the dirty water. wasn't that expensive, either, and all the parts are replaceable by stuff you can get at the hardware store, except the membrane.

If your tank isn't anywhere near a water source, many people buy tubing used for refrigerators (you know, like for the water dispenser and ice maker) and run that to the tank. Or, have a container near the water source where clean water is stored, then just carry it with buckets (or whatever) to the tank.
 
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