RO/DI waste water...

[afboundguy]

Due to the ever drasticly increasing water rates in my town (25% increase this year and 25% next year and I think one more to pay for millions and millions of repairs to the neglected water mains) I have been tossing around the idea of how I could reuse my RO/DI waste water.

I'm assuming the waste water will be essentially chlorine free and to be sure I'd let it sit out for a few days to let what little chlorine that would be left dissipate and I know that copepods and rotifers don't mind dirty water so I was planning on using that to save on water costs...

Besides using waste water to water plants outside what else do people use their RO/DI waste water for?

 

[this is me]

Really not much else to you can. If you have one of those top loading washer, you can use it but even the new top loading washer has sensors and such that you can't really just fill the drum up with water.
The cost of water is still not worth the trouble of storing it and pumping it again to use it.
I just throw the waste line onto the lawn.

 

[afboundguy]

I would only keep a few gallons if that when I'd make top off water. And my water bill went up about $20 bucks a month from $70-$80 to now $90-$100 so for me it's worth trying to use it.

 

[this is me]

That is absurd! What's the going rate for a cubic? You need to get the rate the town is charging and see if it even makes sense or if there's some other hidden charges.
We are tier rate here. Even with the highest tier, it's $7.64 per 100 cubic feet or about 8cents for 1 cubic feet(7.5 gallons). Using up 100gallons will cost me about ONE dollar. With a 2:1 RODI, that's about 30gallons of RODI.
Again, this is the highest tier rate when I use more than 10,000 cubic feet of water. I have not used more than the second tier amount. The lawn is by far the highest cost incurring on water for me than the fish tank ever will.

RESIDENTIAL QUARTERLY METERED 3-STEP WATER RATES
(all meter sizes)
1st Step 1 to 2,500 cubic feet $4.19 per 100 cubic feet
2nd Step 2,501 to 10,000 cubic feet $5.60 per 100 cubic feet
3rd Step >10,000 cubic feet $7.64 per 100 cubic feet

 

[Joker]

Due to the ever drasticly increasing water rates in my town (25% increase this year and 25% next year and I think one more to pay for millions and millions of repairs to the neglected water mains) I have been tossing around the idea of how I could reuse my RO/DI waste water.

I'm assuming the waste water will be essentially chlorine free and to be sure I'd let it sit out for a few days to let what little chlorine that would be left dissipate and I know that copepods and rotifers don't mind dirty water so I was planning on using that to save on water costs...

Besides using waste water to water plants outside what else do people use their RO/DI waste water for?

This makes me afraid to buy my first house next year

 

[afboundguy]

The town has to replace miles and miles of water mains from the 1800's they've kept pushing it off and pushing it off and they have passed along a majority of the bill to the taxpayers that use town water and sewer to make it more fair to people who are on well water...

 

[Skeeter7424]

That is absurd! What's the going rate for a cubic? You need to get the rate the town is charging and see if it even makes sense or if there's some other hidden charges.
We are tier rate here. Even with the highest tier, it's $7.64 per 100 cubic feet or about 8cents for 1 cubic feet(7.5 gallons). Using up 100gallons will cost me about ONE dollar. With a 2:1 RODI, that's about 30gallons of RODI.
Again, this is the highest tier rate when I use more than 10,000 cubic feet of water. I have not used more than the second tier amount. The lawn is by far the highest cost incurring on water for me than the fish tank ever will.

RESIDENTIAL QUARTERLY METERED 3-STEP WATER RATES
(all meter sizes)
1st Step 1 to 2,500 cubic feet $4.19 per 100 cubic feet
2nd Step 2,501 to 10,000 cubic feet $5.60 per 100 cubic feet
3rd Step >10,000 cubic feet $7.64 per 100 cubic feet

You cmay want to look into a second meter for your lawn. Don't know about your town, but most calculate sewer off of water usage too, and for the sprinkler system you can have it separated so that they dont charge you to dispose of water you're not flushing!

 

[this is me]

We're on septic...
Last house we had dual meter for that purpose.

 

[afboundguy]

You cmay want to look into a second meter for your lawn. Don't know about your town, but most calculate sewer off of water usage too, and for the sprinkler system you can have it separated so that they dont charge you to dispose of water you're not flushing!

Town has all digital/wi-fi water meters so I get a separate water and sewer bill broken down...

 

[EddieM]

If you don't have one already, I highly recommend adding a water saver kit to your RODI. Not only will it double your production, but it cuts your waste water in half. My only regret was not putting one on sooner.

Water Saver Upgrade Kit

Why does BRS recommend this? Water Saving Upgrade Kits are probably our most recommended RODI upgrade. If you have proper pressure (65+ PSI) we highly recommend installing the kit, because it will produce water twice as fast as a standard 75 GPD or 100 GPD membrane while cutting the amount of...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

 

[Chris A.]

If you don't have one already, I highly recommend adding a water saver kit to your RODI. Not only will it double your production, but it cuts your waste water in half. My only regret was not putting one on sooner.

Water Saver Upgrade Kit

Why does BRS recommend this? Water Saving Upgrade Kits are probably our most recommended RODI upgrade. If you have proper pressure (65+ PSI) we highly recommend installing the kit, because it will produce water twice as fast as a standard 75 GPD or 100 GPD membrane while cutting the amount of...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

I second this. Just be ready to get a booster pump if you already have lower water pressure.

 

[dz6t]

I would only keep a few gallons if that when I'd make top off water. And my water bill went up about $20 bucks a month from $70-$80 to now $90-$100 so for me it's worth trying to use it.

Consider the small tank you have, will it be more cost effective to use distilled water from supermarket instead of using rodi?
The cost of cartridges is a big factor too.

 

[dz6t]

Assuming you need 5 gallon of distilled water for water change and top off per week, that is 20% water volume of a 25 gallon tank, it will cost you about $20 per month. Consider there will be no tap water bill, no RODI cartridges to replace.

 

[afboundguy]

Assuming you need 5 gallon of distilled water for water change and top off per week, that is 20% water volume of a 25 gallon tank, it will cost you about $20 per month. Consider there will be no tap water bill, no RODI cartridges to replace.

Does distilled water have 0 TDS? I've never tested it or looked into it lol...

 

[BiGGiePauls33]

I second this. Just be ready to get a booster pump if you already have lower water pressure.

3rd, can't believe I waited almost 2 years.

 

[dz6t]

Distilled water should have 0 TDS, if not, there is some problem with the manufacturer.

In theory, distilled water is the purest water you can get. For $1 per gallon, it is not too bad for small tank.

You can also use costco bottled drinking water which is RO water with a bit of mineral added for taste.

 

[dz6t]

Get a water report from your town is important. For example, some towns have tap water that chew through your DI resin in two weeks. Some towns has large amount of small organic pollutants that can pass through RODI and won’t register on a TDS meter. So getting 0 TDS from RODI does not guarantee that you have good water.

 

[afboundguy]

I had my DI resin last 3 or 4 years if not longer... And I already have the 2nd membrane on my setup...

 

[Chris A.]

If this was a new construction I would say use a water reservoir to save it for toilet water. Could even hook up your washing machine to it as well.

 

[charged45]

These water rate increases will never end. Something else to consider.