Is the waste water of a RO/DI good enough

[Aqua Pro Builder]

Is the waste water of a RO/DI good enough to DIRECTLY go into a freshwater setup?

In another word, do you think the carbon will be able to absorb all the chlorine of the tap water?

 

[ZANYMASTER]

I would think so but it will still have traces of phosphates.

 

[ming]

If you replace the carbon as often as you should, and the temp difference won't shock the fish in the freshwater, Yes

 

[Aqua Pro Builder]

I would think so but it will still have traces of phosphates.

Planted Freshwater tank would not mind po4.

 

[masterswimmer]

Wingnut, run your TDS meter on the waste water. The waste water is higher in TDS than the tap water. I don't see any reason not to use it, as long as you're aware that the tap water will be better than the waste from your RO/DI.

swimmer

 

[Aqua Pro Builder]

Wingnut, run your TDS meter on the waste water. The waste water is higher in TDS than the tap water. I don't see any reason not to use it, as long as you're aware that the tap water will be better than the waste from your RO/DI.

swimmer

I realize that. Plants won't mind the TDS. However, the bacteria in the sand bed will mind chlorine so my main concern is if the carbon cartridge can absorb all the chlorine. It's funny that in some polluted area(in my own field research), vegetations are found to grow bigger and richer in color. There was an illegal farm in China where the farmer himself noticed the water coming from the sewage of a chemical factory is dangerous but the vegetables he grown are bigger(doubling in size) and richer in color than before. That particular case has eventually become the famous poisonous vegetable crisis in Hong Kong which spurred into a general fear of any vegetables from Australia and China.:shhh:

 

[wxl14]

Why would you use waste water in a freshwater tank. I think it would ruin the thank. The concentration of metals and chemicals will destroy the freshwater setup. I dont think the filters would be able to absorb all the pollutants. One of my buddies whos a chemist says " the solution to pollution is Dilution" you would be doing the opposite if you placed the waste water from the RO DI into the tank. CHeck out this website http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-04/rhf/feature/index.php
TDS reading are not that important although your tap water TDS maybe lower then waste water RO. The waste water RO can be more dagerous because the concentration of chemicals not measured by TDS. Be very careful. It would be safer to just use tap water as someone already stated.

 

[Aqua Pro Builder]

I feel that we have a responsibility to conserve water as the price of water will be going up as water will used as fuel (J/K).

Actually,I am trying to find a more green solution to the waste water. Since I have both SW and FW. IF the waste water is good enough for the PLANTED tank, then I am saving water every time I use the RO/DI. I have been using tap water for my PLANTED tank all my life and I found that tap water does not adversely affect them as long as you maintain fast growing plants. Duckweed is one such plant that are used to treat water in water treatment centers and farms. I use duckweed and one other kind VERY fast growing plant(which I lost to the cold during my recent move) to clean my FW water. When I still had that plant, all other plant grow well too. Check out the plant that's floating. I know I can use the std duckweed again but I don't want to made separate refugium to store them. They got tangled up in my DT.

 

[wxl14]

As and experiment i would use the water in a small planted tank to see how they handle the water conditions. IF all goes well then try it on larger ones. Kudos on the thinking green.

 

[Killerdrgn]

I've been using waste water on my mom's 75 and it seems to have no real adverse affects. When i filled up with tap water it used to smell like bleach, now that i'm using waste water it no longer has that problem.

 

[masterswimmer]

Wing, not sure what your living arrangements are, but if you're looking to go green (I applaud your good intentions) then you can have your waste water dump into your washing machine, use it to water household plants and gardens, dump it into your toilet tank instead of fresh water, fill your bathtub with it, fill your sink for shaving (so you can now bath in it, shave in it and $hit in it :biggrin: )

swimmer

 

[Aqua Pro Builder]

Wing, not sure what your living arrangements are, but if you're looking to go green (I applaud your good intentions) then you can have your waste water dump into your washing machine(no washing machine), use it to water household plants and gardens(when Spring is back, as used to be I used waste water for them), dump it into your toilet tank instead of fresh water(should consider this), fill your bathtub with it(you want me to practice winter swimming in the summer? I know are some kind of swimmer or instructor I used be not bad either), fill your sink for shaving (so you can now bath in it, shave in it and $hit in it :biggrin: )

swimmer

Answer in red

 

[jejton]

I agree with Jim or Russ ( always forget who is who ). As for your FW tank it depends not only on the plants but also on the fish. I've thought of doing this as well because I can't bear to see so much water wasted for my hobby especailly with LI having such bad pollution problems in the water table these days. You can always dechlorinate the water before using it ( store it in a garbage can or something with an aerator for a day ) but if your fish require softer water it wont be good for them.