Please help me with new RO

[Morningbone]

I just received my new RO system and now I have other water issues. My PH of the new water is 9.0. My GH is now down to about 20 but my KH has gone up to about 240. I'm trying to get it ready for discus. I'm wanting to achieve PH 6.5 GH 20 and KH 40. Any help would be a fishsaver.

Thank you

 

[Morningbone]

ooops

I realized that there are two hoses that discharge water. One seems to be a bypass or something and the other is the ro output. It's a 50 gpd model and I didn't notice the light trickle before. I'm not a newbie when it comes to aquariums...just when it comes to RO. Never neede it until I decided to set up a tank for discus. I feel quite silly after I figured it out.

I still feel like I'm wasting alot of water through the bypass line. I think there may be a piece that recycles this water back to the beginning of the process. Seems right now 2/3 is being wasted and 1/3 is being collected for the tank. Anyone know what I'm missing here.

 

[mfdrookie516]

thats the waste water line... depending on your water quality, it can potentially have more waste water than filtered water. what is the ph before you run it through the ro and after? if its anywhere between 6 and 8, you shouldnt have a problem as long as you properly acclimate the fish to your water parameters

 

[Morningbone]

PH of the tap is close to 9 and the waste water is 9. The ro water is around 7.5.

 

[jsoong]

RO is quite wasteful of water. How it works is that it uses pressure to force SOME pure (more or less) water pass a semi-permeable membrane to get your finished water. The rest of the water is dumped out.

And you cannot reuse that waste water. When you remove the pure water from your source, the ions in the remaining water gets concentrated. <That is why the KH increases in your waste water.> The RO unit can only handle a certain concentration gradient across the membrane, so it can't push any more pure water out of the waste. <Even though the waste water isn't that concentrated.>

If it will help, you might use the waste water to water your lawn or something rather than flushing it down the drain.

 

[Morningbone]

Thank you jsoong. I'll come up with something to use the waste water on. Maybe the yard or hot tub or something. I just don't like wasting water. But the ro system is a must because of the chemistry of our tap water. I hope these future discus appreciate the lengths I'm going through to make them a comfortable home.

I dislike being a rookie at something. In time I'll be proficient with the ro system. Thanks again.

 

[thincat]

Morningbone, I have a SW setup and use lots of RO/DI water. I run the waste line into my washing machine and use that water to wash my cloths. I got lthat idea from Lisa at Fantasyreef.

 

[Morningbone]

Interesting, any other ideas would be appreciated.