storing RO water and/or pre-mixed saltwater

[OttawaReefer]

I've got about 15G of saltwater sitting in a tub right now and don't want to really throw it out.  Do any of you guys store the RO/DI water that you make for future use?  How about doing the same for saltwater?

What do you use to store them and how long can you keep them?

I'm thinking that since now that my tank is full that I can make some RO/DI water whenever I want and store it for tank top-offs, and I can do the same for mixing up a big batch of saltwater for PWCs.

[Vincenzo.]

how ever much space u have at ur place. And depending how big ur tank is. From 1 garbage pail to a 50g drum im sure is normal.

[Hookup]

I have 3 storage bins.  a 26 gal garbage pail from Home Depot holds my RO/DI water.  There's a float valve in there that keeps it full 100% of the time.  I have 2 50gal salt barrels.  When there is salt-water in there, I keep a lid on it to avoid any evap and a power-head in there for circulation and heat.  The second 50gal barrel is used from time-to-time for additional salt-water.

I keep water for weeks on end.  I would not say there is a shelf-life on the water, but you'll want to have a lid to keep dust or other contaminants out of the water IMO.  Setting up an Auto-Top-Off system (ATO) is a common method for dealing with evaporation and keeping salinity levels stable.

[Vincenzo.]

well then... I only use 2 x 5 gal pails. And many towels..the wife is forever doing laundry of my soaked towels. For 2 nanos its all i need. But god im messy with playing in the tank and wc's. Tho i want a ato, but i dont have the room. The spare room aka the man cave is already all my junk.

[Snider82]

i'v been thinking about getting an ro/di unit and making water to store for top offs / WC's.  i dont have much room tho.  i might be able to rig up somthign to put the unit under the sink, but i rent and cannot drill holes or anything. as for storing the water, i donno! lol  i'v got to move somewhere bigger!

[OttawaReefer]

I have a big 30G, or 33G, garbage pail that I put the RO/DI water into and then mix the salt.

Does anyone think I would run into problems if I started using old 2L pop bottles to store the water in?  Mark them for RO/DI and for salt (with salinity level).  This way I could keep a bunch in the garage and grab them as needed.

[Hookup]

I cannot see any problems.  Clean bottles of course, but I see no issues as that plastic is obv food-grade.

[johnrt]

Hookup:

On Oct 14th in this thread you said, " I have 3 storage bins.  a 26 gal garbage pail from Home Depot holds my RO/DI water.  There's a float valve in there that keeps it full 100% of the time."

Could you expand on this setup? Is it an electrical switch and an electrical solenoid to control the flow of the OR/DI water or just a toilet float valve using back pressure to stop the RO/DI system?

Thank you: John T

[Hookup]

No problems.

From the RO/DI unit, I have a float-valve... all the valve does is create back-pressure on the RO/DI supply line when the switch is in the "UP" position... the water causes the FLOAT to rise, and has the valve/switch go into the UP position.  This unit is NOT something I could design, it came with the RO/DI system.  Most, if not all, RO/DI's have a float-switch system that you can get as an add-on package....  As water evaps' from that bin, or as I use it, the float drops allowing the RO/DI to push-out more water into the barrel again.  Within 8-10 hrs it's full again.

Is that what y wanted?

[johnrt]

Yes. So its is a thing you get from the manufacturer that works. . .

I have been controlling my unit by turning on and off the supply line. I had not experimented with stopping the DI outlet line. I would have suspected that the wast line would just continue to run, but that might be what the small stainless steel box on the top of the RO/DI unit does.

Sorry for semi hijacking this tread.

John T

[OttawaReefer]

Don't worry about hijacking the thread...there is some good information exchange going on here.

[Hookup]

I'm not familar with most RO/DI's but I'd bet that the box you refer to is the pressure switch for your RO/DI designed to work with a float valve.

A quick test would be to use your finger to block the output of the "good water" and see if the waste water also shuts off due to the back-pressure.

[mikerobart]

I probably have the most ghetto ro/di / top off system ever but it works for me  .

My RO/DI unit sits in a slop sink, connected with the faucet adapter. I use a 6 gallon jug I hide away in a storage chair to store top off water. I am in an apartment so can't be hard plumbing any of this really. For auto top off a double float switch and an aqualifter pump do the job just fine for me.

Usually my 6 gal top off container will last me about 3 days. I didn't want to go too much bigger incase of a failure of the top off system where all the water was dumped into the sump... with 6 gallons thats not really an issue if it did happen.

Every few days I fill the 6 gal by running about a 20ft piece of poly tube from the RO/DI and turning on the tap.

Water changes I just fill a 5g or a big rubbermaid depending on how much water I am changing and mix up the salt in there.

There is nothing wrong with storing it imo though provided the container is appropriate.

I definitely want a solenoid system and a nice big water change system in a future tank set up. I saw one idea where a large basement water container was  actually part of the system itself, and to change water, this could be isolated from the system by closing valves... this tank was then drained, new salt water mixed in and heated, and the valve opened to make it part of the system again.

Something like that would make me more inclined to do water changes  .

[johnrt]

Hookup:

You said, "A quick test would be to use your finger to block the output of the "good water" and see if the waste water also shuts off due to the back-pressure."

Worked like a charm. the wast water shuts off after a few  seconds. Finger pressure is a bit difficult. The pressure is quite high, but I had an extra ball valve that fits 1/4" hose, so I put that on.

You were right. I did some research and there are two devices on the top of the unit. One has four hoses, and it is the back pressure switch to turn on and off the RO/DI unit. It is often used with a 1 - 3 US gal storage pressure tank for drinking water. The second, located just after the RO filter, and often has a small knob on it, provides a minimum back pressure on the wast side of the RO filter to make it work properly. If you decide to upgrade or change the brand of RO filter that you use in your unit, you must purchase the correct back-pressure unit for the new filter.

John T

[Hookup]

Fantastic!

[littlelil]

Just stumbled upon this thread.

A little off the topic of ATO's but i have found that the 15L bottle of Spring water from Costco is an excellent method of storing water. I only have a 10g (20G, with sump) so it's great to store a bottle or two of RO/DI for top offs and water changes. $3.49!!! It's like a Culligan bottle but no handle, lighter-duty, but no deposit required! And it's got a lid that snaps on!

excellent container and excellent value for storing and transporting water.. and it's food grade safe.