Water restrictions

280g-reefman

280g-reefman

Butterfly Fish
M.A.S.C Club Member
#1
#1
Already seeing water restrictions on the news. Any thoughts on what to do this summer to keep from getting killed on the water bill. I already have to do 100gp month minimum for evaporation and then another 70 for a water change. That takes a full day of the hose on to fiter that much. I was considering filtering a lot before the restrictions hit, do smaller changes during the summer or simply buy it. Thoughts?
 
Andrew_bram

Andrew_bram

Tiger Shark
M.A.S.C Club Member
#2
#2
Water restrictions

I would get some 50 gallon drums and stock up. Might not totally get you by but at least a head start.
 
D

djkms

Reef Shark
M.A.S.C Club Member
#6
#6
I think you are over thinking it. I simple flush of the toilet 1 time = more than your tank probably evaporates in a day. If you really want to conserve water then only flush your toilet once a day and shower once a week, just don't plan on having any guests over!
 
Dbarnes

Dbarnes

Nurse Shark
M.A.S.C Club Member
#7
#7
Water restrictions

Yep... Average toilet flush is 2.7 gal your tank likely evaps less Is a month then you wife's shower does in the morning. Last August my house consumed 20k gallons... My tank was at the high end 500 of that, prob more like 200 but still very minuscule in retrospect. If u want to save on the RO just put a bucket in your outlet and water plant/lawn patches with it, then at least it won't go to waste.
 
kmellon

kmellon

Butterfly Fish
M.A.S.C Club Member
#8
#8
As I understand it, the water restrictions are on watering your lawn. they will set certain days for each area to water lawns and you would be dinged if you water off schedule. I live in Falcon and have dealt with these restrictions in the past. It didn't really change anything as i already get charged different rates for different levels of usage. If this is simialr to your area, they won't have any thing to say to you about water production for your tanks other than what you end up paying for the water and sewer charges. I will also add that I don't have my waste connected to my drian. I save the waste water for other uses in the house. Plants, humidifier, and hot tub refil. By they way, I bumped up my BRS RO/DI from 75 to 150 gpd with the second ro membrane and a booster pump. I am getting a 1-1 ratio and to be honest, I was able to produce 100 gals in about 6 hours or so.
 
T

that0neguy1126

Registered Users
M.A.S.C Club Member
#9
#9
Douglas county does what Kmellon said as well.

Year long their is different "Tiers" of billing. The first 5000 gallons are billed at one rate. The second 10000 gallons at another rate. And then anything over that at a 3rd rate. (Just made up the numbers, not sure on the specifics).
The restriction in the summer is only to the days that you can water your lawn with an irrigation system, you can actually water your lawn any day as long as you are out there with a hose.

My tank evaps about 5 gallons a day. If you factor in RO waste (lets say you have a 1:1) thats only 10 gallons of water. Over the month that's 300 gallons. Add in water changes, 40 gallons a week, which would be 80 gallons of water used. that's another 320 gallons. So 620 gallons per month during the summer. This is small, I think my average usage in the summer is somewhere between 5000 and 8000 gallons a month.
 
280g-reefman

280g-reefman

Butterfly Fish
M.A.S.C Club Member
#10
#10
Yeah, not sure what my ratio is, will have to figure that out. I just worry about hitting the different tiers. I might need a new rodi unit cause i have a booster, 2 ro membranes and it only does 10-12gph depending on the temp, not sure at what ratio. I might have to borrow kmellons. Haha
 
280g-reefman

280g-reefman

Butterfly Fish
M.A.S.C Club Member
#11
#11
So just checked my ratio, it is about 1.3:1, much better than i thought. For some reason i thought it was like 4:1 so it was an area of concern. Not such a huge concern anymore.
 
O

opakapaka

Tang
M.A.S.C Club Member
#12
#12
Would it be safe to use the waste water from my RO to top off my koi pond?
 
Craigar

Craigar

Tiger Shark
M.A.S.C Club Member
#13
#13
Water restrictions

You could but could end up causing algae the best use for it is watering or using it in toilets
 
Walter White

Walter White

Reef Shark
M.A.S.C Club Member
#14
#14
Water restrictions

There was a thread somewhere awhile back i think maybe on R2R or RC where a guy showed a way to recycle the waste back though the input. I dont recall exactley how he did it. Ill try to find the thread.
 
kmellon

kmellon

Butterfly Fish
M.A.S.C Club Member
#15
#15
Running the waste of one ro membrane into the input of the next ro membrane and then adding their outputs together before they hit the di resin is how the BRS setup works. The problem i had was the pressure. Mine was two low to work wit both membranes which is why i added the booster pump. I guess you could add a third ro membrane, but i'm notsure about the pressue issue.
 
jahmic

jahmic

Reef Shark
M.A.S.C Club Member
#16
#16
kmellon;237137 said:
Running the waste of one ro membrane into the input of the next ro membrane and then adding their outputs together before they hit the di resin is how the BRS setup works. The problem i had was the pressure. Mine was two low to work wit both membranes which is why i added the booster pump. I guess you could add a third ro membrane, but i'm notsure about the pressue issue.
Click to expand...
I was thinking about picking up that BRS kit. Just curious...what was your pressure at before and after adding the 2nd membrane? Mine usually sits at 65psi with a single membrane on a 4-stage ro/di system. Is it common to need the booster pump with a 2nd membrane, or is that just a case-by-case thing?
 
kmellon

kmellon

Butterfly Fish
M.A.S.C Club Member
#17
#17
My pressure was in the 30's somewhere and BRS recommends 75 psi for the additional membrane to work effectively.
 
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