My First Mistake...

... O.K., maybe my second. I think the first mistake was buying a used bow front with no built in overflow- a mistake I can probably still correct since I haven't finished making water yet.

So my RO/DI filter system showed up yesterday and in all my excitement I plugged it all together and started filling my brand new, un-rinsed 44 gallon Brute garbage can.

Did I just waste 40 or so gallons of RO/DI water- not to mention all of the waste water it produced by not rinsing the garbage can out? My tap water tested at 170 ppm and the filtered water tests at 000 ppm. Some charcoal sediment came out of the drinking water tank when I first ran the water but the DI water is crystal clear. Is there something else that could get into the DI water as a result of my not rinsing the container first?

 

I would waste it. I would worry about some residue that could cause problems. Just me, and I am not that picky.

 

Could be residue from the Brute and if you did not run the ro/di for about a half hour you could have residue from the unit itself including chemicals to keep the membrane clean. Definitely dump it.

 

I would get rid of the RO water in your trash can, rinse out the sediment, and refill it. New RO units require you to flush the charcoal out before you begin filling your reservoir. 40 gallons of RO may seem like a waste, but it is not worth the possible effects of using it. Just what I would do.

 

I agree! Dump it. It's not that much water anyway. Those membranes will go long ways.
Save about 1 gallon of it, and mix it with vinegar, then wipe the whole trashcan inside with a rag and the RO/vinegar solution. This will help clean residue from inside.

Also, I would absolutely recommend buying a corner overflow and drilling your tank if possible. I have overflow boxes, but they're bulky and if I had known, I would have drilled my tank before hand.
So do it now, and you won't regret it later.

There are a bunch of threads about how to build your won overflow, but check glass holes dot com for the complete kits.

Good luck!!

 

You had to run the new unit to flush it anyway, so no biggie.

Once you clean the can and fill the tank, put some more water in the RO/DI bin and test for phosphates – wait a couple days and test it again. This way you are certain the container you have chosen for your RO/DI does not leech phosphates. Some plastics do and its better to find out now proactively vs. reactively down the road.

For the record, you should have named your thread “my first of many mistakes” – oh how we love this hobby !

 

Thanks for the advice. I'll be dumping and cleaning as soon as I get home from work this evening.

Unfortunately the tank is tempered so I can't drill but I am looking at a 120g with built in overflow that I think I can afford now. That 90 was a CL impulse buy before I had done much reading. So now I'm stuck with a tank, a stand and a brand new $100 overflow I probably won't ever use. Yeah I'm definitely going to hold off until I can get a reef ready tank.

 

I impulsed bought my tank too. No overflow and no room for sump if I drilled. Boy do I regret it. I would buy a new one, but my trees don't produce money. So as Dave Ramsey says, "you just paid stupid tax." Good luck upgrade if you can!

 

I know how you feel. That's what I plan to do even though it's going to delay things a bit.

 

Unfortunately many if not most RO and RO/DI vendors do not tell you the proper flushing sequence for best filter life and performance.
Start out by removing the carbon filter(s) from their housings and disconnecting the line leading from the carbon up to the RO membrane at the membrane housing end then stick this line in a sink or bucket.
Flush 5 or 10 gallons of water through the prefilter to remove any glues and binders as well as antimocrobial treatments used in the filter manufacturing process.
Next install the carbon block, only the first one if it has two and do another flush through what is now the prefilter and carbon block. This removes the carbon dust and fines so they do not contaminate the RO membrane. repeat this process if you have two carbons.
Next, hook the line back to the RO membrane housing and now disconnect the line leading from the membrane housing to the DI filter at the DI end or just remove the DI cartridge if it as a standard 10" vertical DI. Now run 3 to 5 gallons through the RO membrane, this will take 1 to 2 hours but do not eliminate this step as it is important. This removes the antimicrobials from the membrane which are put on them to preserve the fabric. After 3 to 5 gallons your TDS meter should have reached its lowest point at somewhere around 2% of the incoming tap water TDS.
It is now safe to reconnect or reinstall the DI cartridge and do a final rinse up on the resins which usually takes about 1 gallon to reach a 0 TDS.

Now you are ready to make water.

For the trash can you should do a vinegar bath and possibly a bleahc rinse to remove the plastic mold release oils and chemicals used in the moulding process.

The initial flushing technique should be used every 6 months when you swap out the prefilter and carbon and you disinfect the system as recommended by the vendor or manufacturer, another thing many neglect to tell you about.