gjcarew Posted March 16, 2022 Share Posted March 16, 2022 I have about 4 KH water out of the tap and I want to get that down to zero for keeping carnivorous plants and sensitive aquatic plants, so I'm looking at installing an RO system. It needs to provide water to my 75 gallon aquarium on the main floor of my house, and I usually do 50 gallon water changes per week. My wife is not going to be OK with having a huge garbage bin/drum to mix water in on the main floor where the tank is, so I need to mix it in the basement. With the situation established, my first question is about RO systems. @Mmiller2001 recommended the BRS 4 stage system in something more powerful than 75 gpd (which he has). I was looking at the specs and it looks like the waste water: clean water ratio is 3:1 for the 75 and 100 GPD systems and 1.5:1 for the 150 GPD system. Is it worth it to for for the 150 GPD system? I figure it's gotta pay off in the long run, right? Second question: I'll need to lift the water about 16 feet from the basement to the tank. Any suggestions for pumps I should use? A sump pump seems like the obvious choice, they are less than 1/3 the cost of an aquarium pump with the same lift. Any downsides to using a sump pump for this application? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted March 16, 2022 Share Posted March 16, 2022 On 3/15/2022 at 8:32 PM, gjcarew said: Any downsides to using a sump pump for this application Just imagining… would you run a cord up the pipe to toggle the sump on / off? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjcarew Posted March 16, 2022 Author Share Posted March 16, 2022 On 3/15/2022 at 5:39 PM, Fish Folk said: Just imagining… would you run a cord up the pipe to toggle the sump on / off? Nah just put it on a smart plug. Al my aquarium stuff is on smart plugs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrencher_Scott Posted March 16, 2022 Share Posted March 16, 2022 On 3/15/2022 at 5:57 PM, gjcarew said: Nah just put it on a smart plug. Al my aquarium stuff is on smart plugs I don't think I would trust a smart plug if flooding was at all possible. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mmiller2001 Posted March 16, 2022 Share Posted March 16, 2022 If your budget is okay with the 150 GPD, I would go that route. Over time, you can upgrade to be faster (more GPD) and more efficient. I think those Ebay sumps would have no problem raising water 16 feet. If I remember, mine will push straight up 25 feet. It's also oil free, and I would look for one that's also oil free Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjcarew Posted March 16, 2022 Author Share Posted March 16, 2022 On 3/15/2022 at 6:10 PM, Wrencher_Scott said: I don't think I would trust a smart plug if flooding was at all possible. All my plumbing has manual valves to stop water flow in case of emergency. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anewbie Posted March 16, 2022 Share Posted March 16, 2022 (edited) On 3/15/2022 at 7:39 PM, Fish Folk said: Just imagining… would you run a cord up the pipe to toggle the sump on / off? I'm actually going to do this and my intention is to use a well pump - so when the faucet goes on pressure drop and the well pump goes on - when i 'turn the water off' i close the valve - pressure goes up and the well pump goes off. ro -> storage tank -> well pump -> pipe -> faucet -> hose -> tank. This is the well pump i've been looking at: aquatec 5513-1e12-J256 - Also I'm looking at spectrapure which has a 1:1 ro unit. Edited March 16, 2022 by anewbie 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjcarew Posted March 16, 2022 Author Share Posted March 16, 2022 On 3/15/2022 at 9:23 PM, anewbie said: I'm actually going to do this and my intention is to use a well pump - so when the faucet goes on pressure drop and the well pump goes on - when i 'turn the water off' i close the valve - pressure goes up and the well pump goes off. ro -> storage tank -> well pump -> pipe -> faucet -> hose -> tank. This is the well pump i've been looking at: aquatec 5513-1e12-J256 - Also I'm looking at spectrapure which has a 1:1 ro unit. Yikes, that spectrapure is $800 on their website! I was hoping to go a bit more budget. I'm also probably going to run hose from the storage tank pump to the aquarium rather than hard-plumbing in a pipe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrencher_Scott Posted March 16, 2022 Share Posted March 16, 2022 On 3/15/2022 at 9:23 PM, anewbie said: I'm actually going to do this and my intention is to use a well pump - so when the faucet goes on pressure drop and the well pump goes on - when i 'turn the water off' i close the valve - pressure goes up and the well pump goes off. ro -> storage tank -> well pump -> pipe -> faucet -> hose -> tank. This is the well pump i've been looking at: aquatec 5513-1e12-J256 - Also I'm looking at spectrapure which has a 1:1 ro unit. interesting. I was curious about lift/rise on these pumps and I couldn't find anything. It does say it will prime at 11 feet though. With a diaphragm type pump I'm guessing lift to a room one story above is not an issue?? Especially since it primes at 11 feet?? I know on impeller type pumps head pressure is very important, I guess not so much on these types. Cool. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MickS77 Posted March 16, 2022 Share Posted March 16, 2022 I use a 1/2HP garden hose transfer pump hooked up to pex tubing. I ran it to a spigot under my sink that I attach a potable water hose to. I control the on/off of the pump using a remote outlet switch. The setup can be seen in the lower right of this picture. Its hooked up to a 100 gallon Norwesco tank. You could mimic this setup by attaching a bulkhead to Brute trashcan. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tolstoy21 Posted March 17, 2022 Share Posted March 17, 2022 @gjcarew I have setup exactly what you're describing and do water changes on a 125g gallon like this. Setup has been in place for years now, works very well. What you need to do is look at the head pressure specifications for various pumps. Utility sumps are very powerful and up to the task, but after running one for about a month, my water began to take on an odd fuel oil smell, so I switched to a regular aquarium pump. When you calculate head pressure, make sure to accommodate for any elbows or bends in your plumbing. A lot of reef/saltwater sites have good information on how to calculate various flow rates given the amount of T's or elbows in your plumbing. Just like you, I use a smart plug to trigger a water change from my phone and can change up to 40 gallons in a few minutes. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tolstoy21 Posted March 18, 2022 Share Posted March 18, 2022 @gjcarew You might also want to shop around for pond/waterfall pumps. These have a good deal of power and head pressure. On 3/15/2022 at 10:06 PM, Mmiller2001 said: If I remember, mine will push straight up 25 feet. It's also oil free, and I would look for one that's also oil free Yeah, this was the problem with the first sump pump I used. Not oil free and I could smell it in my water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjcarew Posted March 18, 2022 Author Share Posted March 18, 2022 On 3/17/2022 at 5:24 PM, tolstoy21 said: @gjcarew You might also want to shop around for pond/waterfall pumps. These have a good deal of power and head pressure. Yeah, this was the problem with the first sump pump I used. Not oil free and I could smell it in my water. I just bought an oi-free sump pump. It was $60 vs. $240 for the aquarium/pond versions. Hopefully I won't regret it! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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