Well water usage

[krisfal]

So what do you do if you find your CO2 is high? I just replaced my DI with the color changing stuff ~3 weeks ago, it has already changed color about 30% of the way up the cartridge. I am on a well, I will test and use the CO2 calculator tonight to see what the level is, but I am curious as to what I should do if it turns out that the CO2 is causing my DI too deplete quickly.

 

[dnjan]

So what do you do if you find your CO2 is high?

Bottle it, add a fancy name, and sell it for big bucks???

 

[krisfal]

Bottle it, add a fancy name, and sell it for big bucks???

:lol: I was thinking more along the lines of what I can do to save on the cost of DI resin, if my current resin continues changing color at the same rate it has the last couple of weeks I will need to replace it again soon!

 

[Boomer]

There is no such thing as "normal" tap water or a "normal" stream CO2 level. Tap water can vary greatly and the same for stream water. How much CO2 there is, is as I posted above, i.e., measure the Alk and pH. AlK and pH control the amount of CO2 in fresh water ie., stream, tap, RO, lake, pond, etc.. but NOT seawater. Temp does have a minor impact on CO2 if one wants to be exact but is not anything to worry about.

Chuck's Planted Aquarium CO2 Calculator with Tables
http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/art_plant_co2chart.htm

If you went out a measured the pH of a local stream and it was 7.1 pH and had Alk of 2.2 dKH the CO2 will be......


CO2 (in PPM) = 3 x KH x ^10(7-pH)

so

CO2 (in PPM) = 3 x 2.2 x ^10(7-7.1) = 5.423 ppm CO2

and the same from the calculator = 5.243 ppm CO2

 

[mmn_usn]

hmm... so now for the testing... thanks

 

[Boomer]

Krisfal

So what do you do if you find your CO2 is high?

Two things can fix this, one if you have lots of money....


1. A Liqui-Cel Membrane a unit that Cost ~$600 that removes CO2.

2 A post RO CO2 degassing tower that drives off the CO2 before it goes into the DI. Such as a cheap home-made unit like this one that does a fair job.

..........................................this water goes to the DI------->

 

[tallguy64]

Lol what i meant, sorry it was late is that my output tds is at zero before my DI canister, which i guess is good, wasnt 100% awake when i wrote that sorry =)

Ok so two more things, I noticed that when i was looking at new ro fillters they sell flow reducers, are thoose supposed to be located on the brine output or am i miss understanding what they are ment for? Because from what i can tell i have no reducer or anything on my current setup, wich puts my running psi way down... which probably isnt helping at all. Second any recomendations for a good booster pump?

 

[tallguy64]

Just a question about CO2 in the water, so that plan that you posted that is basicly ment to replace the co2 by infuseing it with out side air?

 

[Boomer]

There are different types of restrictors for RO units. All RO's have some type of restrictor to apply pressure to the membrane, whether you see it or not. For example, restricting flow to the drain gives proper pressure to the RO membrane.

Booster pump as far as name brands go, Aquatec or Shurflo. I would go here, call and ask

http://thefilterguys.biz/booster_pumps.htm

basicly ment to replace the co2 by infuseing it with out side air?

Yes, but I would upgrade the simple design above with 2 air stones that produce very fine bubbles and a good linear air pump. You want the water 'boiling" inside. And if one has high indoor room air it will not be all that efficient. The only real means is a Liqui-Cel Membrane.

 

[krisfal]

Thanks for the response Boomer. I did not get around to testing my Alk on my ro water and using the calculator last night, but I will definitely be checking it out. I appreciate the information you provided and may be looking into building one of those de-gassing towers possibly.

Thanks again!

 

[tallguy64]

Yes Thankyou for th great info.