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How do you set up an RO or RODI System?
In a nutshell, you supply water to an RO or RO/DI system
through the cold water supply using either a self piercing saddle
valve or a hose bib adapter. The system will create RO water
which should be perfect for clean aquarium water. The unit will
also put off approximately 4 times the amount of waste water,
so for every one gallon of RO water produced, it will make 4
gallons of waste water. The waste water will come out through
a Black line attached to the system. The Black waste line can
be dumped into the undersink drain using a saddle clamp or the
black line can be sitting in the sink or can be placed just about
anywhere you can put water.
How does an RO or RODI System work?
They work by passing water under pressure through a semi permeable
membrane or thin plastic film. The pure water molecules pass
through and the wastes stay behind being flushed away to the
drain. After RO System the water is 90-98% pure, depending on
the size and type of system.
Want even purer water?
Then pass it through a DI unit (hence the name RODI) which attracts
anything that is left in the water, so you have ultra pure water.
So Let's begin the installation!
1. Your System has Color Coded Lines:
The red tube is the line
that supplies water to the RO unit, called the supply line.
The black tube is the drain line for waste water. Simply
place this tube in a sink or down a drain and allow the water
to flow freely.
The blue tube is your
good RO water minus the contaminents. Great for drinking, aquariums,
and ????
2. The RED Supply Feed
Feed water can be obtained from a kitchen (under the sink), a
restroom, a faucet, or from a regular feed pipe available out
of the wall or outside the building. First, locate the water
shut-off valve for the cold water feed line you choose to use
for the supply. Accidentally hooking up the system to the hot
supply line will permanently damage the membrane of the ro system.
To assure you are unsing the cold water line, turn on both, the
hot and cold facet. After the water is warm to the touch, feel
the pipes under the sink. It will be easy to identify the hot
and cold pipes.
Close the cold water valve. Turn the cold water faucet just to
be sure that the line is completely shut off and the line is
drained. If no shut off valve is located under the sink, or if
the water continues to come out of the faucet, turn off the main
supply at the entry to the location.Solid copper pipe or PVC:
Select a straight portion of pipe to install the self piercing
valve.
Installing the self piercing valve:
  
Assembe the valve as shown. Be careful to have the rubber piece
in place in order to avoid water leakage. Turn clockwise the
hand valve to make a small hole in the pipe.
  
Connecting the red tubing to the saddle piercing clamp requires
using the nut and ferrule included. Seat the tubing in the fitting
completely, slide the ferrule down until it makes contact, then
tighten the brass nut. Tighten it well using pliers, as this
is a compression fitting. Now that the red tubing is securely
connected, open the T fully to allow water to flow to the RO/DI
system. If you ever need to turn off the water, simply tighten
this valve down completely again.
Now that the system is plumbed to a water source, you can turn
it on. The first hour's worth of pure water should not be used,
because it contains the food-grade perservative in the membrane.
After 5g of RO water have been made and poured down the drain,
it is ready to be used.
Optional Hose bib connection:
If you prefer, you can order our optional Hose Bib Connector
(also should be able to find at Home Depot and Loe's), that will
connect your system to either your washing machine or garden
hose outside of the house. It uses, a ¾" female threaded
connection can be screwed on to the hose bib, and the red tubing
inserted into the fitting. Turn on the water supply and your
RO/DI will begin to fill up. To share your washing machine water
supply, buy a brass "Y" fitting from your local hardware
store to create two connections - one for your washing machine,
one for your RO/DI. Only use the COLD WATER connection.
 
2. The BLACK Drain Line for waste
water
The Black line coming out of the unit is the drain line for
the waste water that includes all the contaminents the unit passes
out. Do not be surprised that there is roughly 3 to 4 times the
waste water than good RO water. That means for every 1 gallon
of RO water, the unit will be draining 3 to 4 gallons of waste
water. If your RO system is being installed in a basement sink
or a place accessable to a drain, just have the black line sit
in the drain. If your RO system is being installed underneith
a sink, you may want to install the drain line actually into
the drain pipe. We do this using an item called a drain saddle
clamp.
IMPORTANT! The reverse osmosis unit cannot work properly
if the black waste water line cannot flow freely during operation.
Installing a drain saddle clamp:
• A Drain Saddle is used to make a waste water connection
with your drain if you are installing your unit under the sink.
This is designed to fit around a standard 1-1/2" OD drainpipe.
The drain saddle valve should always be installed before (above)
the p-trap and on the vertical or horizontal tailpiece. Do not
install the drain saddle near a garbage disposal to avoid clogging
the drain line with debris. Depending on the system you purchased,
you may or may not have a drain saddle clamp included. If you
would like a drain saddle clamp for your unit you may order one
from Aquatic Connection.
This is what a drain saddle clamp should look like on your drain
pipe. Though hard to see, the 1/4" tubing should barely
be inside the pipe so as not to snag anything (hair, etc) going
down the sink's drain.
BLUE LINE = RO Water!
The final BLUE LINE is your
pure RO water. The unit will fill up with water. When you make
RO or RO/DI water, for every gallon you make through your RO
Water BLUE TUBE, you’ll
waste 3 TO 4 gallons of water our of the Black tube. This 4:1
ratio is normal, assuming you have average tepid water temperature
and good water pressure.
To test the output water’s quality, a TDS meter is a
great tool.
If you would like, you can order our optional TDS meter. The
TDS meter is an important tool if you are using a reverse osmosis
system for making saltwater and for RO water for top off water.
Otherwise you will not know if your RO System is working correctly.
With a TDS Meter you will test TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) levels
of water anywhere, anytime! The goal is "0". Testing
the TDS of the RO water will provide the information as to when
the filters need to be replaced.
Limited Warranty
Aquatic Connection makes no claim to the suitability of this
product for any specific use. The end user is solely responsible
for determining fitness for a particular use, and for installation.
This product is sold as a component of a custom aquarium installation.
Your product is warranteed to be free of defects for a period
of one year from purchase. We will, at our discretion, repair
or replace your product at no charge during this period. Return
shipping is the responsibility of the purchaser. This warranty
does not cover accidental damage, misuse, improper care or alteration,
or acts of God, such as floods and earthquakes. Coverage terminates
if the original purchaser sells or otherwise transfers the product.
This warranty excludes claims for incidental or consequential
damages, loss of revenue or profits, loss of business, or other
financial loss in connection with the warranty problem. Some
jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion of limitation of incidental
or consequential damages, so the above limitation or exclusion
may not apply to you. This warranty gives you specific legal
rights, and you may also have other rights, which vary from state
to state or country to country. |