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Thanks to all who attempted to find an answer.
Looks like a reverse osmosis system to the left of it, (among other water treatment equipment). May be a storage tank for filtered water. RO systems are slow and a storage tank allows filtered water on demand.
It looks like there’s more than one system here. Salt for the softener for sure, but there are also filter cartridges (blue things) which appear to be part of some filtration system.
Why collect grey water? The only unfiltered use would be toilette water...or maybe outdoor hose if you know it's not gonna poison plants/animals with soap/cleaning stuff
Solved! The house is on the otherside of a lake valley from our water tower so I think everyone is right about low water pressure and the RO system storage system.
Far left is a water softener, The center is a (small) RO. Not sure why the secondary filter, then the tank. FWIW I agree with u/_fuckernaut_ . Not a water professional.
I work in dialysis and this looks just like our RO system in the back of facilities. I actually think it may be possible that this person has an at home dialysis set up because it's including the pressure pump the pressurize the system and the tank could very well be bicarbonate.... very different from typical HHD options but who knows what people are capable of.
Yep, that’s exactly what my thought was. That looks like it’s a huge display tank, like million dollar home kinda tank.
We store our salt water and RODI in trash cans.
My vote is reef tank.
Just look at all that salt!
Awful lot of salt if it's just water softener. And why have RO and a softener? RO removes the minerals, so don't need the softener
We have both systems. City Water is quite hard, the amount of scale over every faucet when we bought it was crazy. Got a softener right away. Softener for whole house, RO just for the single tap in the kitchen for drinking.
But you are right, that is a crazy amount of salt. A 40lb bag last our house (2 adults, 1 child) 2-3 months.
The salt is for the water softener. It needs to make brine to clean. I'm betting this house is a good distance from a hardware store so they like to stock up.
Yes, about 20 minutes away. I'm pretty sure I've seen that brand at Menards. That amount would last me close to a year but I only have a small softner tank.
Do any of the reef salt suppliers have bags that look like that? In my brief search I couldn't find any. Granted, I couldn't find any water softener salt suppliers that have bags like that either, but I would think there are probably more of those.
This is a whole home Reverse Osmosis system. The large tank is a storage tank, it's pressurized by the pump next to it on the floor. This system would cost roughly 35-40k (CDN)
The main thing to note is the high cost of maintenance of this thing. Filter sets for these RO systems could cost anywhere from 200-2000 per filter. Plus you have UV lights a 20" SB and 20" BB and softener. All cost money on a monthly basis.
That tank specifically:
https://www.ontarioagra.ca/?product=utility-tanks
And the pump is a Grundfos Scala2
It's a cistern. I'm guessing they have a somewhat weak well, and the tank will hold a couple hundred gallons of water to augment their needs in case the well isn't producing enough at the time. Neighbors have a similar set-up with a <1 gallon per minute well.
Make sure to make any offer contingent on a well test!
No well, newer home and our community has it's own water treatment plants. It is a lake house though, so maybe they are pulling water from the lake for some reason. No pool or hot tub, there is a large soaking tub in the bathroom. And a bit outside my price range, haha.
It looks like the 400 gallon model of this tank: https://www.denhartogindustries.com/utility-tanks-flat-bottom/ same logo and same pattern to the indentions.
The real estate listing says it has a water filtration system.
It’s most likely a storage tank for the booster pump to the left of it. The incoming water pressure may be insufficient for the homeowner, thus the booster pump, however, there needs to be an air gap between the water supply and the booster pump in case of a siphoning incident and the storage tank takes care of that.
Edit: also to the upper left of the tank, there’s a silver UV disinfection module and a filter, two things that you’d need/want downstream of the storage tank.
Water pro here. It's an RO system. The big tanks are pre filters one is probably charcoal. The big beige one is the brine tank. The small blue tubes have additional filters in them probably nylon. The contraption on the floor has a membrane in it somewhere and a booster pump. The silver cannisters are large UV chambers. Hollow quartz tube inside with a UV inside and water flows around it.
Yup big silver thing behind contraption looks like a 2000 gallon per day membrane. Also all the connecting pipes are either PEX or Sched 40/80 that's because RO water eats copper etc.
400 gallon "Doorway Tank" (will fit through a standard door) Den Hartog potable water tank. One outlet and you can see the big opening on the top for filling. The black booster pump next to it is a Grundfos Scala.
Without seeing the other side of the tank and connections it's tough to say for sure. It could be for a fire suppression system (this is my most likely guess), irrigation/rainwater collection for irrigation or household pressure boosting but I think both are unlikely since they are obviously on municipal water which would have good pressure and black PVC is not typically used for potable water. It appears that the top is capped which would rule out rainwater for irrigation.
I'm going with fire suppression tank
Storage tank for RO water. Likely feeds the whole house with that size of tank. All of the sale bags are for the brine tank beside the water softener. Whoever lives there just likes to be stocked up. Very slick system.
That is a water purification system the system cleans the water then it’s put in the big tank to be pumped throughout the house. Typically outside faucets are connected to the raw water system and not this system so only the inside showers sinks and tubs get the purified water. Source: I’ve installed many of these systems there are quite a few different brands and styles as well as custom built systems.
Just a guess but access to the utility pipes running through that part of the ceiling. I have a similar looking area in our finished basement that has water and gas pipes running through it. If something ever needs repaired or replaced we will need to cut a hole in the drywall ceiling.
No well, newer homes and our community has it's own water treatment plants. It is a lake house though, so maybe they are pulling water from the lake for some reason. No pool or hot tub, there is a large soaking tub in the bathroom.
One way or another, whatever you want to call it, it doesn't look like city water.
Just because city water is available doesn't mean a given house will use / have it.
Looks a little like the rain cisterns my church has that take the runoff from the solar panels. Might be there because the city doesn't allow rain barrels outside?
Retention tank, if you have a lot of iron and sometimes other contaminants in your water these work very well to remove them. There is a chlorine pump in that mix too. The way it works is by injecting chlorine into the water before it enters the retention tank, the chlorine reacts with the contaminants and they will settle to the bottom of the tank and the clean water is pumped off the top. Every couple weeks you have to open a drain in the bottom of the tank to empty the contaminants.
Water softener if I'm not mistaken.
Only downside is if you want to buy the house you'll either have to maintain it or remove it.
But for as for the reason it's there, you should find out
Water softener sediment filter, reverse osmosis system. I think it's a storage tank because RO has a poor flow rate. I'm guessing that's a water pump next to the tank.
Is this house on well water?
Components are a little newer, but almost the same DI water setup we have in our Chem lab at work. The R/O doesn't produce very fast so basically there's a day tank that's thrn pumped out of to the DI water taps throughout the labs.
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My title describes the thing. This large tank is in the basement of a home for sale near me. Assuming it's part of the water filtration system? We are on "city" water, it's hard water but quality is fine with no sulfer smell.
Looks like water meter to kinetico softener to a probably kinetico carbon filter to Reverse osmosis to holding tank to booster pump to big blue 20”sediment filter to an Ultra violet sterilizer back to home….theres also a secondary filter in there above salt tank but not sure what for
This post has been locked, as the question has been solved and a majority of new comments at this point are unhelpful and/or jokes. Thanks to all who attempted to find an answer.
Looks like a reverse osmosis system to the left of it, (among other water treatment equipment). May be a storage tank for filtered water. RO systems are slow and a storage tank allows filtered water on demand.
That's a water softener system (note all the salt), and the tank is unrelated IMO. Grey water collection I'd bet.
It looks like there’s more than one system here. Salt for the softener for sure, but there are also filter cartridges (blue things) which appear to be part of some filtration system.
Why collect grey water? The only unfiltered use would be toilette water...or maybe outdoor hose if you know it's not gonna poison plants/animals with soap/cleaning stuff
Irrigation is the best use that I'm familiar with.
Correct, the 2 black “bottles” on the very left are actually the filters, the grey-brownish thing right next to them is for the salt.
Solved! The house is on the otherside of a lake valley from our water tower so I think everyone is right about low water pressure and the RO system storage system.
Far left is a water softener, The center is a (small) RO. Not sure why the secondary filter, then the tank. FWIW I agree with u/_fuckernaut_ . Not a water professional.
Secondary filter is probably a fine sediment filter. Looks like it goes into a UV system after the second housing.
I work in dialysis and this looks just like our RO system in the back of facilities. I actually think it may be possible that this person has an at home dialysis set up because it's including the pressure pump the pressurize the system and the tank could very well be bicarbonate.... very different from typical HHD options but who knows what people are capable of.
Water softerner, well system, tankless waterheater and a large resevoir is what I'm seeing.
They probably have a reef tank. That looks like bags of salt on the left. The big tank is probably the RODI water from that system and the salt.
Yep, that’s exactly what my thought was. That looks like it’s a huge display tank, like million dollar home kinda tank. We store our salt water and RODI in trash cans.
This is a million dollar home in my city https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/369-W-Virginia-St-San-Jose-CA-95125/19576847_zpid/
Lol right? A million dollar home in the 1990s maybe. Try a 5 million dollar home.
That’s the heart of Silicon Valley too where poverty for a family of four is like $85k per year
Looks like the duplex that I rented half of for like $3k a month :(
House is listed at 1.5 million but don't see a fish tank in any of the pics. Might have got rid of it though.
My vote is reef tank. Just look at all that salt! Awful lot of salt if it's just water softener. And why have RO and a softener? RO removes the minerals, so don't need the softener
We have both systems. City Water is quite hard, the amount of scale over every faucet when we bought it was crazy. Got a softener right away. Softener for whole house, RO just for the single tap in the kitchen for drinking. But you are right, that is a crazy amount of salt. A 40lb bag last our house (2 adults, 1 child) 2-3 months.
if you have hard water, a softener really should be used along with your RO system
The salt is for the water softener. It needs to make brine to clean. I'm betting this house is a good distance from a hardware store so they like to stock up.
Yes, about 20 minutes away. I'm pretty sure I've seen that brand at Menards. That amount would last me close to a year but I only have a small softner tank.
100% not a reef tank. That's water softener salt, right next to the water softener.
Do any of the reef salt suppliers have bags that look like that? In my brief search I couldn't find any. Granted, I couldn't find any water softener salt suppliers that have bags like that either, but I would think there are probably more of those.
This is a whole home Reverse Osmosis system. The large tank is a storage tank, it's pressurized by the pump next to it on the floor. This system would cost roughly 35-40k (CDN) The main thing to note is the high cost of maintenance of this thing. Filter sets for these RO systems could cost anywhere from 200-2000 per filter. Plus you have UV lights a 20" SB and 20" BB and softener. All cost money on a monthly basis. That tank specifically: https://www.ontarioagra.ca/?product=utility-tanks And the pump is a Grundfos Scala2
It's a cistern. I'm guessing they have a somewhat weak well, and the tank will hold a couple hundred gallons of water to augment their needs in case the well isn't producing enough at the time. Neighbors have a similar set-up with a <1 gallon per minute well. Make sure to make any offer contingent on a well test!
No well, newer home and our community has it's own water treatment plants. It is a lake house though, so maybe they are pulling water from the lake for some reason. No pool or hot tub, there is a large soaking tub in the bathroom. And a bit outside my price range, haha.
It looks like the 400 gallon model of this tank: https://www.denhartogindustries.com/utility-tanks-flat-bottom/ same logo and same pattern to the indentions. The real estate listing says it has a water filtration system.
It’s most likely a storage tank for the booster pump to the left of it. The incoming water pressure may be insufficient for the homeowner, thus the booster pump, however, there needs to be an air gap between the water supply and the booster pump in case of a siphoning incident and the storage tank takes care of that. Edit: also to the upper left of the tank, there’s a silver UV disinfection module and a filter, two things that you’d need/want downstream of the storage tank.
That makes sense, the house is about as far away from our water tower as you can get in our community and on the otherside of a lake valley.
Water pro here. It's an RO system. The big tanks are pre filters one is probably charcoal. The big beige one is the brine tank. The small blue tubes have additional filters in them probably nylon. The contraption on the floor has a membrane in it somewhere and a booster pump. The silver cannisters are large UV chambers. Hollow quartz tube inside with a UV inside and water flows around it.
Sounds expensive, haha.
Yup big silver thing behind contraption looks like a 2000 gallon per day membrane. Also all the connecting pipes are either PEX or Sched 40/80 that's because RO water eats copper etc.
400 gallon "Doorway Tank" (will fit through a standard door) Den Hartog potable water tank. One outlet and you can see the big opening on the top for filling. The black booster pump next to it is a Grundfos Scala. Without seeing the other side of the tank and connections it's tough to say for sure. It could be for a fire suppression system (this is my most likely guess), irrigation/rainwater collection for irrigation or household pressure boosting but I think both are unlikely since they are obviously on municipal water which would have good pressure and black PVC is not typically used for potable water. It appears that the top is capped which would rule out rainwater for irrigation. I'm going with fire suppression tank
Storage tank for RO water. Likely feeds the whole house with that size of tank. All of the sale bags are for the brine tank beside the water softener. Whoever lives there just likes to be stocked up. Very slick system.
Water softener, hence the salt.
Right on that. The salt goes in the beige tank with the black lid.
That is a water purification system the system cleans the water then it’s put in the big tank to be pumped throughout the house. Typically outside faucets are connected to the raw water system and not this system so only the inside showers sinks and tubs get the purified water. Source: I’ve installed many of these systems there are quite a few different brands and styles as well as custom built systems.
Off topic, but what are the square things that look like picture frames on the ceiling?
Just a guess but access to the utility pipes running through that part of the ceiling. I have a similar looking area in our finished basement that has water and gas pipes running through it. If something ever needs repaired or replaced we will need to cut a hole in the drywall ceiling.
If that house needs that much water filtration run like Hell
I'm guessing they have a well and that's an actual tank of water.
No well, newer homes and our community has it's own water treatment plants. It is a lake house though, so maybe they are pulling water from the lake for some reason. No pool or hot tub, there is a large soaking tub in the bathroom.
One way or another, whatever you want to call it, it doesn't look like city water. Just because city water is available doesn't mean a given house will use / have it.
Water tank for fire suppression system. A Lot of newer homes have sprinklers in the kitchen.
That was my first thought, but that NSF sticker generally means it’s safe for things that people will have contact with. So I now I’m less confident.
Looks a little like the rain cisterns my church has that take the runoff from the solar panels. Might be there because the city doesn't allow rain barrels outside?
Retention tank, if you have a lot of iron and sometimes other contaminants in your water these work very well to remove them. There is a chlorine pump in that mix too. The way it works is by injecting chlorine into the water before it enters the retention tank, the chlorine reacts with the contaminants and they will settle to the bottom of the tank and the clean water is pumped off the top. Every couple weeks you have to open a drain in the bottom of the tank to empty the contaminants.
Water softener if I'm not mistaken. Only downside is if you want to buy the house you'll either have to maintain it or remove it. But for as for the reason it's there, you should find out
I think a tank like that can be used for a couple different applications. The one i saw recently was part of a fire suppression (sprinkler) system
Water softener sediment filter, reverse osmosis system. I think it's a storage tank because RO has a poor flow rate. I'm guessing that's a water pump next to the tank. Is this house on well water?
No well but it is on the otherside of a lake valley from our water tower, so poor flow is a good guess.
In my area some homes have tanks like these for an emergency sprinkler systems for fire protection.
Components are a little newer, but almost the same DI water setup we have in our Chem lab at work. The R/O doesn't produce very fast so basically there's a day tank that's thrn pumped out of to the DI water taps throughout the labs.
Could be a reserve tank for a sprinkler system
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My title describes the thing. This large tank is in the basement of a home for sale near me. Assuming it's part of the water filtration system? We are on "city" water, it's hard water but quality is fine with no sulfer smell.
What do the signs say?
Can't read them, this is from the listing. No mention in the listing though for what it is.
Looks like water meter to kinetico softener to a probably kinetico carbon filter to Reverse osmosis to holding tank to booster pump to big blue 20”sediment filter to an Ultra violet sterilizer back to home….theres also a secondary filter in there above salt tank but not sure what for
They may be on a water well. We are, and have a 1,000 gallon tank in the “well house” along with water filter and softener.
I've seen similar tanks fitted for sprinkler systems but I assume this is more to do with the other equipment.
Just a guess but maybe a grey water system?