distilled water myths?

[Josh A.]

So I'm at a site and I see this:

Do not use distilled water since it may kill an entire reef. Because distilled water has lost all of its minerals and anything else it might have, the water molecules will bond with the fish/invertebrates that have these minerals that were lost by the water.

That sounds like B.S. to me, but I must admit I don't know. What do you folks think?

 

[wombat1]

??? I checked out the site too, but I've never heard this! I've heard that spring water can have antibacterials in it, but I have never heard about any problems with distilled water and supplement levels. I used to use it regularly on small tanks with no problems. Isn't RO water cation and anion free also???

 

[Anonymous]

i think the claim is unfounded-could you post the link to the site where you found this?

never mind-didn't see your post correctly-don't think this site's statement is correct, imho

 

[themontagues]

i have read that using distilled water is better when mixing saltwater, if not prefered. it is free of chemicals and unwanted minerals that are found in tapwater. actually i read this in the book that is suggested reading material on their website.

 

[NaCl-H2O]

I have been using distilled water for 5 years with no problems. Distilled is actually the purist of filtered water. The old myth was distilled killed inverts because of the copper, but distillers making water for human consumption haven't use copper pipes in a decade because of water quality guide lines impossed by the govenment. Distilled is the purest next RO/DI and DI then RO and worst is a simple filter. This does provide that it's not contaminated (with PO4, NO3 or Si2O) after being filtered. Most bottlers are pretty good about it.

 

[O P Ing]

hi.
The site is just an excellent example of how Mr. Joe SixPak can afford $20 a year for a website, and a few minutes of typing up BS.

 

[Anonymous]

I think this is a variation on a myth that is very prevalent among frog keepers- that distilled or even RO water will cause a frog to explode due to osmotic pressure or some such.

Obviously nobody considered the obvious, that what terrestrial frogs usually only contact is primarily distilled water- rain.

 

[randy holmes-farley]

Simply nonsense.

 

[The Brain]

Utterly rediculous.

Bryan

 

[liquid]

BS

 

[NaCl-H2O]

You know in a round about way, I can see where that idea could have come from. It is true, distilled does lack minerals including electrolytes needed for proper gill function, any water breathing animal(fresh or salt) put into pure distilled water(DI or RO/DI for that matter) would die. However, if your not using it for top off you would obveously put salt mix in it which contains all the electrlytes needed. I do know in the FW world some people are incouraged not to use distilled, DI or RO/DI for that reason, but what many don't realize is they sell electrolyte additives designed just for adding to these types of water to balance it for proper gill function.

It amazes me how some of these things get started and then keep going.
Thank god on most BB's the BS will get shot down instead of spreading.

 

[RandyO]

Thanks for clearing that up guys.

 

[monkeyboy]

The mineral thing that you posted is absolutely bull but the possibility of copper is very real. Even if there is only teeny tiny trace amounts, evaporation and re-topping off w/ distilled water can eventually raise copper concentrations to the invert-kill level. I've seen it happen, RO/DI is the way, and MUCH cheaper than distilled in the long run.

 

[Anonymous]

The mineral thing that you posted is absolutely bull but the possibility of copper is very real. Even if there is only teeny tiny trace amounts, evaporation and re-topping off w/ distilled water can eventually raise copper concentrations to the invert-kill level. I've seen it happen, RO/DI is the way, and MUCH cheaper than distilled in the long run.

a small question-it would seem to me that the only way copper would be present in distilled water is if the water came into contact with the metal after the evaporation process,-as long as the condensing/collecting apparatus is non metallic-where would the metal ions come from, to get into the condensate water?
i was always under the impression that distilled water is pure water vapor condensed into liquid form-the act of condensing it shouldn't be adding anything to it,no?(assuming no metals come into contact with the condensate)

 

[O P Ing]

hi.
Becaue of the thermo conductivity property, copper is typically used in the condensor of a distill unit.

 

[NaCl-H2O]

Yes, in a small distilling unit your right, but in larg distilling plants that make 10,000's of gallons of water for the public, they use an aluminum alloy for the condesors.

 

[O P Ing]

hi.
So they are trying to use the cheaper, lighter tubing, and make up for the less than optimal property by putting more condenser in the tower? Thiis is similar to the use of aluminum wire in those huge power cable....

By any chance do you know what type of alloy do they use? Aluminum is less toxic than copper, but some people had experimented with the use of Al in marine environment without any noticeable toxic effect.

 

[NaCl-H2O]

When I went investigating and tracked down a distiller the man told me they didn't use copper in distilling anymore and that he seriously doubts if anyone does due to the high cost of copper and the water quality guidelines presently imposed by the government. He said the condensers are made of an alloy and when I asked if the alloy contained copper he said "No, it was an aluminum alloy". For a year and a half I check a jug out of every purchase and the tank water for Cu. Never detected anything. I have been using it now for over 5 years with no problems and there is still no Cu in the tank. And since then there have been several comparisons and articles that have also stated copper is on longer used in distilling and that there are not any metals detected in distilled. Most of the time there are contaminants in distilled, DI or RO/DI it occurs after filtering, during the bottling process and they are usually NO3, PO4, Si2O and sometimes even NH4. I have not had any problems with these either, but have heard of isolated cases where one or more were found in distilled, RO/DI or DI. When I say RO/DI or DI I'm not talking about most drinking water as it usually has additives after filtering including PO4, Ca, NaCl, K, Cl, NH4 and or Fluoride for taste, sanitation or other purposes and should not be used in a reef aquarium. In addition those drinking waters usually have NO3, SiO in then aswell. HTH

 

[wade1]

Actually I think what the site is referring to is using distilled water in a freshwater tank in which case it will indeed kill fish. The distilled water is ionless (relatively) and as such causes the fish's cells to swell with water and unless they can regulate the water content quickly, it can indeed kill them. I have seen a betta jump from its bowl as a roomate decided to change its water and used distilled instead of dechlorinated tapwater. The same would occur with RO water.

In regards to saltwater, thats stupid as its got salt in it.

Wade

 

[O P Ing]

hi.
For betta bowl, most people, lazy or not, change all the water at once. Using distill will be a bad idea. But for water top off for freshwater tank, it is not issue. The ions in the freshwater is not evaporated and distill will be great to keep the pH and hardiness within a reasonable range for those that only do infrequent water change. But using hard water for top off in freshwater, you can often see a scale around the top of the water level if the owner are lazy not to do water change. Obviously, soft water loving fish will not do well in his/her hand.

Beside, the title of the content is "Mini Reef Aquarium Basics," so it it not intended for FW people.