Buying RO/DI water

[baseman]

I ordered a RO/DI unit that I plan to hookup this weekend, however, I needed some top off water to hold me over until I get it connected. There are two places in Salem NH that sell water. One of them was having problems with their unit and didn't have any. The other one (for those of you in NH it's the one on S. Broadway), is known for not changing filters regularly. I took my TDS meter (I ordered it with the RO/DI) with me and tested the water before I bought it. The reading was 279. Needless to say I didn't buy any water.

Anyway, to make a long story longer, even if you buy water,you should test it, or have the LFS show you the readings. I have had water from the above mentioned store cause nasty algae blooms in my tank because I didn't question the purity of what I was buying.

 

[tangir1]

>... I took my TDS meter (I ordered it with the RO/DI) with me and tested the water before I bought it. The reading was 279.

Makes you feel very good about these kind of business, don't you?

 

[baseman]

Tangir1 - This is absoulutely the worst store I have ever been in.

 

[Wheeldog63]

Try the filtered water at Wal-Mart, I know my local one has pretty good water quality, the system says it runs RO/DI carbon, uv and a few other things. I tested mine with my TDS and it was pretty low. BTW 279 is unreal for RO/DI, I would let the shop know and if they don't change then inform as many consumers as possible.

~Kelly

 

[kim]

As an aside, those wonderful people at Coca Cola have been marketing "mineral water" in the UK which is simply RO'd tapwater with certain minerals added back. That fact by itself hit the front pages a week or so ago....most people expect their mineral water to burble gently out of the ground via a spring, ideally somewhere picturesque, rather than squirt from a chemical factory.

Today they had to withdraw the lot because the water exceeds the legal concentration of bromate.

Oooops...

kim

 

[tangir1]

>... the water exceeds the legal concentration of bromate.

If memory serves me well, one of the ingredients of Mountain Drew (picturesque name, isn't it?) is bromated vegetable oil...

 

[ohthelies]

baseman,
I'm actually from the southern NH area, and have been going to SeaWorld to get my water, but don't have a TDS meter. Is this the place that you are referring to?

Where is the second place? I'm fairly new to the hobby, and I'm only barely familiar with SeaWorld, Inland Reef (which is closing), and the generic pet superstores.

What other quality stores are around southern NH?

 

[baseman]

ohthelies - yes I was refering to Seaworld. The other store is Aqua Addicts on 38. They have been having trouble with their RO/DI unit so they don't always have water available. When they do, it's a good deal. $1 for 5g.
Next time you're at Seaworld, ask them to test the water for you before you buy it. You can always tell them you know someone that tested it a 279ppm TDS and walked out. 8)
I am going to call them and tell them.

 

[MattM]

We always knew their water quality was poor, but local tap water tests at about 160ppm. How did they get their RO/DI to be worse than tap!?!?!?

:roll:

 

[kim]

How did they get their RO/DI to be worse than tap!?!?!

Well, you could mix up the RO and waste pipes !



kim

 

[tazdevil]

Not changing their cartridges will potentially do that. Of course, your TDS meter could be in need of calibration as well.

 

[John_Brandt]

We always knew their water quality was poor, but local tap water tests at about 160ppm. How did they get their RO/DI to be worse than tap!?!?!?

:roll:

It might be stored in vessels that are also used to mix or hold saltwater. Baseman didn't mention exactly where his tested sample came from.

 

[John_Brandt]

If memory serves me well, one of the ingredients of Mountain Drew (picturesque name, isn't it?) is bromated vegetable oil...

"Will Mountain Dew shrink your testicles and/or penis?"

"brominated vegetable oil - french-fries, chicken nuggets, anything fried uses vegetable oil. Bromium is actually a medicine for allergies, and is found everywhere."

"After looking at the ingredients it is clear that there is nothing that can harm your little buddies. Perhaps the best evidence to proving these myths false is the fact that Mountain Dew has been drank for over 60 years and nothing has been done to inform people of any harm nor has it been banned anywhere. ABC's 20/20 did a special describing how college kids were drinking Mountain Dew because they thought it would lower their sperm counts and used it as a form of birth control. Well, in this they proved undeniably that it does not do this at all, and in most cases the caffeine actually increased sperm activity."

http://mightydew.hypermart.net/facts.html

 

[baseman]

The RO/DI water station at seaworld is self service. You put the hose in a bucket and open the valve. I collected some of the output water in a (clean) plastic container and checked it with my meter. The meter is brand new, and the Aqua Addicts water measures 4ppm. Distilled water from the store measures 1ppm with the same meter, so i doubt the problem is with the meter.

 

[John_Brandt]

Baseman, does the water at SeaWorld's self service dispenser come from a reservoir or directly from their RO/DI unit?

 

[baseman]

John - hard to tell. I can't see where it comes from , just the plumbing. I would assume it's from a resevoir.

 

[tangir1]

Unless the RO is high throughput commerical unit that rated at 10,000 gal per day, all RO will need a reservoir of some kind unless you want to wait to see dripping output.

 

[baseman]

My RO/DI unit is now hooked up and doing well. My point when I started this thread was to make sure you know what you're buying.

 

[tangir1]

>.. make sure you know what you're buying.

Certainly a very good idea to keep in mind at all time.

 

[John_Brandt]

Unless the RO is high throughput commerical unit that rated at 10,000 gal per day, all RO will need a reservoir of some kind unless you want to wait to see dripping output.

Well sure, but when it's reported that "RO/DI" water is testing at 279 TDS from a dispenser, then nothing can be assumed.