Water, Water, Water

[DOGMAI]

Will switching to distilled water help me with my hair algae problem? Or would it be a good idea no matter what? I currently use water from the grocery store water purification machine but I know that it’s not the best. My R/O system took a crap so I have not been able to use that. Somebody had mentioned distilled before as being good water to use I was just wondering if that was true.

Thanks,
Shane

 

[Anonymous]

yes, that's what you should be buying instead of just filtered water from the grocery store. distilled water is nearly the same as RODI water. it's fairly cheap too. my grocery store has it for 89 cents per gallon. Not bad considering all i need it for is a 12g nano... two jugs per week.

 

[Len]

Depending on the process, distillation can actually produce better water then RO. Just make sure the type you buy doesn't have added elements for flavor (drinking purposes).

 

[taikonaut]

If your store-brought water is RO water, maybe you can get the TWP (tap water purifier) to make that into RO/DI. RO/DI is better than distill.

 

[robitreef]

I have been buying my water from the supermarket since I first setup my nano reef almost six years ago, and I have never had any problems. I think I am going to buy an RO/DI unit when I remodel my kitchen because lugging around water jugs to and from the supermarket can get tiresome. I tested my supermarket water for phosphates and there were no noticeable amounts. You may have to look at other factors then just water like, lighting, your feeding regime, presence of herbivores, etc.

 

[MattM]

Be advised that, depending on the specific distillation process, distilled water can contain trace amounts of copper.

 

[jandree22]

didn't somebody do a study before on how bad distilled water is? I dunno, I think I remember seeing something about how distilling changes the molecular form or something causing it to be not-so-healthy, but there's three things to consider...

A) I may be making this up, I'm not 100% sure where I read it...
B) You're not drinking it so it may be completely healthy for aquarium use
C) The guy might've pulled the study outa his ass and have no validity

Just my $.02


Also, distilled is fine for small tanks like nanos, but for larger tanks, in the long run you'd be cheaper to just get another RO/DI.

 

[taikonaut]

In the long run, RO/DI definite is a better choice, unless you are one of those lucky few with very good tap water.

As for the distill process and it effect on water molecule... pretty much every molecule of water (with exception of "artifical" water from burning hydrogen gas or metabolism, or near volcanic vent, etc.) has been thru the distillation process millions of time every year.

 

[Fl_Seagull]

Distilled water can still have various compounds that have a lower boiling point than water. This includes a wide variety of hydrocarbons. Distillation removes most if not all of the minerals. Thus, if you are really worried just run it through a DI or carbon cartridge.

However, remember the quality of the water initally is likely at drink water standard which mean it will have minimum amounts of hydrocarbons after it is distilled.

 

[consigliere]

make sure the source water does not contain sodium hexametaphosphate...it transfers over with the distillation process due to its higher boiling point than water......i had a batch of distilled made from a source in pennsylvania....loaded with hexametaphosphate....

 

[ricky1414]

i use ro water from one of those water machines outside grocery stores. 25 cents a gallon, good deal, good water.

 

[taikonaut]

>... it transfers over with the distillation process due to its higher boiling point than water......i

Actually, to be transfer over in distillation process, it has a *lower* boiling point than water. Just thking about alcohol.... when you distill fermented wine/fruit juice/whatever, the distilled product will have a much higher level of alcohol because it has a lower boiling point than water.

 

[Anonymous]

Something in Consumer Reports mentioned about how the distilling process from most companies is short changed...In other words most distilled water isnt always distilled like it is said...A form of false advertisement...If the water is 100% distilled it will clean up the algae problem somewhat however in the heirarchy RO is better..

 

[stevenp]

I was just searching around on this topic and have a simple question:

How do you "change" from one type of water to the next?

If I wanted to eventually change to distilled water, couldn't I just start using the distilled water instead of tap water when I do my regular water changes? Seems like it would work to me.

Steve

 

[Anonymous]

I was just searching around on this topic and have a simple question:

How do you "change" from one type of water to the next?

If I wanted to eventually change to distilled water, couldn't I just start using the distilled water instead of tap water when I do my regular water changes? Seems like it would work to me.

Steve

It should work just fine without any transition. I've used a mixture of R/O, tap (eww) and store bought distilled water when I have had to do emergency large water changes and not had a problem.

 

[Anonymous]

Distilled, as Len said, can be better than RO/DI. I use a 3 stage RO with a tap water purifier attached to the end and the water is great. Any of the above will be better than tap water.

 

[Fatal Morgana]

Distilled, as Len said, can be better than RO/DI. ...

Len's comment is on RO, not RO/DI. If he said what you said he did, I would had go after him like a starved wolf.

If function properly, RO/DI usually is better than multi-distilled water. There are exceptions, of course, but for the most part, my statement is correct.

 

[DOGMAI]

Wtf are you talking about? Man you went back 8 months to find this post. You must have been board.

Shane

 

[Fatal Morgana]

There is nothing wrong with digging up old thread, if the information there is relevant to be discussed again.

If people make use of the search functionality, they are taking advantage of RDO's resources, which is always a good thing.

 

[ZooKeeper1]

How many home RO units produce 100% pure water, none that I know. Distilled is seperated from contaminants at a molecular level, and is so pure that it will not conduct electricity. It is used in labs and for calibration of instruments. Wal mart has distilled for 58 cents a gallon. It has been through the same filters as their drinking water and then distilled. Using this water will not cause any problems.
Distilled water is an active absorber because it is so pure, and it was once thought unhealthy to drink because it was said to strip the body of needed elements. This is all bunk, and most of these statements came from the marketers of water purification systems.