Culligan

[hueseph]

I've seen some negative postings toward Culligan R/O water. Why is this? I've always suspected it might not be what they say it is, but I want to know the facts.

 

[Len]

My workplace uses a Culligan RO filter for our drinking water and it works great. I don't think Culligan makes bad products. I think some of their products such as their resin bed softeners aren't best suited for reef-related purification, but their RO filters work just fine. If I recall, however, Culligan is on the expensive side.

 

[krullulon]

DaisyPolyp did some research a while back on Culligan water and discovered that although it was RO, they added additional minerals for flavor -- meaning that the water is probably fairly high in phosphates and silicates.

 

[Len]

I copied this thread over to the General Reef Discussion. People there may have more experience with Culligan (though judging by what I read, most use Kent Marine, Spectrapure, AquaFX, or Captive Purity).

 

[DaisyPolyp]

Krullulon is correct, if you use culligan's bottled drinking water it is mineral enhanced for flavor. Their RO/DI units and related equipment are good quality and are recommended.

 

[Len]

Yep, the flavoring only pertains to the bottled water. It's the same with most other major drinking water sellers (either they add minerals for taste or the minerals are inherent to the source water). RO/DI units will strip 95% of all the stuff in the water anyhow.

 

[cdeakle]

Won't a simple TDS reading verify wether its good enough to add to your tank or not?

 

[Anonymous]

My city uses a Culligan RO/DI system with a 10 gallon holding tank for their lab testing on the city water system. They do not have a drinking water attachment for it.

I used it when I first started, hauling 5 gallon buckets at least twice a week. Worked great and the price was unbeatable. :wink:

 

[DaisyPolyp]

heh, I use the empty culligan bottles from the water service at my job. Makes nice holding tanks for my RO/DI water.

 

[hueseph]

Thanks for the info. I appreciate it and so does my aquarium.

 

[Paulg]

hey just a quick note. I was using culligan water from walmart for water changes and top offs and had the worst hair alge ever! As soon as I stopped using it the alge went gone gone! Word to the wise!!

 

[sawyerc]

I use water from a high output Culligan RO unit for an office aquarium. I've had big hair algae probems. I suspect that the unit sacrifices purity for high output. Soon I will do a TDS reading to see. The source water is practically liquid rock, 400ppm TDS to begin with, so even if the unit is taking out 90% there would probably be about 40ppm dissolved solids in my topoff/water-change water. I will soon change to a dedicated Kent unit. Culligan makes good products, just make sure that you're using the right product.

 

[buoymarker28]

before i bought a RO/DI filter i used culligans from the local tom thumb....i tested it out after i mixed up salt and found no nitrates, nitrites, phos, or ammonia. Still, just buy an RO filter and put this topic to rest for yourself. you can get one for like $60 that produces 5-10 gal a day...

 

[Fl_Seagull]

A new 75 gal (~32gal /day actual production) RO/DI systems can be had for ~$65 on e-bay (~$40 +$25 shipping) 8) .

To get that price will take time and effort. It is difficult for the sellers to always balance their number of auctions with the buyer demands.

Then again, it might not be worth the effort to save $30 or more :wink: .