Distilled Vs. RO/DI

[dansd]

I hear a lot of you recommend a home RO/DI system. I have a fairly small tank (55 gal) and I do a weekly water change of 5 gal. I purchase distilled water. Is there any advantage to swithchin to a RO/DI system? Specifically, is the water quality better?

Dan

 

[Jolieve]

Dan, I believe so. Distilled water is not filtered, it's pretty much just boiled, the distilling process does not remove metals in the water, such as iron or copper, which is deadly to your animals in large concentrations and gets into the water through plumbing pipes. An RO/DI filter is designed to remove algae spore from the water, removes chlorine content and also removes these other impurities that might be in your tap water.

J.

 

[wstellwagen]

The major complaintconcerning distilled is copper
from the condensor coils which are used to effeciently turn the dteam back into water

Walt

 

[ZooKeeper1]

distilled water is very clean, and it is free of metals. The water from wal mart has been through the same filtration process as the drinking water, in addition to the distillation. I get RO/DI cheaper from my lfs, but regularly use distilled from WM also. If you do get a home unit get one with the highest gpd rating you can that way you will get more time between filter changes. With the water usage you have I doubt there will be much of a saving.

 

[Jolieve]

Distilled water is tap water that has been boiled, that's all it is. Just like Dasani isn't actually spring water or anything special, it's just tap water from New York. The process of distilling something means just cooking it down. It does not go through a filtration process.

Given the poor fishkeeping practices I have seen at wal-mart stores where I live and elsewhere, I no longer shop there. Also, given very inconsistent quality control on the majority of wal-mart products (and if you don't believe me on this one, check google news for the articles on wally world on Black Friday) I wouldn't trust the life's blood of my system to that corporation if they paid me.

Over time, an RO/DI unit saves you money over buying water by the gallon and the water produced out of an RO/DI unit is quality controlled by you, so you know exactly what is being put into your tank and whether or not it's safe. You don't have to guess.

My two cents,
J.

 

[Anonymous]

I like the idea of taking the guessing out of my water-change water...thats why I purchased an RO/DI.

And Dan, a 5 gallon is a fairly small tank, not a 55g!

 

[Anonymous]

Check with your local water works. Here in Mt. Pleasant we have 4 RO stations, you can get all the RO you want free

Andy

 

[Tackett]

You CAN buy RO/DI water at wally world, it is the green labeled water. It says right on the label, filtered by: Reverse osmosis, deionization, and UV filtration. If thats not enough to purify it, then I dunno what is. I also had a friend at a local chemistry lab (for coal mines.) run a bunch of tests on it and it turned up negative for copper. As for distilling, I cant say anything about it because I dont know. But I know the green label stuff is fine. Just make sure you READ the label.

 

[Tackett]

oh yeah, sorry wally world=wal mart.

 

[ZooKeeper1]

Jolieve
you've got it wrong. Distillation is the process where water is boiled and turned to steam. Only the pure water turns to steam not the contaminates contained in it. the steam is then collected and cooled in a seperate container producing pure water.
Also makers of distilled water still filter the water first, so their equipment doesn't have to be cleaned as often.

 

[drbdc]

Distilled is the most pure form of water there is. Here's the problem, the coils that condensate the steam are usually made of copper. This copper leaches into the collected water and you get copper in your tank. BIG NO NO! (unless you have a FO tank).

 

[Anonymous]

Alright, lots of misunderstanding there.

1, distilled == boiled water?
No, distilled, as ZooKeeper said above, involve turning the water into stream, then condense back into liquid. This is where it costs you: it takes lots of energy to turn water into stream.

2, distill and copper?
Many modern distillation plant use aluminum condensor due to weight and cost, but the post-distillation process contamination is difficult to control, and this and the cost issue is what make many of us use RO/DI instead.

3, Distillation == puriet water there is...
No, distillation is one of the best method to purify water contaminated with refractory minerals, but rather it is the best method (in term of purity, disregarding the cost) depends on the source water. Volatile compounds for example, will be carried by the distillation process.

Depends on your access to filtered water and the amount of water you need, for some people, distilled water or store-brought RO is the best choice. For people who is willing to pay a inital cost to buy a RO/DI filter, and have the space for it in the house/apartment, RO/DI can be a better alternative due to convience.

BTW, welcome to RDO, Dan.

 

[Anonymous]

I hear a lot of you recommend a home RO/DI system. I have a fairly small tank (55 gal) and I do a weekly water change of 5 gal. I purchase distilled water. Is there any advantage to swithchin to a RO/DI system? Specifically, is the water quality better?

Dan

I use straight tap in my 55g. But then I also use plant life (macro algae) to condition that water in the tank. And don't do water changes which also limits that amont of tap put into the tank.

 

[SnowManSnow]

I've had great success with RO water from wallmart.. I buy 10-15 gallons at a time at the water stations.. working good for now.

and geez... dont you guys know how to distill water?

 

[Anonymous]

... And don't do water changes which also limits that amont of tap put into the tank.

I am so glad that you knew your tap water has more crap than your tank water.

...dont you guys know how to distill water?

None of us need to moonlight anymore...

 

[ZooKeeper1]

also the water is usually passed through a carbon filter after distillation, even on the home units, so if there is copper most of it would be removed.
And if your worried about traces of copper realise that just about every thing you add to your tank has some copper in it, from salt mix, to addatives, to food. I dont see anybody worrying about that.

 

[Jolieve]

So Dan, another thing I think you have learned by posting this topic is that reefkeepers have wide, and varied opinions and are rather passionate about their particular view.

Please read what has been said here on this subject and make your own choice about what is going to work best for you.

J.

 

[ZooKeeper1]

So Dan, another thing I think you have learned by posting this topic is that reefkeepers have wide, and varied opinions and are rather passionate about their particular view.

.

Guess you havent gotten into a DSB debate yet. :lol:

 

[Jolieve]

Yes, as a matter of fact I have.

I just stripped the cc out of my 10g nano and am running it bb. After three weeks, I am seeing no impact to the system, positive or negative. Perhaps that will change over time, I'm hoping so because that tank has a plethora of pest algae growing in it.

 

[ZooKeeper1]

Good luck with it. I'm in the process of glueing sand to the bottom of my new tank for the BB without the glass look.