RO/DI vs Distilled!!!!

[ClamFan]

Info on this would be great! Especially since we don't pay for water were I live. Free water for everyone!

I'm about to pull my RO/DI unit off line. Gonna go with carbon filtered tap.


-Ben-

[rrasco]

I just read a really good description on distilled VS RODI. Of course, I'll probably never find it again though.

[ClamFan]

If you do, please post the link!

I just read a really good description on distilled VS RODI. Of course, I'll probably never find it again though.

[Gseclipse02]

I'm about to pull my RO/DI unit off line. Gonna go with carbon filtered tap.


-Ben-

this is a terrible idea for some ... not all tap water is the same.... sounds like cyano issues will soon come .02

[FireWater]

Could be and couldn't be issues coming. Test the tap water first and see what levels you are getting.

Also, have you looked into a small under sink unit? With the smaller tanks you won't need a whole lot of water.

[Scutterborn]

I plan to run tests on my water and pull the saws reports. Ace and I live very close and I'm pretty sure we pull from the same source.


-Ben-

[FireWater]

More than likely you do Ben. It's other areas that concern me. Heck, in my neck of the woods there are no less than 3 sources and they all suck.

My advice would be to do your homework, read SAWS reports or whatever provider you have, and test frequently.

[ramsey]

I've considered using tap water as it would be a lot easier and cheaper. Two things have deterred me. First, I have no idea what all I'm putting in my tank and it could randomly change at any point. For example, does the aquifer levels impact what's in the water? I read on arc the other day that some town near Austin was going to drop a ton of chlorine in the water to flush the system or something. I know you can use prime, but I just wonder what all is in the water. The second thing is our water is very hard here. There's a lot of lime in the water. When I mix up salt mix, what are the numbers going to look like? With RO, I know that when I mix my salt, it's going to be very close to what it says on the box. I don't want to have to check my alk/calc levels every time I mix NSW.

Overall though, if you're not trying to keep an SPS tank, I think it might be worth a shot. I use it when cycling a tank, and I might even use it for water changes when I get my FOWLR set up. I do think that some people are RO zealots and act like you can't do it ever. I don't feel this way and was just at hobogato's house today and his tank is amazing. So it must not be too bad.

[jrossjr79]

I use a TDS meter on all the water I get. I have heard horror stories on using windmills or any of the other self serve water. I tend to go to my LFS and buy RO/DI water for 50 cents a gallon, or I will head to HEB to buy gallons of Distilled water. Both which have a TDS rating for the most part at 6, seen the distilled water go as high as 9. In a pinch, since I have sparkletts delivering water, I will use that, again only in a pinch and I dont have much other choice.