Distilled water?

[the6goat6man6]

when I started (long story) i was started out wrong! I am trying to correct all the miss information i got. Slowly but I think I got a grip now. I haven't been able to get a RO/DI filter YET. I started using "Ocean Water", then was told to mix my own. But i had no RO filter, so the best thing I could think of was Distilled(no local dealer with RO water). Now I found a place with in 75 miles of me and they told me Distilled is bad, I need RO water. I think they might be trying to get me to buy a filter from them?

I thought distilled was pretty much pure?

 

[Krish]

I'll let the others chime in on this but you can take a look at the poll below for starters and it is pretty much self explanitory. IMO, RO/DI is the best way to go unless your tap water has been tested and marked safe for aquarium use.

http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/f36/where-does-your-water-come-59455/

 

[the6goat6man6]

under the circ. i figued it was better than using treated tap and got better results than boxed "ocean water". i thought distillation was pretty much water purification? but i don't know much on the subject yet, i working on it. lots of research, sort out the bad, make educated "guess"! I think thats one reason I'm hooked on this hobby, it's a challenge!

 

[rreef]

You get my first post

Been in SW for 20+ yrs, reefing 6+ new here.

Most distilled water these days are RO water, I've been using it for years and no issues, the store is trying to sell you a unit, this being said it is cheaper in the long run to buy a good RO/DI untit.

 

[the6goat6man6]

I figured they were just tring to sell a unit. I do plan to get one real soon, my only concern is high chlorine in my water!

You get my first post

Been in SW for 20+ yrs, reefing 6+ new here.

Most distilled water these days are RO water, I've been using it for years and no issues, the store is trying to sell you a unit, this being said it is cheaper in the long run to buy a good RO/DI untit.

 

[rreef]

Distilled will work, if you are concerned about how it's filtered the bottles have the info and/or a phone number and website for their processing.

Where I get mine, it states RO on the bottles, again I've never had an issue, but as with everything in this hobby there are no guarantees.

I would say distilled is the best option until you get a unit. If you're concerned about clorine use prime in addition, just realize prime can throw off your test results.

 

[Scooterman]

A really good Distiller can make great water, some distillation processes aren't as good as others though but for the most part it is way better than tap like in your case. I used Distilled to fill one of my tanks never had known issues because of that, when water is heated into steam it leaves most all of the nasties behind. The reason why you don't see everyone using it is because to do it properly it is expensive comparing to a RO/DI unit. Simple as that!

 

[rreef]

You said it better

 

[the6goat6man6]

thats about what i thought, thanks to all

 

[Husker12181]

Am I right in the assumption that when you distill water you remove almost everything from the water including the good stuff?

If this was the case then you would need to make sure you dose your tank with the good stuff that was removed.

Steve

 

[tike]

What "good stuff" are you referring too? Using a good salt mix you don't have to dose anything initially.

 

[Faciosity]

I figured they were just tring to sell a unit. I do plan to get one real soon, my only concern is high chlorine in my water!

Most people don't aprove of this, and I agree that RO DI water is better, but if chlorine is your concern just pick up some water conditioner for a temporary solution until you get your unit.
I've been using conditioned tap water for over 2 years in my reef. Like I said I don't highly suggest this, but it's a good temporary solution.

 

[Husker12181]

The salt mix is basicly what I am refering too when it comes to adding things after the filtration proccess. I do know that if you get perfectly distilled water there should be absolutly nothing except water therefore you would have to add stuff to make it usable later.

IE.. small amounts of minerals and such

 

[the6goat6man6]

isn't water purification just that, whether it's distilled or RO don't you end up with just pure water? if there were min and such it wouldn't be pure

 

[Scooterman]

isn't water purification just that, whether it's distilled or RO don't you end up with just pure water? if there were min and such it wouldn't be pure

Not necessary, RO and RO/Di purification is different, the DI polishes off the purification level to about 98% pure water, without the DI the best you can expect is less than 95% pure water. Distilled can be just as pure If done properly or not so good at all. You can get different % levels of purification on any of these devices or methods. We choose RO/DI mainly because it is cheaper and it removes everything that the inconsistency of municipal water supplies. You never know what metals or levels of chemicals etc can get through and all of these are bad for a reef tank. Think about the long term build up and will eventually catch up to you if you don't do something about it, this includes salt mixes, they all carry things we don't want in a reef tank and can build up over time and cause crashes etc. Think about it, your tank is like a box, nothing gets out unless you take it out. People speculate all the time when they have issues like that and never realize that the main issue could of been long coming.

 

[the6goat6man6]

Waterchanges, right? I mean for export.

not necessary, ro and ro/di purification is different, the di polishes off the purification level to about 98% pure water, without the di the best you can expect is less than 95% pure water. Distilled can be just as pure if done properly or not so good at all. You can get different % levels of purification on any of these devices or methods. We choose ro/di mainly because it is cheaper and it removes everything that the inconsistency of municipal water supplies. You never know what metals or levels of chemicals etc can get through and all of these are bad for a reef tank. Think about the long term build up and will eventually catch up to you if you don't do something about it, this includes salt mixes, they all carry things we don't want in a reef tank and can build up over time and cause crashes etc. Think about it, your tank is like a box, nothing gets out unless you take it out. People speculate all the time when they have issues like that and never realize that the main issue could of been long coming.

 

[OldFishMan]

Have you checked your water ? Charcoal removes chlorine, distilled water is evaporated water from steam and has no minerals. R/O water is about the same once water passes through the membrane. Be wise, check the tap water. Make some mix and check it for phosphates and nitrates --- if it is okay use it.

R/O or distilled water will not keep you alive and will not keep your fish alive ! Then you need mix made for R/O water !

OFM