distilled or RO

schnell76 · 05/30/2006, 05:56 PM

I have a newly cycled 12 gal DX nano and am not really sure of my water in relation to phosphates. I plan on weekly or bi-weekly water changes. Since I will be only changing a couple gallons at a time I really don't see the advantage to buying a RO unit to provide good water. Can I use Distilled water and still be okay? Currently my tank has completely cycled and the nitrates read zero, but I am having the diatom breakout and there are some small signs of green thread-like algea and a couple macro piece breaking through the newly cured live rock I bought. Thanks in advance for any help/insight

Randall_James · 05/30/2006, 06:02 PM

Di will be fine, most fish stores also sell tank water

AZDesertRat · 05/30/2006, 06:46 PM

Sure you can use distilled. After a while it becomes a chore though and you will wish for an RO/DI. Heck you can even use the RO for drinking, cooking and ice makers too. Thats how I talked my wife into letting me buy one!

Randall_James · 05/31/2006, 05:54 AM

I see a lot of times where this is a request to parents.

If that is the case, you just let mom and dad drive up to the store 2 or 3 times a week to fill water jugs.

In about 90 days they will be offering to purchase you your very own RO/DI unit...

Works like a charm (do leave a brochure or a web page open every now and then for them to "Spawn" the idea of making water at home :evil grin:

NEEDMONEYFORMORESALT · 05/31/2006, 05:59 AM

be careful there is a difference between distilled which you buy off the shelve and DI which is in a machine that you fill with jugs and buy.

Randall_James · 05/31/2006, 06:05 AM

I do not think the difference is much worth noting. As most of the coin machines dispense RO water (virtually all instore machines are RO only) It is rarely I have seen a machine that dispenses Distilled water as it must be transported to the machine. (They do not make distilled on the spot).

RO water retains minerals and other compounds that "flavor" the water. RO/DI (I have never seen in a store machine) and Distilled (only seen in jugs typically) make perfectly terrible drinking water and so you will never see them sold as drinking water of any kind.

schnell76 · 05/31/2006, 06:51 AM

This is not a case of my parents not wanting to buy me a RO unit, it is a case of my wife and I agreeing to not spend a ton of cash at start up for only a 12 gallon. I used to have a 58 softie and a 30 fish only tank. That got to be pretty expensive. We have since moved and sold everything off and just getting back into the hobby and do not want a financial repeat of what we had (although they were both gorgeous tanks

). In the long run I know that distilled will end up costing more, but since I only plan to change a couple of gallons every week or two I think the convenience outweighs the small price difference. I just wanted to make sure that DI is safe to use in the reef aquarium and is fairly comparable to using RO water.

Randall_James · 05/31/2006, 07:17 AM

real quick DI and Distilled are different. DI water is "DeIonized" and "Distilled" is as you know "reconstituted" from steam.

And you are right a couple gallons a week hardly justifies an large outlay of money. You might just look to a "DI" filter. This is a cartridge that contains the media to deionize water and has a finite volume it can process over its life. The cost works out to around .30 per gallon as I recall but does save you the gas/time for the store runs.

Regardless, I think Distilled and DI are both better options than plain RO.

schnell76 · 05/31/2006, 08:35 AM

I used to use a DI filter, the one that changes colors as it get spent. I noticed that they are still around so I may look into that again. I just remember it being a pain to use and hook up, but that was over 5 years ago that I did it and they may have improved on the DI unit. Will probably start out with Distilled since I am at walmart at least once a week anyways. Do I still need to use a water conditioner with Distilled water? Thanks R.J. and all for the help.

gutterguppy · 05/31/2006, 10:12 AM

On a side note, you should be careful about using distilled water bought from normal (meaning non-lfs) stores. There is the possibility that it may have been stored in copper vessels or that copper tubing could have been used during the distillation process, and as such could be harmful to invertebrates.

" You can also use bottled distilled water, but one concern with this type of water is that the bottler may use copper tubing during the distilling process. Not all distillers use copper tubing, so if this is a concern, test the water prior to use for any copper levels. You can always contact the manufacturer and inquire about their processing methods."

sources (for reference):
http://saltaquarium.about.com/cs/dir...aa062498_2.htm
http://faq.thekrib.com/sbegin-longterm.html

Randall_James · 05/31/2006, 10:55 AM

Most of the distilling units in use now use aluminum alloys as they are both cheaper and also more effcient. Any volume supplier is going to be using these alloys. I really would not be to concerned here.

The only water you would look to add a conditioner or treatment to is raw tapwater.

angelsj247 · 05/31/2006, 11:48 AM

i buy about 12 gallons of distilled water jugs from walmart every couple of weeks. its only like .50 a gallon or something.. not bad.

MCary · 05/31/2006, 01:28 PM

Distilled and RO are just two methods for removing impurities in water. They both can produce reagent grade water, or pure water. Some of them don't produce that level of purity. It all depends on the level of purity the system is designed for.

It is doubtful that a DI alone could produce the level of purity a RO system can. A RO membrane with a 98% rejection rate produces almost pure water. DI can only remove the cations and anions in the water. A water softener is a basic DI system. At the end of a RO system the DI can pick up the last few remaining electrolytes the RO allowed across its membrane. But the DI couldn't get the larger particles especially if the flow was fast. It is a poor stand alone system.

schnell76 · 05/31/2006, 02:01 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by angelsj247
i buy about 12 gallons of distilled water jugs from walmart every couple of weeks. its only like .50 a gallon or something.. not bad.

Thats exactly what I plan to do

Thanks

05/30/2006, 05:56 PM	#1
schnell76 Registered Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Central FL Posts: 161	distilled or RO I have a newly cycled 12 gal DX nano and am not really sure of my water in relation to phosphates. I plan on weekly or bi-weekly water changes. Since I will be only changing a couple gallons at a time I really don't see the advantage to buying a RO unit to provide good water. Can I use Distilled water and still be okay? Currently my tank has completely cycled and the nitrates read zero, but I am having the diatom breakout and there are some small signs of green thread-like algea and a couple macro piece breaking through the newly cured live rock I bought. Thanks in advance for any help/insight

05/30/2006, 06:02 PM	#2
Randall_James Premium Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 6,727	Di will be fine, most fish stores also sell tank water __________________ "It's a dog eat dog world and I feel like I am wearing milkbone underwear"

05/31/2006, 05:54 AM	#4
Randall_James Premium Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 6,727	I see a lot of times where this is a request to parents. If that is the case, you just let mom and dad drive up to the store 2 or 3 times a week to fill water jugs. In about 90 days they will be offering to purchase you your very own RO/DI unit... Works like a charm (do leave a brochure or a web page open every now and then for them to "Spawn" the idea of making water at home :evil grin: __________________ "It's a dog eat dog world and I feel like I am wearing milkbone underwear"

05/31/2006, 05:59 AM	#5
NEEDMONEYFORMORESALT Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Grove City, Ohio Posts: 420	be careful there is a difference between distilled which you buy off the shelve and DI which is in a machine that you fill with jugs and buy. __________________ Things i tell me wife that i shouldn't. (I think she's catching on) "what new coral, oh it must have spawned" "I promise, this will be the last piece of equipment I'll need" Current Tank Info: just moved and starting over

05/31/2006, 06:05 AM	#6
Randall_James Premium Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 6,727	I do not think the difference is much worth noting. As most of the coin machines dispense RO water (virtually all instore machines are RO only) It is rarely I have seen a machine that dispenses Distilled water as it must be transported to the machine. (They do not make distilled on the spot). RO water retains minerals and other compounds that "flavor" the water. RO/DI (I have never seen in a store machine) and Distilled (only seen in jugs typically) make perfectly terrible drinking water and so you will never see them sold as drinking water of any kind. __________________ "It's a dog eat dog world and I feel like I am wearing milkbone underwear"

05/30/2006, 06:46 PM	#3
AZDesertRat Moved On Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: NW Phoenix Posts: 16,621	Sure you can use distilled. After a while it becomes a chore though and you will wish for an RO/DI. Heck you can even use the RO for drinking, cooking and ice makers too. Thats how I talked my wife into letting me buy one!

05/31/2006, 06:51 AM	#7
schnell76 Registered Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Central FL Posts: 161	This is not a case of my parents not wanting to buy me a RO unit, it is a case of my wife and I agreeing to not spend a ton of cash at start up for only a 12 gallon. I used to have a 58 softie and a 30 fish only tank. That got to be pretty expensive. We have since moved and sold everything off and just getting back into the hobby and do not want a financial repeat of what we had (although they were both gorgeous tanks ). In the long run I know that distilled will end up costing more, but since I only plan to change a couple of gallons every week or two I think the convenience outweighs the small price difference. I just wanted to make sure that DI is safe to use in the reef aquarium and is fairly comparable to using RO water.

05/31/2006, 07:17 AM	#8
Randall_James Premium Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 6,727	real quick DI and Distilled are different. DI water is "DeIonized" and "Distilled" is as you know "reconstituted" from steam. And you are right a couple gallons a week hardly justifies an large outlay of money. You might just look to a "DI" filter. This is a cartridge that contains the media to deionize water and has a finite volume it can process over its life. The cost works out to around .30 per gallon as I recall but does save you the gas/time for the store runs. Regardless, I think Distilled and DI are both better options than plain RO. __________________ "It's a dog eat dog world and I feel like I am wearing milkbone underwear"

05/31/2006, 08:35 AM	#9
schnell76 Registered Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Central FL Posts: 161	I used to use a DI filter, the one that changes colors as it get spent. I noticed that they are still around so I may look into that again. I just remember it being a pain to use and hook up, but that was over 5 years ago that I did it and they may have improved on the DI unit. Will probably start out with Distilled since I am at walmart at least once a week anyways. Do I still need to use a water conditioner with Distilled water? Thanks R.J. and all for the help.

05/31/2006, 10:12 AM	#10
gutterguppy Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: PA Posts: 68	On a side note, you should be careful about using distilled water bought from normal (meaning non-lfs) stores. There is the possibility that it may have been stored in copper vessels or that copper tubing could have been used during the distillation process, and as such could be harmful to invertebrates. " You can also use bottled distilled water, but one concern with this type of water is that the bottler may use copper tubing during the distilling process. Not all distillers use copper tubing, so if this is a concern, test the water prior to use for any copper levels. You can always contact the manufacturer and inquire about their processing methods." sources (for reference): http://saltaquarium.about.com/cs/dir...aa062498_2.htm http://faq.thekrib.com/sbegin-longterm.html

05/31/2006, 10:55 AM	#11
Randall_James Premium Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 6,727	Most of the distilling units in use now use aluminum alloys as they are both cheaper and also more effcient. Any volume supplier is going to be using these alloys. I really would not be to concerned here. The only water you would look to add a conditioner or treatment to is raw tapwater. __________________ "It's a dog eat dog world and I feel like I am wearing milkbone underwear"

05/31/2006, 11:48 AM	#12
angelsj247 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Joliet, IL Posts: 866	i buy about 12 gallons of distilled water jugs from walmart every couple of weeks. its only like .50 a gallon or something.. not bad. __________________ 2 perc clownfish, 2 peppermint shrimp, astrea, turbo, & nassarius snails, 20 lbs Live Rock Current Tank Info: 20gal FOWLR

05/31/2006, 01:28 PM	#13
MCary Premium Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Hardin, Montana Posts: 3,142	Distilled and RO are just two methods for removing impurities in water. They both can produce reagent grade water, or pure water. Some of them don't produce that level of purity. It all depends on the level of purity the system is designed for. It is doubtful that a DI alone could produce the level of purity a RO system can. A RO membrane with a 98% rejection rate produces almost pure water. DI can only remove the cations and anions in the water. A water softener is a basic DI system. At the end of a RO system the DI can pick up the last few remaining electrolytes the RO allowed across its membrane. But the DI couldn't get the larger particles especially if the flow was fast. It is a poor stand alone system.