threephase37
New member
A friend of mine is trying to start up a fowlr tank on a tight budget, instead of buying a ro/di filtration system he intends to boil the water. I can't find any previous threads on this so any thoughts?
boiling water
- Thread starter threephase37
- Start date
You can boil water as part of a DIY distillation system. You'd have to boil the water then capture and condense the steam elsewhere. That will give very pure water with possibly only some slight contamination of things with low boiling points (it should be entirely negligible).
But straight boiling won't do anything.
But straight boiling won't do anything.
actually, boiling reduces the half life of chlorine fairly significantly. see page 17 here http://ajdel.wetnewf.org:81/Brewing_articles/BT_Chlorine.pdf
It will actually increase the concentration of metals and many other undesirables though.
tell your friend to save himself the trouble and get an ro/di or just use amquel or some other thiosulfate if he doesn't want to do that.
Ducati 911
New member
How about Distilled water?
This would be a better option contaminant wise but at the expense of increased costs which is the problem in the first place.
Boiling water (due to energy costs) and using distilled water would end up costing a lot more in the long run than a RO/DI system, although you obviously don't have the upfront investment. Everyone above gave good explanations on the issues with boiling. With distilled water, other threads seem to indicate that you don't always know how "pure" the distilled water really is.
threephase37
New member
Thanks for the info, I think he got a little discouraged that I busted his bubble but better he find out now. I told him about the amquel and prime that I read about in the feedbacks, I don't know about these products since I use ro myself but told him to read up on them and do some research before he jumps in head first.
Again thanks
Again thanks
MrTuskfish
Team RC
I'll get kicked for this but not all water is unsuitable for a FOWLR tank. Get a report from your water company that will show whats in it. Test it for nitrate, phosphate, and silicates, be sure it is well mixed and aerated for at least a day, and it may be fine.RO/DI is great; but there are a whole lot of FOWLR tanks running on tap water. Before moving after Katrina, I didn't have RO/DI and kept a lot of fish for many years on tap water, in my two previous residences. I used tap where I live now for about 3 years with no problem and just converted to RO/DI because I was setting up a large reef. Tap water isn't all good, but it isn't all bad either; it depends on your local water supply and what you want to keep. This hobby is expensive; but a modest FOWLR does not always require RO/DI water. $500 worth of LR , top-shelf lighting or a skimmer. All of this stuff will come in time for the hobbyist who is serious; but getting into the hobby doesn't require a 2nd mortgage. Use common sense, hardy fish, good WC habits, good nutrition, QT everything and , in many/most areas, you'll be fine. BTW; prior to Katrina, I had many long-lived fish in tap water; including 2 moorish idols, an achilles tang, regal angel, and a PB tang---all for at least 10 years. Also, if your friend is in Knoxville, I have a good friend with a great 180 gal FOWLR, using Knoxville tap water.
ashton1881
New member
I ,like your friend, have a small budget to work with as well. Actually i have been piecing together a set up for about 9 months now and reading as much as possible to get off on the right foot. Anywho, I searched around on the internet and found that I had a local aquarium club. I got to know some people on there and came across a cheap used ro/di unit from BRS that a member was selling. So, if your buddy is on a budget tell him to look locally. After i put my figures together and added up how much money I would spend at the LFS between water changes, weekly evaporation replacement and other stuff it was cheaper to go on and include an RO/DI in the "Got to have this to get started" column. Lighting is an example of something I gave in on. I figure most of your corals and such need an established aquarium to go in so an expensive lighting system wasn't needed from the start and could be added 6+ mos later. Now, I am a beginner as well so don't just take my word for it
Flaring Afro
Puffer Geek
How about he makes his own rock instead of buying the expensive stuff. It's easy to find tutorials on it and the money left over would easily buy a good RO/DI setup.
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