Brita as Potential Water Source?

[dntx5b9]

Has anyone used Brita filter to purify water for the water change, i.e. in place of RO/DI? How about other fiters that you can attach to the faucets? Any comments?

 

[kau_cinta_ku]

all britta uses is a carbon filter IMO get a rodi filter they have adaptors to hook up to the facuet.

 

[six.line]

Agreed. Carbon filtering is only one stage in RO water filtering. Not only is it not nearly as efficient, it's also dang expensive, even on your 20 gal.

RO water is 90-95% effective on removing dissolved solids (TDS) from the water source. I usually head to wal mart and get 5 gallons at a time for 33 cents a gallon. For small tanks, that's sufficient.

If you ever plan on getting a bigger tank, or own your own home, just do as kau said and get an RO/DI unit. The 6 stage dudes that sell on eBay are usually $100-$120-- not bad.

 

[sassyfishy]

Agree with the others. I purchased a TDS meter, and decided to play with it a bit to see what I found. My results were as follows:

Distilled water from Walmart = 0 TDS
RO water from Walmart = 3-5 TDS
Brita filtered tap water = 90 TDS
Tap water in my area = 190 TDS

 

[michaeldaly]

A brita filter is better than no filter!

 

[Black Mammoth]

It is cheaper to get an RO/DI unit. You will go through more Brita filters than you can imagine.

 

[michaeldaly]

Initially is cheaper to get a brita filter.

 

[Willie_6]

I have a pur and my TDS actually jumped from tap water to filter. I do not understand why. No it was not a old filter. I can't explain it, but it happened. Still tastes much better than tap.

 

[mdcoblentz]

wait a bit and save up the money for an R/O unit. You'll be much happier with the results and won't have to spend the money on the Brita and the R/O unit after you decide the Brita isn't good enough.

 

[reefer_for_life]

i use distilled water from walmart. never had anyproblems with algae. very happy with it.

 

[TankWatcher]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6623770#post6623770 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by reefer_for_life
i use distilled water from walmart. never had anyproblems with algae. very happy with it.

I agree 100%!!!

I used water from a Brita filter to start my tank and for all water changes for the first few months. Guess what...... MAJOR ALGAE!! I then switched to distilled water from Wal-Mart. My algae is finally going away!!!

At the very least consider using distilled until you can buy RO/DI.

 

[Mykayel]

Spend the money up front and you will be much happier down the road. In a way I was dissapointed because I never really had much algea that a typical tank goes through. But I used RO/DI and cycled my live rock in a holding tank.

 

[dntx5b9]

What's the difference between RO and DI water? Is one better than the other? I am currently using tap water, and my green hair algae is out of control. I do have PUR unit that I am not using so, I was wondering about that. But DI water is something like $1.00 a gallon in my area, I think. Is there a cheaper souce for DI water? I only need 1o gallons a month. So what would be most cost effective?

 

[Abysswater]

If you want a good Ro/Di unit get this one for 99 bucks it works good. Just bought one myself. I get 0 TDS!
i have it being pumped into a open Kent salt bucket with a float valve, that was 14 bucks there too. Plus got a hand held TDS meter for 24.95. All for 147.00 shipped.



http://www.airwaterice.com/product/1MMDI

 

[AllenFord_SC]

Water is single handedly the most important thing in your tank. Why would you go any route that will cause you more money and more problems? Personally I went with the RO/DI unit from Dr. Mac and Sons because of all the great features on it. Yes, it is pricey. Yes there are cheaper units, and they are cheaply built. The Typhoon III from airwaterice is a good one as well but it doesn't come with a booster pump. Read this article about the added value of an RO/DI unit w/ a booster pump.

http://www.pacificeastaquaculture.com/PurifiedWater.aspx

 

[AZDesertRat]

All a Britta or Pur water filter is good for is tastes and odors. Basically they remove the chlorine and little else. It is very possible to get a higher TDS after using one as they are not fine enough to remove anything that is dissolved hence the " Total Dissolved Solids". They can actually trap and re release contaminants back in to the water stream if not changed regularlly.
You really have two choices unless you want to continue buying bottled distilled water. One is RO or RO/DI and the other is DI by itself. Upfront cost will probably be slightly more for RO/DI ( $150 to $200 for a very good quality unit) but your DI resin will last much longer. A DI only unit is really only an option if 1. your raw water is already pretty good quality to begin with, and 2. you recharge your own resin and don't mind working with hazardous chemicals.

 

[dntx5b9]

So if I use distilled water, is that the best? Anyone tried PUR faucet unit?

 

[Wryknow]

Distilled water is very pure, but expensive to make and so it tends to cost more. If up-front money is a problem then I would just buy 10 gallons of RO/DI from a LFS or Wal-Mart (or even many of the grocery stores in my area have a coin operated RO/DI machine in front of them now.) Price ranges from $.25 to $.35 per gallon in my area. I just have a 30 gallon tank and it's just not worth it for me to buy my own RO/DI machine at the moment.

 

[ledford1]

Here, our water is around 200ppm.
Our Brita filter knocks that down to about 95ppm - so it only takes out half of the bad stuff.
My RO/DI puts out 0ppm water.

Hauling water from Wal-Mart or the LFS is not my idea of fun, and it isn't cheap.

I always suggest airwaterice.com for a nice filtration system - and they have various sizes as well.

 

[sassyfishy]

For what it's worth, both the distilled and the RO water you can purchase in the one gallon jugs at Walmart are the exact same price in my neck of the woods. 62 cents for the gallon.

With a larger tank, it isn't worth it in the long run (better to buy your own RO/DI system, as others have stated)...but for a smaller tank - it's an option.