DI Water Only Ok?
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Scuba_Steve
Premium Member
I am by no means a water quality expert, but di only should be fine. The problem with di only is it is very inefficient as it degrades the di resin very quickly. The ro stages last much longer, and remove 95% of tds, so your di doesnt have to work very hard, there it lasts much longer. The best way to check is have them show you the tds reading. Good ro/di will read 0.
Shagsbeard
New member
If they've already added salt, the TDS isn't going to work... you'll just have to trust them. Wait a minute... did I just advise someone to trust their LFS? Can't that result in a ban?
AZDesertRat
In Memoriam
DI by itself is very poor at phosphates, silicates and nitrates among other things. Weakly ionized substances need the added benefit of carbon and reverse osmosis to be effectively removed.
I would stick with the RO/DI if you have a choice.
I would stick with the RO/DI if you have a choice.
virginiadiver69
New member
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11051659#post11051659 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by kydsexy
what you do istest your city water, your tap water for silicates, phospates, nitrates. you water may be filtered thru the ground then refiltered. it's possibe that you're tap water is just fine.
You would have to test daily because these #'s will change.
Tap water is never good to use.
lol most cities test water quality on a daily basis. throughout the day. as long as you have the cash for ro/di systems its fine. but remember, ro/di systems have not ALWAYS been used. and where big city businesses arent affecting water quality, the water should be tested and possibly used.
as long as you have the cash for ro/di systems its fine. but remember, ro/di systems have not ALWAYS been used. and where big city businesses arent affecting water quality, the water should be tested and possibly used.
virginiadiver69
New member
lol most cities test water quality on a daily basis. throughout the day for human consumption NOT for reef aquarium suitability. Besides...just because "they" test it, that does not mean you would know what those frequently changing numbers are. The "tap water is fine" advice is what you would get at Petco or Petsmart, so that should tell you something.
AZDesertRat
In Memoriam
Most cities do not test water quality on a daily basis. If they have a surface water plant they will test process control parameters like pH, alkalinity, nitrates and chlorine residuals and thats about it. If they ahve groundwater supplies it may be 3 years between certain tests by law. Surface water requires more frequent testing for certain things but that can still be quarterly or annually. The annual water quality reports you receive every year are only required to list the constituenst that were tested that calendar year so you may not see some items on the list since they can be broken up into 3 year testing cycles. Nitrates can be an annual test, phosphates do not need to be done even annually unless you reach a trigger level.
The thing an RO/DI gives you is consistency, you get the same water every time you make it if you maintain it correctly. Tap water can and does change daily or even hourly. A storm rolls through, rivers flow and treatment changes drastically. Demand goes up, additional sources are added, water quality changes. A water main down the street breaks and causes a backflow incident, water quality suffers. These things happen every day all over the world. Tap water is not consistent period.
The thing an RO/DI gives you is consistency, you get the same water every time you make it if you maintain it correctly. Tap water can and does change daily or even hourly. A storm rolls through, rivers flow and treatment changes drastically. Demand goes up, additional sources are added, water quality changes. A water main down the street breaks and causes a backflow incident, water quality suffers. These things happen every day all over the world. Tap water is not consistent period.
AZDesertRat
In Memoriam
To answer the original question, DI water would be much better than tap water by far. RO/DI water would be a much better choice though. If you are buying water from anywhere, make sure they test it in your presence so you have confidence in what you are buying. If they don't have a way to test it or will not do so look somewhere else. In the long run owning your own RO/DI unit is a wise investment not only for your fish and coral but for yourself for RO drinking water, your health is kinda important too!
I need to argue with the Rat on this one. DI resins usually used for general water treatment should remove just about everything. There are some DI speciality resins, weak anion, that may not completely remove things like phosphate all that well but the strong cation, strong cation resins used in most water filtration units do it well and one can get 18 million ohm water out of a DI without RO. Now the DI will not remove much in the way of organic materials and carbon can be used as a prefilter in such a case. RO's main purpose is to take the load off the DI stage and prolong the life of the resin by many fold. It is more economics than water quality in using a RO stage first.
Speak of the Devil.
Speak of the Devil.
AZDesertRat
In Memoriam
I knew you would come out of the woodwork eventually!
But now it is getting time to root for The Red Sox.
honestly if i were you, i dont know your financial situation or how serious u are about this hobbie but the best thing is to get your own RO water pump. This was u cut out the middle man, water changes dont become such a hassle and your know your water quality should be good. I was spending 1.25 -1.50/gal on water changes and economically it made sense to get my own RO filter.
Thank you for all of your inputs. I guess i should be looking into purchasing a ro/di unit.
Because i am damn serious in this hobby. I have already spent $3000 dollars just for the first 2 month. Whats another $300 hundred right?
Haha is the trouble of setting it up that is stopping me!!
Thanks you all!!
Because i am damn serious in this hobby. I have already spent $3000 dollars just for the first 2 month. Whats another $300 hundred right?
Haha is the trouble of setting it up that is stopping me!!
Thanks you all!!
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