Distilled Water or Reverse Osmosis Water?

[Chris918]

Hello,

I recently set up a new 20 gallon saltwater aquarium. I have a little bit of knowledge as I have done this once before, however I decided it was too expensive and I quit early. However, now with more financial stability I'm back at it. :dance:

Currently the tank was set up with tap water. This will likely make some of you cringe.

My question is this: After much research I have of course learned that tap water can be unsuitable and that most of us prefer a purer water. My question is what do I choose? I know most aquarists swear by an RO/DI unit, however I can't afford that quite yet. My LFS does sell RO water, but it is pretty expensive in my opinion and I'm not satisfied with their knowledge of the saltwater hobby. Distilled water is supposed to be at 0 tds, which would make it the purest right? But I hear it removes all the minerals you want from the water and that this is bad (True or not?). Reverse Osmosis I hear is not quite as pure, but that it does the job. I've heard praise for both compared to tap water. Which should I use and what precautions should I take? At this point I'd rather slowly switch the tank over to RO or Distilled water to have a purer foundation. I thank you all very much for reading and look forward to hearing from anyone.

Chris

 

[Timfish]

An RO/DI filter will be much cheaper in the long run than buying distilled. I for one do not see a problem using tapwater though:

http://youtu.be/-eCQSVdqBQA

 

[Chris918]

That is a gorgeous setup. Thanks for sharing that video. You are really the first person I have heard that doesn't immediately freak out when I mention tap water. Is that what you used for that tank?

 

[fishchef]

There's RO and then there's RO/DI, which at its best is 0 tds. For the long term its RO/DI. Tap may seem to work at first, but after years the problems arise.

 

[Chris918]

Well I guess what I'm asking is if I end up using RO or distilled water do I need to add back any minerals to the water? There is so much confusion online. i can't afford the RO/DI system at the moment. The water is just tap water right now. What would you recommend I use until I can afford an RO/DI system?

 

[fishchef]

With 0 tds all you need to add is the salt mix. Buying water can add up quick. For about $200 you can get a 4 stage RO/DI. Money well spent.

 

[Chris918]

Alright thanks I appreciate your time and help.

Chris

 

[CODE3EMT]

Check out Bulk Reef Supply and look at their RO/DI 75 gallons per day system. You won't regret it.

 

[madweazl]

Well I guess what I'm asking is if I end up using RO or distilled water do I need to add back any minerals to the water? There is so much confusion online. i can't afford the RO/DI system at the moment. The water is just tap water right now. What would you recommend I use until I can afford an RO/DI system?

The salt mix will add everything you need. On a small tank, the cost of distilled water at the local market isnt that bad for normal maintenance. I will add that an RO/DI unit will be one of the best investments you'll ever make though.

There was a comment about tap water being an issue over time but if your tap water is good, there wont be any issues over time. My initial fill was with tap water just because I wasnt around to monitor the tank filling over the course of a day (75gpd BRS unit and a 75g tank plus sump). Our tap water is very low on TDS and there wasnt anything living in the tank anyways so it didnt matter for me.

 

[CSalty]

Of course distilled water will work in my opinion it's just like buying RO/DI water. But invest for a RO/DI in the future. It will save tons of money in the long run.


SSgt Saltwater

 

[SFish]

My question has always been is water distilled for drinking just as clean as RO/DI water? I know lab grade distilled water would be cleaner. I assume distilled drinking water is only done once so it's not double or triple distilled.

 

[Reef Frog]

Tap water good enojgb for a reef is the exception and not the rule. Especially with municipal water. More and more water authorities are using chloramine - that stuff won't evaporate quickly and the conditioners must be used in spades to deal with it. A proper RODI with a specialized carbon block filter is best.

The right system can be had starting for about $175. It may seem expensive but you really should reach doe it. The payback is quick. This is an expensive hobby and often it's a big mistake to get into it underfunded. All you will reap is frustration and dead animals. Personally I'd delay entry until you've assembled the necessary funds. Or maybe look around for strategic used equipment to free up some money.

 

[CStrickland]

You can buy a tds meter today for $20. This will tell you whether the water is safe to use while you are getting your own system together. Whether you buy distilled or rofrom the store, or make your own,you want zero tds. I'd probably do 25% changes twice a week for three weeks or so to get the tap water out, and then get back to regular maintenance.

It's not a bad thing to remove minerals. Our salt mix is meant to be used with pure h2o, it has the right mineral levels like the ocean. In fact you can wind up with too much of a good thing if your water has those minerals to begin with.

A 20 gallon tank doesn't use that much water on a regular basis, though it will be expensive to do a lot of changes at first to clear out the old tap water. If you do 2 gallon changes every week it's up to you whether it's more convenient to buy it or make it. As long as it's zero tds I don't think it matters. The cost difference is probs like $2 a week to buy vs. $.25 a week to make. You can do some math to figure how long the rodi will take to pay for itself but if you feel like it's easier to just buy it that makes sense too.

 

[Sk8r]

Your salt mix contains all the minerals a salt tank needs.

 

[NeilFox]

I use RO/DI water that I buy at Winco for $0.28 a gallon. My tank is only 6.25 gallons and at that rate it will take a long time to justify the price of a watermaker. They also waste a lot of water and we have had some restrictions here in the past. The stuff I get is just fine. Like Sk8r said, salt mix has all the major and minor minerals and trace elements.

 

[Tooboot]

I know that this has been discussed many times before and as this thread shows there are many different view I this.
I am also a newbie and plan in using distilled water, the reason being it's what I know, I can definitely say that distilled water is one of the purest forms and depending of the method of distillation you can get different results (within a range). From what I've researched you want pure water to mix with your salt, and there is no question that ro/di is pure water. I worked where they make and bottle distilled water (for drinking) and know there 1 step process with various filtratiin, softening, uv and distillation (not in that order). Although I don't work there now, it's still close by and I will be getting my water there. I can get an ro/di system due to some country living well issues (story for another day).
I guess I just wanted to provide some evidence regarding water quality for distilled. Keep in mind it all depends on who is producing it, their maintenance and process. Attached are pics from the 5 gallon jug label, it displays the TDS, they test in house weekly and also send samples to a lab regularly to be able to export from Canada to the US, the labels are also slightly different in the US to display certain certifications and provide more specific TDS numbers (1.xyz vs. <2). overall I trust their setup, the people who run it, and the benefits for my freshwatertank. I know there are many different lairs regarding distilled water, figured I would provide some pick. I could provide a website if interested in doing more research it, they wouldn't ship so it wouldn't be from a promotional angle that I would mention the company name. I'll follow up tomorrow to clear up the blurry parts.

 

[ScienceRulez]

In my opinion it depends on the quality of your tap water. If you have good quality water then you can get away with not having an RODI unit. We didn't have one for 8 years and had a successful salt water aquarium here where I work. It's only been in the last couple years that we got an RODI unit. They are well worth the cost, but you can get away without using one. Remember that the ocean isn't pure water.

 

[mcgyvr]

The water coming out of a RO/DI water filter is NOT "distilled" it is "deionized"

Distillation is a thermal process where water is caused to evaporate (steam) via a thermal (heat) process and is collected... Think copper still moonshine process..

Deionized is a chemical process using negative/positively charged resins to exchange the "dirty stuff" and output "clean" water..

 

[SFish]

The RO does most of the work. RO/DI water is not just deionized. You can buy an ion filter with no RO that will not take as much out of the water. Anything non ionic can pass through a DI filter. The RO can take out non ionic stuff.

 

[ScienceRulez]

In my opinion it depends on the quality of your tap water. If you have good quality water then you can get away with not having an RODI unit. We didn't have one for 8 years and had a successful salt water aquarium here where I work. It's only been in the last couple years that we got an RODI unit. They are well worth the cost, but you can get away without using one. Remember that the ocean isn't pure water.

I want to add to this that the reason we got an RODI unit is because the city went with chloramines and they are nearly impossible to neutralize, its a lot easier to filter them out.