Keeping top off water fresh ?
- Thread starter zaozao
- Start date
mseferowicz
New member
I notice the same thing a while ago, I'm also using a brute can. I cleaned it all out let it dry out for a few days and refilled; right away the smell was back I'm not sure why. I've been using it like that for a few months now and I have not seen any negative impact but I'm also curious if anyone knows the solution or know of any possible impact.
Tomoko Schum
New member
How about trying a small amount of food grade lime/kalkwasser in your top off water to make the environment inhospitable to bacteria and mildew?
Tomoko
Tomoko
Tomoko Schum
New member
I suppose 4 to 5 tablespoons of food grade lime may be enough to keep the water from smelling mildewy. Since this will add a small amount of calcium and alkalinity to your tank, you might consider adjusting the dosage of whatever supplement you are using.
Tomoko
Tomoko
wtrhed
Premium Member
Negative. I use the same setup as posted, but I top off strictly limewater via a LitreMeter III doser. I mix 1.5 cups/350ml Kent kalkwasser with 32gl Brute R/O water. After a few days it smells terrible!! I have put a small 1200gph powerhead in and found it only stirred up the sediment and did not help the smell. I'm so glad I found this post because I was just recently wondering the same thing. This has to be some type of bacteria that is being dosed into our tanks.Any input would be great.
Tomoko Schum
New member
I have no smell issue, either. Fresh water Blue Green Algae (cyano) has a distinct mildewy smell...
Tomoko
Tomoko
8BALL_99
New member
Its the trash can.. Mine did\does the same thing..Odd thing is I had to get a new one awhile back due to a heater meltdown.. my new one doesnt seem to have that problem, But the one I use at my office to mix New SW gets the same smell after a few days. I think its just something about the plastic.. I've cleaned mine with bleach, vineger neither helps.
Siffy
New member
I use a couple brutes as well, and I haven't noticed the smell or had anyone say anything about one. I keep mine covered (but not sealed/clicked shut) when I'm not doing something with them. Nothing should be able to grow in RO/DI as it's a sterile environment. If it's not something leaching from the container itself as Will suggested, you may want to check your TDS levels. Initial and a few days later. It's normal for them to creep back up after a few days of gas exchange (10-15ppm is acceptable and likely just the water re stabilizing with the atmosphere). But if your initial TDS is greater than 1ppm, you likely have a problem with your RO/DI unit.
8BALL_99
New member
I dont think its a problem.. I still use my office can.. The only reason I replaced the one at home is cause my broken heater burnt clean through the bottem lol.. I think its just a smell the plastic plus water gives off.. Its not like it smells the room up.. Just when you first take the lid off you do knotice it.. I had the same two cans for a few years and never had any problems..
RO/DI water might be clean.. But the thing is once you remove the Chlorine from the water there is nothing to stop bacteria from growing.. I store my RO in a sealed container with just a single air hole.. I have a carbon block on the airhole to help filter any air going into the container when I drain it.. If you are going to keep just straight RO/DI in a semi-open container for more then a day or two.. I would suggest doing like tomoko said and adding a few table spoons of lime.. The lime is good for you tank and will help keep bacteria and mold out of your water... Not to mention lime is dirt cheap...
RO/DI water might be clean.. But the thing is once you remove the Chlorine from the water there is nothing to stop bacteria from growing.. I store my RO in a sealed container with just a single air hole.. I have a carbon block on the airhole to help filter any air going into the container when I drain it.. If you are going to keep just straight RO/DI in a semi-open container for more then a day or two.. I would suggest doing like tomoko said and adding a few table spoons of lime.. The lime is good for you tank and will help keep bacteria and mold out of your water... Not to mention lime is dirt cheap...
Tomoko Schum
New member
As Will pointed out, bacteria will grow in your RODI water.
It is well known that some plasticizer will leach from a plastic container, although I am not sure if the smell is related to that.
Tomoko
It is well known that some plasticizer will leach from a plastic container, although I am not sure if the smell is related to that.
Tomoko
Siffy
New member
Any RO/DI container that has life growing in it is either likely contaminated or the RO/DI unit isn't in proper working condition. Bacteria can NOT grow, live, and proliferate in actual RO/DI. As I said earlier, it's sterile. There are no nutrients to live on. Also, I asked a chemical engineer friend who does much lab work with small organisms (mainly yeast) this question to confirm my thoughts and he laughed when I asked "what grows well in RO/DI?". He said nothing and that that was the point. He stated that most organisms' cells would rupture upon contact with pure RO/DI due to the difference in osmotic pressures.
Adding lime will likely make the issue worse from the impurities. There are fish in Japan that live in water with a pH <4. Odds are plenty of bacteria strains can live in water with a pH ~11.
I would again urge checking the TDS of the RO/DI's output for anyone with a smelly topoff container. I would also suggest cleaning the container well or even buying a new one if the current one has ever been used for anything else (ie., actual trash can).
Adding lime will likely make the issue worse from the impurities. There are fish in Japan that live in water with a pH <4. Odds are plenty of bacteria strains can live in water with a pH ~11.
I would again urge checking the TDS of the RO/DI's output for anyone with a smelly topoff container. I would also suggest cleaning the container well or even buying a new one if the current one has ever been used for anything else (ie., actual trash can).
Tomoko Schum
New member
RODI water is sterile in itself. However, your container may not be. Air it is exposed to is not. Our hands will introduce impurities in it. Soon enough RODI water gets contaminated. It's inevitable. We let it sit in our top off container for days on end. The spores (not the actively living cells) of bacteria and algae will wait out and germinate in the water as soon as the environment becomes favorable to its existence. A very high pH of lime water creates an inhospitable environment to many organisms. So is the very low pH of vinegar. Not to all, of course. I am just trying to offer a way to minimize a problem. Impurities is a fact of life unfortunately in most places. Even in "the clean room" at work it happens.
I don't know what this smell is like or where it's coming from since I don't have the problem. It is necessary to find out its cause in order to get rid of it. It may not be bacteria at all after all. If it's a bacteria bloom such as BGA, bleaching the container should get rid of the bacteria for awhile. Some plastic containers do take on a funny smell sometimes and it's hard to get rid of the smell.
By the way, an osmotic pressure difference is an important topic to an aquarist. A lot of fresh water fish keepers believe that a pH swing is very harmful to fish. However, most of the time, it's the sudden osmotic pressure change that gets them, often rupturing the cells in the gills.
Sorry about my rambling. I'll shut up now.
Tomoko
I don't know what this smell is like or where it's coming from since I don't have the problem. It is necessary to find out its cause in order to get rid of it. It may not be bacteria at all after all. If it's a bacteria bloom such as BGA, bleaching the container should get rid of the bacteria for awhile. Some plastic containers do take on a funny smell sometimes and it's hard to get rid of the smell.
By the way, an osmotic pressure difference is an important topic to an aquarist. A lot of fresh water fish keepers believe that a pH swing is very harmful to fish. However, most of the time, it's the sudden osmotic pressure change that gets them, often rupturing the cells in the gills.
Sorry about my rambling. I'll shut up now.
Tomoko
8BALL_99
New member
But the thing is inless you bleach your container pumps and plumbing constantly, Then there is a chance for bacteria to start. The longer RO/DI water is exposed to the air.. IE trash can the higer the chance of mold bacteria and what ever else to get into the water..
The smell in my case I know isn't due to bacteria or a problem with my unit.. I tried bleaching my trashcan and all 3 of my ro/di units keep a 0 TDS reading most of the time.. When I first knoticed the smell I did check and clean everything. I never really worried about it after that. I just figured it was the plastic.. But since my cans are suppose to be food grade plastic I figured I was about as good as I could get..
The smell in my case I know isn't due to bacteria or a problem with my unit.. I tried bleaching my trashcan and all 3 of my ro/di units keep a 0 TDS reading most of the time.. When I first knoticed the smell I did check and clean everything. I never really worried about it after that. I just figured it was the plastic.. But since my cans are suppose to be food grade plastic I figured I was about as good as I could get..
