Ro water no need for RODI system?

One fish

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Hello everyone. Today I received a brand new TDS meter! I have one tank I started about 7 months ago and I started with RO water. The green cap from walmart. I just tested that water and it reads 002! Thats great isn't it? So i don't need a rodi system. I also tested the water coming out of my fridge. It read 154.
So why do i need a RODI system?
 
What are the chlorine levels?
What are the florine levels?
Are there any heavy metals?

http://www.fcwa.org/water/faq.htm
17. Do I need to treat the tap water in any way before I place fish in an aquarium?
The chlorine that Fairfax Water uses for disinfection can be harmful to fish if not dechlorinated before placing in your aquarium. Fairfax Water uses two types of chlorine: free chlorine from April to June as part of our annual flushing program and chloramines the rest of the year, which is a chlorine and ammonia mixture. Free chlorine and chloramine dechlorination is performed differently. Chemical additives with directions for dechlorinating either free chlorine or chloramine from water for use in fish tanks or ponds are available at pet/fish supply stores.

There are many threads on the forums here that talk about the need for RODI water.

I have a friend that swore by his well water. Till one time. He now has a small RODI unit with a boost pump to increase productivity.

How safe can you be and what issues are you willing to chase by no using it.

Personally I would recommend that you get one. I used to do the bucket shuffle getting water from afar. I save now on gas and time by having as unit at my house.

Look at this question too:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2476546
 
Unless you have a tiny tank and don't mind to haul it from Walmart. For larger tank, buying water from the store is out of the question plus you can make water whenever you want.
 
Unless you have a tiny tank and don't mind to haul it from Walmart. For larger tank, buying water from the store is out of the question plus you can make water whenever you want.

Letoan I think you are the only one who understood what I was saying. So those green toped bottles are exactly what I am looking for then... cuz i only have a 15 gallon. :beachbum:
 
Letoan I think you are the only one who understood what I was saying. So those green toped bottles are exactly what I am looking for then... cuz i only have a 15 gallon. :beachbum:

Oh well why did you not say that then?

If you go to a fish store you can get like 5 gallons of water (a 5 gallon pail with a lid) for probably cheaper than that. I have a friend that comes over and gets 5 gallons every now and then from mine for free.
 
If the water came off a RODI system, then TDS would be an appropriate way to gague whether or not the RODI system was up to snuff. The TDS would be 0 if it was. If the RODI system is working properly, then you can rely on the water being good.

But for water that didn't just come off a RODI system, TDS is not an appropriate way to gague whether or not it is OK for your reef tank. Remember that 100ppb of copper would be instant death to your tank but would read 0ppm TDS all day long. If you want to know if that water is good for you, then you either have to take your chances with it or pay for some very expensive testing.
 
To make life simple get a DI canister at Bulk Reef Supply for $39 and be done. Since you already have RO this is all you need. Takes about 60 seconds to hook up and you have 0 TDS water.
 
Are you having any problems with the Wallmart water now?

Is it cost prohibitive?

Then the question is?

And yes, my system uses my own RO/DI for my Reef tank system, and the RO for our drinking water/ice maker.

A 15g system? 20% is ~3g.

MY 20% WC is 52g, and I do it monthly.

If you are successful with the store bought, then stay with it.
And yes I agree that there COULD be other stuff in there, but I wouldn't test for it.
 
I've used the RO water that you can get at wal-mart, bring in your own containers and fill it without issue. I'd expect the green cap stuff is the same. ro/di is preferred but I've done an lps/softies tank with de-chlorinated tap water years ago and the tank was great, no fatalities for the 2 years I had it, no algae issues (had to move, miss that tank still had some neat colored xenia-purple and white rings, and kenya tree coral that was white with bright purpleish-redish polyps).

I don't think RO/DI is a requirement, but it is the best option. Highly recommended. (Although I can't say any tap water would work.. well water seems to have the most issues-doesn't get treated like city water).
 
Potentially, you can use so-called "distilled" water from the grocery store that's intended for use in reconstituting baby formula. Wal-Mart's "green cap" water might be suitable, or it might not (I don't shop at Wal-Mart as a matter of principle).

This is what Wal-Mart says about the water you're referring to:

"We have multiple suppliers that manufacture our products and formulations may change from time to time based on customer feedback and other business needs."

To me, that's not a statement that inspires confidence. Far preferable, IMO, would be to find a decent LFS that will sell purified water to you, though you have to consider whether that LFS is properly maintaining their system.

And as others noted, far more preferable is to get your own RODI system, because it's much cheaper than purchased water in the long run when you consider the cost of the water, the gas you're going to use going to get it, and your back complaining about toting around 40 lbs at a time.
 
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