Any good Alternative for RODI

[vivekshankarpmk]

I am from india and i dont have access to RODI as they are very rare in stores. Can i use RO water from general stores as i test the TDS they are @ 17 PPM . Can i have anemones and fishes without corals in my tank .Is there any ways i could reduce the TDS without RODI.

 

[Amado]

I am from india and i dont have access to RODI as they are very rare in stores. Can i use RO water from general stores as i test the TDS they are @ 17 PPM . Can i have anemones and fishes without corals in my tank .Is there any ways i could reduce the TDS without RODI.

buy a RODI system from eBay . Where are you getting your fish or corals from? reach our to them they should have RODI water.

 

[45ZoaGarden]

No, there is NO alternative to ro/di water. I’m sure you can find an rodi filter somewhere to make it yourself?

 

[old salt reefer]

No, there is NO alternative to ro/di water. I’m sure you can find an rodi filter somewhere to make it yourself?

Distilled Water

 

[45ZoaGarden]

Distilled Water

Distilled water is only RO. It still has many dissolved solids that can fuel algae.

 

[NS Mike D]

not all distilled water is equal and IMO you cannot make blanket statements about it. We have reefers here who have experienced long success with distilled. Distilled water (using steam) can get TDS down to a level that I could argue is close to what RODI users are making - I a referring to those (like me) who are eyeballing their systems and not using a TDS meter.
A huge concern and one to rule out distilled is the use of copper pipes in the process. copper in water is a non starter.

I don't know about nems but fish would be okay with distilled, It's the corals that have the lower tolerances.

Get a bottle of distilled and send it out for testing and then you will have your answer.

 

[hyprc]

Distilled water is only RO. It still has many dissolved solids that can fuel algae.

Nope. Recaptured evaporated water (hence distilled). All solids are left behind. All distilled I've tested has been a solid ZERO TDS. Distilled is not the same as RO. Only thing I could see getting through is volatiles like Ethanol etc.

 

[xxkenny90xx]

I've also heard that not all distilled is created equally but the distilled I buy at rite aid tests at 0tds. If I didn't have an rodi then that is what I'd use.

 

[Pickwun]

Check AliBaba / Ali Express for RO/DI kits. I'm sure you can find something that will work for you, and will pretty quickly save more than it costs.

 

[45ZoaGarden]

+1 “close enough” in a reef tank isn’t good enough. It may work out for fish only but sps will suffer. This gentleman said he lives in India. Unless you guys haven’t been to India, they have some of the planets dirtiest water. The water people bathe in is toxic. Toxic far beyond what many of us consider gross. It’s BAD. You would need the best you can get. Distilled water would still leave MANY heavy metals and toxins behind that are harder to separate. You would need to Atleast run it though a sediment, carbon, and ro membrane before distilling to get somewhat useable water. But it would still be tainted and not sterile enough for stick.

not all distilled water is equal and IMO you cannot make blanket statements about it. We have reefers here who have experienced long success with distilled. Distilled water (using steam) can get TDS down to a level that I could argue is close to what RODI users are making - I a referring to those (like me) who are eyeballing their systems and not using a TDS meter.
A huge concern and one to rule out distilled is the use of copper pipes in the process. copper in water is a non starter.

I don't know about nems but fish would be okay with distilled, It's the corals that have the lower tolerances.

Get a bottle of distilled and send it out for testing and then you will have your answer.

 

[NS Mike D]

While we are the subject of going RODI, before buying one you'll want to test your water source for pressure and TDS and if your water source uses chlorine or chloramine. RODI requires a minimum pressure to work. (there are pre-unit pumps that can solve low flow situations. There a charts to help decide how many chambers to use (and how to use them). If your source has a lot of compounds and minerals, it can use up the expensive DI quickly, so one or more inexpensive filters at the front can help do some heavy lifting extending the life of the DI. Also, chloramine requires different filters (most good units will remove chloramine but this is something you want to confirm before you pull the trigger.

Then there is the GPD or flow rate. You'll need to estimate the amount of RODI water you need to make and how much time you are willing devote to this. Units are rated and you can calculate how long it will take you make what you need. (for example it takes me 75 minutes to make 5 gallons of RODI once a week).

There are a number of threads you can read on the subject, BRS has some good info (they want you to buy one of their units) or you can use this thread to post your questions and plans so you can be confident you'll get a unit that is right for your needs.

 

[AZMSGT]

Distilled water is only RO. It still has many dissolved solids that can fuel algae.

Wrong

Distilled water - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[slojim]

plenty of people with clean water sources have fish only tanks without RO. I think I have more water-hours without RO than with, and at least for fish, no significant difference in results. It depends a lot on the water, and some of the water marketed as distilled might not all be the same - so it's tough to say if your water will be good enough. However, I have an algae turf scrubber, and it seems to me that it removes some impurities (not just nitrate/phosphate) from the water column. So if hte water is "good enough" to support life, it might be a little better if you run an algae-based filter.

 

[LeftyReefer]

I'd use the 17 TDS RO water from the store and call it a day.
Every time I've bought RODI from an LFS, its always tested well above 0 TDS anyway. I don't think many LFS's are up to snuff on their filter changes to maintain true 0 TDS water. None around me are anyway.

I'd use the store bought RO water or just plain distilled water. either would be fine.
That's all I used for the first year I had my reef tank and never had any issues doing so. I now have my own RODI system only because it's much easier making my own at home rather than lugging 5 gallon jugs of RO around, but going from the 7 TDS store bought water to 0 TDS home made RODI didn't affect anything in my tank that I could tell.

 

[DE FISH]

Natural sea water