Distilled or RODI?

[DSEKULA]

I broke it by dropping it, it cracked in 4 spots. I want to wait until I get a little more allowance for a new 7 stage from BRS I wish I had the money now because they are on sale. I am going to use the distilled that I am getting for 89 cents a gallon until I can get the new unit. I was just more asking for someone who doesn't have any access to RODI and they could buy distilled at the grocery store. I am 99% sure because of the way distilled water is made it would have very little TDS.

Yes you can use distilled, yes depending on the tank size cost will work out one way or the other. What broke on the current rodi? Many people don't realize it, but you can buy the pieces individually so while an assembled unit is convenient you may only need certain parts to fix the existing unit making the cost much lower.

 

[William Mumford]

Yes you can use distilled, yes depending on the tank size cost will work out one way or the other. What broke on the current rodi? Many people don't realize it, but you can buy the pieces individually so while an assembled unit is convenient you may only need certain parts to fix the existing unit making the cost much lower.

It was one that I won in a raffle It had screw on all in one filters not the good BRS ones. The part that really broke it was the cap of the on top cracked. It wasnt worth fixing it when the BRS is so much better.

 

[flyline]

Well by law there is a small allowance of impurity’s the company’s are allowed to have it might be parts per million but they are there and it’s stuff a good RODI unit could take out

 

[DSEKULA]

It was one that I won in a raffle It had screw on all in one filters not the good BRS ones. The part that really broke it was the cap of the on top cracked. It wasnt worth fixing it when the BRS is so much better.

In general the housings will work the same as long as they fit the specific filter cartridge. If all the filters with the gaskets fit correctly the only thing that may change is your flow through the filter based on smaller fittings but for most people the output of the rodi portion will be the greatest factor for flow. When I install filters for my clients the largest difference that I find from one manufacturer to the next is that the threads on the cheaper ones are plastic and the brackets are flimsy. for example here is the system I built for my tank, the last three filters on the bottom right house the brs di resin refillable filters. I'm certainly not saying that there's anything wrong with the brs set up but you could certainly use their products with other units or add on to the portion of your unit that wasn't broken instead of replacing the whole thing. To me the positive of the brs units is basically that you don't have to plumb them.

 

[fjpod]

I'm returning to the hobby and have run a reef bio cube 16 successfully for years on deionized water made from API tap water purifier. It worked great for me for the small quantities i needed, and being in nyc, our water is fairly soft and the cartridges lasted a long time. Cheap, easy, and no wasted water (for which we pay somewhat dearly). The unit is no longer made, unfortunately.

So now i am restarting my 16 gallon tank, and i will need, what? 1-2 gallons per week.

Putting aside all the arguments about cost, and, being man enough to shell out for the cost of a ro/di, why can't distilled water be used, especially if it tests out at near zero TDS?

I've heard the argument about copper, but doesn't all water go through copper pipes? And during the distillation process, assuming all TDS get to near zero during distillation, can't we assume that nearly all the copper is processed out? Has anyone actually tested the water for copper? Has anyone tested their ro/di water for copper?

Has anyone actually had a bad experience with distilled water? That can be attributed to copper?

 

[Zach W]

I'm returning to the hobby and have run a reef bio cube 16 successfully for years on deionized water made from API tap water purifier. It worked great for me for the small quantities i needed, and being in nyc, our water is fairly soft and the cartridges lasted a long time. Cheap, easy, and no wasted water (for which we pay somewhat dearly). The unit is no longer made, unfortunately.

So now i am restarting my 16 gallon tank, and i will need, what? 1-2 gallons per week.

Putting aside all the arguments about cost, and, being man enough to shell out for the cost of a ro/di, why can't distilled water be used, especially if it tests out at near zero TDS?

I've heard the argument about copper, but doesn't all water go through copper pipes? And during the distillation process, assuming all TDS get to near zero during distillation, can't we assume that nearly all the copper is processed out? Has anyone actually tested the water for copper? Has anyone tested their ro/di water for copper?

Has anyone actually had a bad experience with distilled water? That can be attributed to copper?

Unless the condenser on the distillation unit is bad and leaching metal it should be 0 TDS. I have a 20 gallon tank and use distilled water all the time with no detriment!

 

[fjpod]

Update.... To get my API tap water filter going again, I bought some new color changing DI resin for 10 bucks, and some new charcoal. Took it apart, cleaned it, replaced the media, easy-peasy.

Now making DI water, gallon every 4-5 minutes, TDS 00.00. Saves me trips to Target.

 

[Sleepydoc]

Unless the condenser on the distillation unit is bad and leaching metal it should be 0 TDS. I have a 20 gallon tank and use distilled water all the time with no detriment!

What are the condensing coils made of? If they are made of copper or brass they could leach copper into the water. I have never seen a machine used to make distilled water, so I don’t know. It strikes me as something that would not necessarily need to be disclosed by the companies selling it so you wouldn’t necessarily know.

 

[William Mumford]

What are the condensing coils made of? If they are made of copper or brass they could leach copper into the water. I have never seen a machine used to make distilled water, so I don’t know. It strikes me as something that would not necessarily need to be disclosed by the companies selling it so you wouldn’t necessarily know.
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I would make the argument that most all distilled water in 2020 comes from stainless coils. Copper and brass are expensive and do not last as long. If you buy your distilled from the guy down the road maybe it would be done with copper but this is not moonshiners where they sorce the water from a guy who sells it out of his truck bed.