Distilled vs RODI water

[Cory]

We buy zephyrhills for drinking. I'm using RODI for the tank. Not trying to debate for drinking water or costs but thanks for the info. Keep your filters changed, watch the DI resin and change the membrane once a year. Not worried about nuking the tank with RODI.

There are many potential failure points in an ro/di system. Do you know what they are? How they can happen?

 

[DSC reef]

There are many potential failure points in an ro/di system. Do you know what they are? How they can happen?

I appreciate the concern however the RODI works just fine. We will stick with that as it has been flawless the last 10 years with different units. Thanks again.

 

[robert teseo]

you do not get pure water from a distiller. it only reduces what is in your tap. if you have really bad water, you may have to distill it 2 or even 3 times. I,m in the business and that's what we tell our customers if they need really clean water.

 

[SaltLifer]

I use RO/DI from my LFS since I don’t have a RO/DI unit. If I run out before I can make it back, I use distilled.

 

[srad750c]

I've always wondered with RODI how it doesn't affect the fish. Ya know how people can't drink it because it will suck ions from your body? Why is it ok for fish then? How does it not suck ions out of the fish, especially since they are encapsulated in it?

I drink RO/DI water but it goes through a bed of aragonite first. There shouldn’t be an issue with straight RO/DI, if you’re eating a proper diet. You get all your ions from the foods you eat. Can’t be worse than tap water or water from plastic bottles, I’m just saying

 

[srad750c]

you do not get pure water from a distiller. it only reduces what is in your tap. if you have really bad water, you may have to distill it 2 or even 3 times. I,m in the business and that's what we tell our customers if they need really clean water.

Explain how the water isn’t pure from distillation, the only issue I see if if your condenser isn’t made from glass. If your condenser is glass, there should be no contaminates.

 

[drblakjak55]

It is very easy to attach a RO unit to the wall. Couple screws. If you have a hose faucet nearby get a y adaptor. One y to the 3/8 inch tubing adaptor. Other y to a short hose for the freshwater tanks. No hose faucet they have a neat quick drill thing. No electricity needed. 150$ gets you a five stage unit that makes the 25 gallons I need into one Brute. It will create two Brutes of wastewater I pump into the garden or the toilet. This will take 8 to ten hours. This water also tastes better than Brita. RO at 0 to 1 tds. Brita at 20. Poland spring at 60. Our city water at 120 tds.

 

[Victoria M]

I've always wondered with RODI how it doesn't affect the fish. Ya know how people can't drink it because it will suck ions from your body? Why is it ok for fish then? How does it not suck ions out of the fish, especially since they are encapsulated in it?

Yea, that's why, I read, that it's unhealthy to drink the DI stage of the water (DEionization). Because it sucks all of the ions from the water and then when you drink it, it will take ions from your body.

Hobbyist level RO water is safe to drink. There are home use RO units in fact. DI resin removes the last contaminates that made it past the RO filter, by attracting the contaminates chemical ions and binding them to the resin. The result is very pure water. Not a solution that is capable of altering the ions in your body. It is not considered safe to drink RO DI water however because DI resin .... I do not recall exactly why it is not safe. LOL. Perhaps @Randy Holmes-Farley could clear up this myth for us. I have read articles that were very informative on this subject and they were probably written by him.

 

[Gareth elliott]

Hobbyist level RO water is safe to drink. There are home use RO units in fact. DI resin removes the last contaminates that made it past the RO filter, by attracting the contaminates chemical ions and binding them to the resin. The result is very pure water. Not a solution that is capable of altering the ions in your body. It is not considered safe to drink RO DI water however because DI resin .... I do not recall exactly why it is not safe. LOL. Perhaps @Randy Holmes-Farley could clear up this myth for us. I have read articles that were very informative on this subject and they were probably written by him.

http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/dwq/nutrientschap12.pdf

 

[Forsaken77]

We buy zephyrhills for drinking. I'm using RODI for the tank. Not trying to debate for drinking water or costs but thanks for the info. Keep your filters changed, watch the DI resin and change the membrane once a year. Not worried about nuking the tank with RODI.

Your membrane should last well past a year if properly flushed. Just sayin. Some people are on 8 years. I would think the average is more like 2+ years if properly maintained.

 

[Victoria M]

Well...reading that very long and incredible confusing article lead me to the same understanding. In conclusion the study found that drinking demineralized water was not considered the ideal drinking water and its regular consumption may not be providing adequate levels of some beneficial nutrients. All was trying to say is that RO water is not a poison that will harm you or "suck ions out of your body". RO DI water however is not considered safe to drink.

 

[Victoria M]

I hope that does not sound snotty, I am not trying to be snotty, but sometimes printed words get read in your head with a snotty tone.

 

[Gareth elliott]

Well...reading that very long and incredible confusing article lead me to the same understanding. In conclusion the study found that drinking demineralized water was not considered the ideal drinking water and its regular consumption may not be providing adequate levels of some beneficial nutrients. All was trying to say is that RO water is not a poison that will harm you or "suck ions out of your body". RO DI water however is not considered safe to drink.

Was only study I found that wasn’t produced by a water sanitation company.

2004 Expert Consensus Meeting Group Report. Its actually much longer chapter 14 is 8 pages on fluoride lol.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Oh that's great to know. Cost isn't an issue, since our school has an actual water distiller for the lab. Why do more people not by more home distillers then? Costs about the same as an RODI unit.

Some do, but it is very costly for the energy.

Since you have the distiller, is it glass cooling coils? Or if metal, do you know what type? If copper (or copper colored), I wouldn't use it.

 

[oysterk]

Some do, but it is very costly for the energy.

Since you have the distiller, is it glass cooling coils? Or if metal, do you know what type? If copper (or copper colored), I wouldn't use it.

I'll check, thanks

 

[oysterk]

Stainless steel coils on the distiller @Randy Holmes-Farley

 

[FloodWaters]

At the end of the day it really comes down to the source of your distilled or RO water. Once you test your water from whatever source it comes from then it really comes down to your needs and avaliablity. It would be a very rare instance where anything came out more cost effective than a home RO system for a medium to large tank.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Stainless steel coils on the distiller @Randy Holmes-Farley

That's likely fine.

 

[LetItReef]

Hello- how much to replace filter/cartridges on a RODI system and how long is it good for? Been using distilled water since day one. I only have a Nuvo 40.
Thanks!

 

[Gareth elliott]

Hello- how much to replace filter/cartridges on a RODI system and how long is it good for? Been using distilled water since day one. I only have a Nuvo 40.
Thanks!

That really depends on several things, initial water quality being the most important. When i had well water drawn from a sand aquifer i had very little tds. Now on city water my tds is high and has high amounts of Ca and rodi last less. Would say 1-3yrs on the carbon block, 6m on sediment filter 2-3yrs di resin. Are some average numbers.

Even on small tanks i find making ro/di cheaper in the long run. Example of my 20 gallon. Weekly wc of 5 gallon changes plus 5 gallons of top off.
Distilled costs me .89/g or 8.90 a week or 462/y.
Basic ro/di unit is $150 from brs.
Each gallon costs me .02 if i include the waste water.
1/3 of the way through year one the unit aready paid for itself. Year 2 its a savings of almost 400 even if you do have to replace some of the filters.