Regular distilled water vs RO / DI system

[Zionas]

Is using an RO / DI system absolutely necessary for optimal water quality and the health of all livestock, or would regular distilled water be just as good? My dealer says I’ve got a choice between the two and I am wondering what I should go with. Of course if I pick RO / DI then he’ll sell me an RO / DI system and set it up for me.

 

[lpsouth1978]

Distilled is fine but can get expensive, especially for a large tank. If you have a small tank grabbing a gallon of distilled is no big deal, but grabbing 20 gallons for a 180 every week, would be a real chore. In the long run having an RODI system will be easier and more cost effective for a larger system. Spend a little now, save for a long time.

 

[Boku]

Avoid Distilled... Distilled water is steam condensed on copper coils and then collected. It has higher trace amounts of copper due to this process. This "can" cause issue and copper buildup in the system. My suggestion is to spend the money on a High Quality RODI system. It will pay for itself eventually. What RO/DI system is he trying to sell you? Do you know if your city uses chloramines?

 

[Retro Reefer]

Distilled water is fine, I ran a couple nanos for many years using it. They don’t use copper coils to make commercial distilled water anymore.

this is around .89 cents at our local Walmart and is what I used..

 

[User1]

Agreed here. Distilled is perfectly find and I've used 1 gallon jugs for top off on my nano and 40 breeder for years. The main issue is cost. A gallon to 5 gallon jug is perfect for nano tanks. I'm not sure I'd use it in anything over 50 gallons though. You start talking about a 1/2 gallon to gallon of evaporation a day and it will add up.

 

[Sailingeric]

You will save money in the long run with an RODI unit. I think I was in about $300 between my BRS system and 65 gallon storage container. My tank uses about 1 gallon day of fresh water plus what ever water change I do, sometimes it is 5 gallon, sometimes 15 gallon, depending on how long I go between changes. If I was paying 89 cents a gallon like mentioned above, I would be ahead after about 10 months.

 

[Retro Reefer]

You will save money in the long run with an RODI unit. I think I was in about $300 between my BRS system and 65 gallon storage container. My tank uses about 1 gallon day of fresh water plus what ever water change I do, sometimes it is 5 gallon, sometimes 15 gallon, depending on how long I go between changes. If I was paying 89 cents a gallon like mentioned above, I would be ahead after about 10 months.

all depends on size of tank, I maintained 3 nano/pico tanks using 5 gallons of distilled water a month for top off’s and occasional water changes.. that’s about $45 a year. I also found the 1 gallon jugs extremely convenient for mixing salt water for water changes and topping off my nano tanks.

 

[Sailingeric]

I should have added I have about 75 gallon DT and about 10 gallons in the sump

 

[Zionas]

I’m looking into a good RO / DI system. I’ve asked the guy to give me the best one possible. I’ve also asked him about the presence of chloramine and copper in Guangzhou’s distilled water. I’ll update you guys when he replies.

 

[Natescorals]

Get an RODI system, save your money for one. This hobby is very expensive. Starting out with the best equipment would be the easiest way. I’ve learned from experience. I always went the cheap route because I thought it was easier but then I realized that I needed better equipment. Because things stop working. So you end up buying all the cheap stuff then the higher quality stuff later down the road. When you could have just bought the higher quality stuff to begin with. Trust me with this hobby just buy the higher quality stuff to begin with. Get a good RODI unit because if you get a cheap one your gonna end up buying a newer high quality one in the future.

 

[Zionas]

Of course I’ll be getting the best one possible. My dealer will be giving me the best one he can find. It’ll likely be a Chinese brand though.

 

[ejl2529]

An Ro/di Unit with 5-7 stages is definitely the most cost effective method. There are many that can fill a 5 gallon jug in about an hour or so(approx. 90-120 gph). They can usually produce around 500 gallons of 0 TDS water, depending on your initial tap source, before di resins need to be replaced and around 1500 gallons before other filters need to be replaced.

 

[AZMSGT]

Avoid Distilled... Distilled water is steam condensed on copper coils and then collected. It has higher trace amounts of copper due to this process. This "can" cause issue and copper buildup in the system.

This statement isn't true, I think you are confusing other distillation processes with Distilled water. Distilled water is one of the purest forms you can buy. Distilled WATER is not cooled in copper. If it was it wouldn't be pure and would thus be unsuitable for science.

Distilled water - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Boku]

I thought this was true as well but in a recent video from BRS Ryan mentions that some grocery store "distilled" water contains trace copper. Also I have included a link where people are getting tds as high as 17 from "distilled" water. I am sure there are different "grades" of "distilled" and I agree that if done correctly it cant be the most pure form of water. You will also see in this thread that other people do agree that some companies still use copper in the creation of distilled water.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/recommended-distilled-water-brand.475896/

I guess my point is why leaving something up to chance when you can save money and have water that the industry trusts (rodi) by doing it yourself?

This statement isn't true, I think you are confusing other distillation processes with Distilled water. Distilled water is one of the purest forms you can buy. Distilled WATER is not cooled in copper. If it was it wouldn't be pure and would thus be unsuitable for science.

Distilled water - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

They don’t use copper coils to make commercial distilled water anymore.

In every case? How do you know that? I have looked very hard for information on the nature of the coils used and cannot find it in any instance, let alone every distiller.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

This statement isn't true, I think you are confusing other distillation processes with Distilled water. Distilled water is one of the purest forms you can buy. Distilled WATER is not cooled in copper. If it was it wouldn't be pure and would thus be unsuitable for science.

Distilled water - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Desalination by distillation uses copper coils. How do you know other users do not?

Desalination Plants

Desalination Plants

www.copper.org

from it:

Desalination plants remove salt and other minerals from saline waters to produce fresh water suitable for human consumption or irrigation.

Their technologies fall into three major categories: Multi-Stage Flash (MSF) distillation, Multiple Effect Distillation (MED), and reverse osmosis. Copper alloys are used extensively in the thermal plants: MSF and MED.

Copper-nickel alloys C70600 (90-10 Cu-Ni), C71500 (70-30 Cu-Ni) and C71640 (66-30-2-2 Cu-Ni) are used and perform well due to their corrosion resistance under high chloride and temperature conditions.

 

[Mike27t]

The convenience of never having to carry water jugs to and from the store is worth having your own RODI unit. Plus the money savings in the long run is icing on the cake

 

[Retro Reefer]

In every case? How do you know that? I have looked very hard for information on the nature of the coils used and cannot find it in any instance, let alone every distiller.

Guess I shouldn’t have made such a blanket statement but I would think distilled water made on a industrial scale here in the US is almost certainly made with stainless steel equipment or a stainless alloy of some type.
I have used several different brands of commercial distilled water over the years and none have ever shown any copper levels at all..

just did a quick search for industrial scale distillers and everyone I saw was stainless.

 

[Zionas]

Well it looks like I will be getting the beatbox possible RO / DI system available to me. I’d rather not take the risk with distilled water. Is setting one up a veg complex process? My bathroom is tiny lol.

 

[Softhammer]

Try and get you hands on distilled when a virus breaks out, or hurricane or blizzard depending where you live. You can do distilled but absolutely no contest get RO.