Time to make my own saltwater!

[AydenLincoln]

I just picked up some distilled water which I realized is actually cheaper then my lfs per gallon and bought some Instant Ocean Reef Crystals which are coming tomorrow so hopefully it’ll solve some issues I’m having! I need to buy an RODI too but the one I want wouldn’t get here for another week or two so for now this works!

 

[KrisReef]

I hope you didn't get that Walmart "Parents Choice" distilled water. I bought a bottle once for emergency top off purposes and used it to water the garden after I read the label on that bottle of distilled water. They added nutrients for the baby to make the formula more healthy? $1.09/gal waste it was. I didn't shop at Walmart for a whole week, or until I needed something else in a hurry.
Beware.
Test bottled water (TDS) because even America's favorite stores sell some funky water.

 

[monkeyCmonkeyDo]

I use the ro water from the water dispensers at the grocery store before j use the distilled but hey right on. Kudos! Good for you. I think everyone should make their own sw.
-d

 

[jdpiii3]

I would be careful with distilled water I remember reading a thread many years ago where you could find Trace elements of copper in store produced distilled water.

 

[AydenLincoln]

I hope you didn't get that Walmart "Parents Choice" distilled water. I bought a bottle once for emergency top off purposes and used it to water the garden after I read the label on that bottle of distilled water. They added nutrients for the baby to make the formula more healthy? $1.09/gal waste it was. I didn't shop at Walmart for a whole week, or until I needed something else in a hurry.
Beware.
Test bottled water (TDS) because even America's favorite stores sell some funky water.

Oh no not baby distilled water lol! I know they do haha.

 

[AydenLincoln]

I use the ro water from the water dispensers at the grocery store before j use the distilled but hey right on. Kudos! Good for you. I think everyone should make their own sw.
-d

Distilled water is much better they add so many minerals and other additives to that water it’s essentially purified tap water which is not what you want the DI in RODI is pretty essential. 100%!

 

[AydenLincoln]

I would be careful with distilled water I remember reading a thread many years ago where you could find Trace elements of copper in store produced distilled water.

I bought the store brand and I trust it. I just looked at the nutritional facts published online too and everything is 0% including copper as it should be and it does look like those threads are from 10+ years ago and cooper based pipes etc. have been phased out in many places that make distilled water in particular.

 

[monkeyCmonkeyDo]

Lol research tds. Get a tds meter.
Hths you.
D

 

[AydenLincoln]

Lol research tds. Get a tds meter.
Hths you.
D

Oh yes I know I should.

 

[Jedi1199]

Congrats on the new RODI!

So... here is what you need or at least, I find useful.

A First, a place to hook it up. You need a cold water source and a way to tap into it. Then you need a drain close by. You will produce 4-5x as much waste water as clean water.

Now, where is that clean water going to go? You need a vessel to collect it.

OK... Now you've done it!! You have a big bucket of clean water. You have a bag of dry salt. Now what?

You need a container to mix it and a way to do this easily. A 5g bucket and a pump will do the job nicely. Drop in a small heater to warm the water to tank temp. This is important.

How much salt to add? Start with the directions on the package. Simple enough right? Hmmmm How salty is the water now? Tastes salty.. Looks.. well heck it looks like water.. what the heck??

There are a few ways to check your salinity. You could get a cheap glass hygrometer. It floats and is hard to read and easy to break... Yeah, not the best choice. Hey!! A plastic hygrometer that has a swinging needle.. Extremely inaccurate.. Darn, so much for that. Refractometer? Better choice but has its drawbacks as well.. recall me saying that heating the water is important? Here ya go. There is a whole article by Randy Holmes Farley about refractometers. If you calibrate is at a certain temp, you should test new water at close to that temp as possible because warmer water has more conductivity than cold.

Alright.. you have a filter, a collation vessel, a mixing setup and a way to verify your salinity. YeeHaww!!

How do you get this wonderful homemade water into your tank? Lifting 5g buckets of water is a royal pain. A small water pump (the one you use to mix the salt with) and a length of hose does a wonderful job of moving water from a bucket to a tank with FAR less chance of spillage or disturbance to the tank.