Anyone use Distilled water (from Kroger) as top off? or for water changes?

[thereefster2004]

would really appreciate it, I've been using distilled water 1 gallon type from kroger to do top off on my reef for the past year and haven't much issues with algae or anything, but want to start mixing my own salt and change the water every 2 weeks for the future and was thinking i could use the distilled water for that as well. Ive been using premixed reef crystals saltwater but only have done a few water changes in a year. Haven't had fishes though until now. Any help would be much appreciated.

 

[jcook54]

It might be cheaper to buy RODI water from a LFS or if you're close to Stone Mtn, I've got some you can have when needed. Now to your original question - I don't see anything wrong with using the distilled water but I'd want to at least test it with a TDS meter of some sort to make sure you're getting what you think you're getting. I'd say that for the RODI you might get at a LFS as well just to be safe. I know some folks go to those "Water Refill" stations things you see in supermarkets too but sometimes the filter's on those aren't maintained like they should be.

There are all kinds of different solutions for what base water to use and you'd probably be fine sticking to bottled distilled water even if you didn't test it. Sometimes I think I just like coming up with excuses to use the handheld TDS meter I bought. You know, like a solution looking for a problem.

 

[thereefster2004]

thanks for the input. im in lawrenceveille and the local reef stores have mainly ro water , not RO/DI so not worth the drive always and have limited supply to store containers and no room for a unit. for a 10 gallon reef i'm also thinking of the easiest solution here, thats all. but a safe one as well.

 

[Primereddime]

I've had luck so far using distilled water with no adverse effects to speak of but im getting 0 TDS with my meter. I have a dollar general close by and grab it there for a dollar a gallon. Im going to have to bite the bullet and get a ro/di unit now just went bigger on my tank

 

[Suescuno]

My understanding is that you have to be careful with destiled water because the cooling part was done on serpentine coils made of cooper. I don’t know how destiled water is made these days.

 

[ichthyoid]

If you don’t use a large volume you might also consider a 2 stage/column DI filter.

It will deliver 0 TDS with a simple design & setup.

 

[thereefster2004]

Do you know where I could get that online?

 

[jcook54]

I used to use something like this. It works as a good filter but, depending on where you live, DI resin won't remove chloramines from the water very well. And regular ol' chlorine is hard on DI resin too. When I used something like the single DI chamber it was for freshwater discus and my goal was to soften the super hard water that I was getting from our well (in another state).

https://www.amazon.com/Deionizer-Aq...+water+softener+inline&qid=1579834022&sr=8-28

If you wanted to get really creative, you could buy a 2 stage filter (like below) and run an 1/4" push fit adapter to a faucet. In the 2 stages you could put one carbon block and one DI resin. The carbon would take out the chlorine and the DI resin would take out the TDS. Typically the water in GA has pretty low TDS so the carbon and DI resin should last quite a long time. What county do you live in?

https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/dual-deionization-canister-1.html

Better yet, you could befriend a fellow ARC member that live somewhat close and drop $5 on a 5g water container.

Or you could do exactly what you were thinking and use the distilled water. But that's really a simple solution and I like to make things more difficult than they should be.

 

[ichthyoid]

Do you know where I could get that online?

Buy 3-4 filter housings, two refillable canisters, DI mixed bed resin, 1-2 particulate filters, fittings to connect to your water source and assemble it yourself saving $$. Most of this at BRS or similar sources.

Put all canisters in line. Remove the 1st DI when color changes, move 2nd into 1st Position & install refilled 1st canister into 2nd position. That way you get the most use from the resin.

 

[ichthyoid]

Put a carbon prefilter before the DI stages. If you have chloramine issues, they also make special filters for that.

 

[ichthyoid]

I also prefer housings with 3/4 inch ports for less pressure drop and higher flow. You can reduce it to whatever fitting size you want at the output.

 

[lmm1967]

Properly distilled water should be fine. I theory it’s 100% with nothing else in it - exactly the same as what evaporates out.

Yikes. $1 a gallon would be like a drug habit level expense.

I’m going through 3-4 gallons a day of top off right now and I’ve burned through a 220 gallon box of salt in under a month. I’m standing up a couple new tanks right now so it’s a high usage month but even normal evap of at least 2 gallons a day would get pricey ( and annoying) after a while.

 

[ActiveAngel]

My understanding is that you have to be careful with destiled water because the cooling part was done on serpentine coils made of copper. I don’t know how destiled water is made these days.

I believe this is the best advice so far that hits the target concern for why people don’t commonly use distilled in reef tanks. As far as I know, Copper coils are still the most common equipment for distilling water.

As the water evaporates, it still carries ions, salt, and other compounds. (Sorry to burst anyone’s bubble, but it’s not quite 100% clean). That said, this is in small quantities and generally speaking, it is almost correct. the water is mostly clean during evaporation. The issue is during condensation, the water carrying minuscule amounts of copper that can then accumulate, albeit slowly, in our aquariums.

Knowing that, I wouldn’t use distilled water long term. But for a short term emergency, I don’t know if I would use it, but I would give it consideration.

 

[civics14]

I used it in a pinch - but two gallons, that's it. Not sure if it harmed anything, but now that I have a water storage tank, never had to worry about it.

 

[ActiveAngel]

Just thinking about it: the disinfection (killing invertebrates) properties is the reason humanity has been using copper pipes for so long.

And historically is where the tradition of throwing copper pennies into fountains for good luck proliferated: copper pennies helped disinfect the ancient fountain water before it was distributed to residents, so I heard (I have not fact checked this; it’s just from old memories of history).

people using copper pipes, and/or throwing pennies in water were healthier and survived longer.

but as always, dilution is the solution to many problems. 1 gallon among hundreds shouldn’t be a big issue.

 

[Eric_n_Ga]

Nemo's, Atlanta aquarium doesn't have RODI water ?

 

[Rickdareefa]

My first year of reefing I used nothing but distilled water. I still use it when I slack off and don't make any. Never had a problem

 

[Adam]

I do believe, just like in house plumbing, that copper condensation coils will tarnish fairly quickly. That oxidized tarnish layer stops copper from from readily contaminating the water flowing through it.

The main reason copper is used in cooling coils and plumbing is it's conductivity properties and the easy at which it can be shaped, formed, brazed and soldered.

 

[ichthyoid]

That ^ is referred to as passivation and the green tint that results is often called a Patina

 

[ichthyoid]

The Romans are credited with indoor plumbing.

The element lead has the symbol Pb in the Periodic Table, from plumbum which is Latin for liquid silver, a reference to it‘s use in lead pipes.

Over the years i’ve read about speculation, and some evidence, that Roman citizens may have suffered toxic consequences (possibly insanity) due to it‘s use to carry water to Roman homes and in vessels supposedly contributing to the fall of the empire.

‚https://www.google.com/amp/s/arstec...-the-rise-and-fall-of-the-roman-empire/?amp=1