Buying water for new tank question?

[Travis]

I am looking for water at the stores but I am not sure what to buy for my 30 gal tank. I understand I need RO water but I cant find any that say this. Its either spring or distilled. Wal-mart has distilled and a drinking water thats has a green label. It says nothing about being RO water. Any help or ideas?

Thanks

[BillyD]

Usually your LFS would have water to purchase, but i dont know that you have one readily availible. personally i didnt use that water from walmart, i think here in Dallas it was about $15 for 5gal, so $90 plus tax for your water. if you spend a little more you could just buy your own RO/DI machine and make your own water. Will save in the long run, and always know you are getting good water. =)

[amcarrig]

To add what has already been posted, I would avoid using distilled water unless you know how it has been distilled. Copper pipes are sometimes used to distill water and if you put that kind of water in your tank, you can say goodbye to all of your inverts.

[Travis]

I am looking at the RO/DI units on Products and answers for your water treatment needs. and I see they have units that can be used for both reefs and drinking water. This might interest me because I spend 5.00 a week on aquafina water and this might pay for itself. Are these units meant for drinking water?

[Camilsky]

Originally Posted by amcarrig

To add what has already been posted, I would avoid using distilled water unless you know how it has been distilled. Copper pipes are sometimes used to distill water and if you put that kind of water in your tank, you can say goodbye to all of your inverts.

I entirely agree with you. On the laboratory scale we distil water in glass distillers , however industrial distillation takes place in copper/brass pipes due to very high heat conductance.

[BillyD]

Originally Posted by Travis

I am looking at the RO/DI units on Products and answers for your water treatment needs. and I see they have units that can be used for both reefs and drinking water. This might interest me because I spend 5.00 a week on aquafina water and this might pay for itself. Are these units meant for drinking water?

I actually do that very thing. our water at the house isnt very good at all. so my RO unit doubles as my drinking water aswell. have a faucet installed on the sink for it. Its pretty nice.

[Camilsky]

Originally Posted by BillyD

I actually do that very thing. our water at the house isnt very good at all. so my RO unit doubles as my drinking water aswell. have a faucet installed on the sink for it. Its pretty nice.

Hey! Mate!

If I were you I would not drink RO water! RO water is simply hypothonic to your body ! What does it mean?! It dilutes all ions in your body, without introducing new ones. You can drink RO water only if you drink every day highly mineralized water that contains calcium and magnesium in biologically active form!!! For the same reason you should never drink low-mineralized water after running or any kind intensive physical exercise!!! Instead you should drink an isotonic drink that contains balanced amount of Ca/Ma/K/Na ions!!!! There should be a warning in your RO/DI manual!!!!

[BillyD]

hrm. there wasnt one that i saw....and it came with a tap to install on the sink, actually thats the only way i was able to install it. hrm. just assumed since there is a tap, it was for drinkin. tastes fine anyhow. =) Thanks for the info. i'll let the wife know, my drinks are usually made form barley and hops, so im good to go.

[Travis]

This is off of Aquafina
Water facts
Whats in aquafina
Get more info about aquafina
Does aquafinas purification process remove beneficial substances?

Aquafinas purification system is designed to remove trace compounds, bicarbonates, chlorides, sulfates, phosphates, nitrates, calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, iron and manganese. These compounds are also referred to as Total Dissolved Solids (TDS). While some of these compounds, like calcium and potassium, are necessary for your body, their minute levels in most bottled waters have no impact on health. Therefore, we remove these compounds to deliver a more pure water.

[Reefdiver72]

Ro water is fine to drink just not the di part put a hose between the 2 for drinking water. but dont even feed plants the waste water out of your unit it will kill them just like my back yard I have killed with the hose out the basement window.