we need a sticky for suitable bottled water

Actually it depends on the distillation process if it has copper or not.

I am going from memory and I believe that depends on whether they used copper tubing or use evaporation in the process. Again, I am going from memory, so more research should be done here..

 

Matt

I called Hinckley they do not use copper in any of their process. I just tested the Hinckley water and it came out absolutely clear for nitrates, zero for nitrates. I just wish I had tested the Culligan water (Meijers) and the Water Island water (Walmart) before I added the salt so I could make an accurate comparison.

But the purpose of this post was what to address else may be in the water, such as copper etc.

 

I think the topic of distillation has thrown this thread off the mark slightly. It seems that Hinckley water is copper-free. However, the other minerals dissolved in the water make undesirable. I would be most concerned about the chlorides. Chlorides can harm your biofilter.

 

Here is an interesting site...

Hinkley & Schmidt, USA - Water from all over the World


Hinkley & Schmidt

Acidity (PH) 7.6

Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) 150 mg/l
Calcium (Ca++) 16 mg/l
Magnesium (Mg++) 6 mg/l
Sodium (Na+) 12 mg/l
Potassium (K+) 4.2 mg/l
Bicarbonate (HCO3-) 80 mg/l
Chloride (Cl-) 9 mg/l
Sulphate (SO4--) 10 mg/l
Fluoride (F-) 0 mg/l


An interesting chart here too...

http://www.h2ro.com/_Bottled2.htm

 

After looking at the composistion of sea water

Composition of seawater

I'm not sure what is so bad? Calcium and sodium seem to be something that is regularly added to our tanks. The term chloride appears to be vague, and not necessarily chlorine.


Actually after reading the comp of sea water I feel a lot better over the water that is available to me.

 

Chlorine does not exist in its elemental form in water. Chloride is the ion that chlorine forms when it dissolves in water.

As for the composition of seawater, you want to control that as tightly as possible via pure water, quality salt mix, and additives. Of course every time you make a choice with a tank you are going to have to assess the risks and decide whether it is worth it to you. IMO, not worth the risk. If you decide to go for it, of course I wish you the best of luck and maybe the results will provide useful info for the rest of us.

 

As for the composition of seawater, you want to control that as tightly as possible via pure water, quality salt mix, and additives

This is the composition of sea water not prepared "salt water".

 

I found out a while ago that it is well worth it to have your own RODI and close to being the same price in the long run, if not cheaper.

 

If any company claims 100% purification, down to 0ppm, they are probably lieing, depending on the efficiency of the filter system. I have seen some 3-4 stage RO (no DI stage) systems claim 0ppm TDS pure water, which I do not believe. There will always be a small (though nearly undetectable) amount of TDS with RO/DI systems. With brand new cartridges and new DI stage, my TDS meter will tick back and forth between 0 and 1ppm. Under normal use, I get about 4-6ppm. Some RO/DI systems will incorporate 2 DI stages to try to get it down to absolute zero TDS. Just my opinion on all this anyway.

Oh, my local grocery store (Stater Bros.) sells "Pure Drinking Water" in a 2 gallon jug that is purified with RO/DI, it tests out to 2ppm. So for anyone in the So Cal area, that's a fairly safe emergency water source.