Instead of RO/DI?

I dont have Ro/di water filter. So instead of Ro/di, would it be possible to use drinking water? I have a drinking water filter that we use to drink from. Makes the water like water bottle quality. Would i be able to use drinking water for fish tank instead of ro/di or tap water, since tap water is bad

 

i some times buy distilled water from walmart 79cents a gallon and some times find a water vending machine for 25 cents a gallon

 

Sure you can, some people can use tap water (usually good wells, but even these can change quality over time – wet seasons).

Test the water and see what you get. You will need to test for Nitrates, Phosphates, silicates and TDS. You should test for everything – you should also test periodically if you find the quality at tank level. Of course if money permits in the future you should invest in an decent RO/DI unit.

 

I agree, I would first test that water for TDS. After you have tested for the elements that CG mentioned, I would also test the TDS if you have a meter, if not, maybe your LFS can provide this test for you.


Luna

 

We used Culligan water from Wal-Mart for 37 cents a gallon (machine in back of store where your bring your own containers) and the Glacier vending machine water in our Publix for almost nine months without any problems. We got our new RO unit up and running this week (THANK YOU MATT AND VOTERS), so no more lugging 11 gallons of water home each week! The biggest concern with the vending machine units is how often they're serviced and if the filters are being properly changed. The Glacier unit at our Publix is checked every few weeks, so I felt better about that one than the Wal-Mart unit. But, like I said, we didn't have any issues with either one.

 

I use tap water and dechlorination drops seem to work fine so far.

 

you can also buy ro/di water from your lfs. I don't have a ro/di unit at home so i go to the lfs to get my water. I went to check out a new lfs to go to since i needed some water and it was only 50 cents a gallon, so overall for 10 gallons it was 11.87 *87 for 8.75% tax* and i buy from lfs that way i don't have to mix the water

 

Drinking water filters are just that, they make water taste good thats it. Most have some activated carbon and possibly a spoon full of DI resin and thats it. Maybe 20 gallons worth of good tasting water with no reduction in TDS.

Nothing replaces RO/DI and noting compares to having your own RO/DI. I use the RO portion for drinking water, refrigerator door ice and water and other pet watering as well as having DI for my aquariums. Makes the purchase very easy to justify!

 

I use API's DI filter.. it costs 40$ on Foster and Smith.. refills are 3/60$. Until I get an RO/DI unit, this does the job! Better than tap.. Sometimes i buy distilled also

 

Unless you have extremely low TDS to begin with, don't waste your money on the tap water filter. It is only good for maybe 15-30 total gallons of water at best and usually less, only a TDS meter will tell. VERY expensive in a hurry and not really all that effective.
At $40 for the filter and $60 for 3 refills you are in the cost range of a decent RO/DI which will give you hundreds and hundreds of gallons of RO/DI before needing its first DI refill at about $8. The tap water filter may have made 60 gallons of DI water for that money and almost certainly not anywhere near 0 TDS guaranteed, and you will be spending more on replacements from day one.
Get a TDS meter and you will see what I mean, never rely on color changing resins, they are a very poor indicator of resin condition.

The tap water filter can actually be worse than tap. When it starts to exhaust it releases all the TDS it has captured and that includes phosphates, nitrates and silicates in big gulps. Weakly ionized substances leave the resin and in large quantities since it has been sticking to the resin for how many gallons until that point.