Distilled water

[chentiell]

I don't have the extra money for a RO/DI system right now, and I think that the tap water is causing my nitrates to always be around 20 and now brown algea is starting to grow. Will distilled water work ?

 

[farslayer]

Not a good idea, distilled water is typically obtained by way of copper pipes, so you can introduce copper into your tank that way. Wal-Mart has drinking water (green cap) which will work just fine.

 

[patandlace]

A lot of walmarts have culligan machines which is filtered with RO. I think it's about 40 cents a gallon.

 

[oceansidefish]

Be carefull of those machines....They are not always maintained the way they say they are....I have heard from those supposed to be servicing

 

[ameno]

that's true I have had problems with there water, best bet would be to try and find a LFS to get water from, until you can get your own ro/di unit

 

[salty blues]

I am certainly relatively new to saltwater tanks but fwiw I set up my fowlr tank aprrox. 8 months ago using store purchased distilled water and have experienced no major problems thus far.

 

[flinka]

Before I got my RODI unit, I used WalMart Distilled Water (Purple Cap). Never had a problem and when I tested it with a TDS monitor, TDS was 0 ppm.

 

[ledzep fan]

I've been using distiled ever since i started the hobby. Never had a problem

 

[slomo]

Me too

 

[chentiell]

Well thanks for all the great feedback, I will try to find R/O water if not I will try distilled. and let you guys know if it worked out okay or not. Distilled has to be better than tap water.

 

[waterlogged]

I read in a magazine there are a few different ways they make distilled water. One of them is with copper tubing . You are taking a chance. I just bought a ro/di unit for $100.

 

[mudplayerx]

I've never had a problem with distilled water in 3 years. RO unit is your best bet though as far as your wallet.