gallons of drinking or DI? Whats the diff?

[bountyhunter23]

I have noticed at super stores around here when i need water fast and for a good price i will go get a gallon jug. I was just reading the different filtration methods between Distilled and Drinking water. The DI water is Carbon filtered, distilled, micro filtered, and goes through ozonation. Where as the Drinking water is RO filtered. I know when i get my water from my LFS its RO, but the drinking water is RO but doesnt seem like its filtered enough. I went ahead and bought the DI cause it was filtered more. But i was just wondering whats up with the difference?

 

[sk8shorty01]

Why do you say that the drinking water doesn't "seem" like it is filtered enough. What gives makes you feel this way? I was just wondering. I use RO/DI water so I don't personally buy from the store, I was just curious as to why it "seems" unfit, did you buy some before and test it?

 

[m0nk]

De-ionization takes the 95% pure RO water and makes it 99% pure. The difference is that drinking water can't be that pure... it's the reason they say not to drink distilled water. There are no nutrients in it so it actually drains the nutrients out of your body. Those same nutrients are the difference between a tank with some hair algae, and a tank without.

So while RO water is good for drinking, RO/DI water is not.

 

[bountyhunter23]

Well i felt that way because first off i know distilled takes out every nutrient in the water. Plus the DI gallons had three other filtration methods so it seemed like it went through more filtration methods. I always get DI when im in a bind, and need water fast. I was just curious. Also cause i have a nano and need water quite often and dont feel like driving downtown to get RO water when i dont have the time. But Monk backed up what i was thinking. Thanks! it was just a wondering question i had when i was reading it.

 

[scopus tang]

Originally Posted by m0nk
http:///forum/post/2554419
De-ionization takes the 95% pure RO water and makes it 99% pure. The difference is that drinking water can't be that pure... it's the reason they say not to drink distilled water. There are no nutrients in it so it actually drains the nutrients out of your body. Those same nutrients are the difference between a tank with some hair algae, and a tank without.

So while RO water is good for drinking, RO/DI water is not.
+1, Di will also in the long term begin leaching calcium from your bones, since the unpaired ions present in pure water are very aggressive (not an issue in SW tanks, as was pointed out by Bang Guy).

 

[bountyhunter23]

Yeah i never drink it.... I had some Vegan neighbors that did. They had their own distillery in their house....

 

[scopus tang]

Originally Posted by Bountyhunter23
http:///forum/post/2554453
Yeah i never drink it.... I had some Vegan neighbors that did. They had their own distillery in their house....
Bet they are the type who don't supplement their protien either. I've had several students in the past who were Vegans and had to give it up when their hair started falling out. Why do people do things like that without researching how to do it right?

 

[m0nk]

Originally Posted by Scopus Tang
http:///forum/post/2554465
Bet they are the type who don't supplement their protien either. I've had several students in the past who were Vegans and had to give it up when their hair started falling out. Why do people do things like that without researching how to do it right?

That's sad, so sad, but yet I can't help but laugh...

 

[seltzerd]

Well, it is true distilled water does not contain minerals, it does not leech minerals out of your body. Water contains many dissolved minerals and may provide a significant source of calcium, magnesium, etc to our diet. Certainly these can be supplemented from other sources, but current RDA are based on consumption of plain old tap water. It is in and of itself not a danger to drink.
The biggest problem wit distilled water is its taste. Most find it unpleasant (as is R/O DI). Many R/O DI have a way to shunt DI so you can drink R/O and filter to DI for your fish

 

[scopus tang]

Originally Posted by seltzerd
http:///forum/post/2554476
Water contains many dissolved minerals and may provide a significant source of calcium, magnesium, etc to our diet. Certainly these can be supplemented from other sources, but current RDA are based on consumption of plain old tap water. It is in and of itself not a danger to drink.
The biggest problem wit distilled water is its taste. Most find it unpleasant (as is R/O DI). Many R/O DI have a way to shunt DI so you can drink R/O and filter to DI for your fish
While this is true of regular tap water, it is not true of distilled water. Distilled water is evaporated or filtered to remove all chemical impurities (especially calcium and magnesium which is what determines the hardness of freshwater). People who think that the only issue with drinking distilled water is the taste are uneducated on the real issues, just as vegan who think they don't need to supplement their diet with protein are.

 

[seltzerd]

Originally Posted by Scopus Tang
http:///forum/post/2554494
While this is true of regular tap water, it is not true of distilled water. Distilled water is evaporated or filtered to remove all chemical impurities (especially calcium and magnesium which is what determines the hardness of freshwater). People who think that the only issue with drinking distilled water is the taste are uneducated on the real issues, just as vegan who think they don't need to supplement their diet with protein are.
May I point out my first sentence??? That DISTILLED water does not contain minerals?? I then say water has minerals in it. I (wrongly) assumed that most people would think water=tap water. I point out what is true (for human consumption) That distilled water tastes bad, does NOT have minerals dissolved in it, which may be of benefit in people who do not get enough of these minerals in their diets, and that NO HARM will be done by drinking distilled water (even exclusively distilled water) assuming you eat a healthy diet. I was trying to dispel the myth that drinking distilled leeches the minerals from human bodies. THIS IS NOT TRUE. The human kidney is built to reabsorb those minerals we need and are laking and excreting those we have in too large an abundance. Calcium, for example is reabsorbed when the body sends signals that calcium is needed. Over 99% of calcium is stored in your bones. Of the remaining 1 %, 40% is bound to proteins in the blood, 13% in complexes, and 47% is free in the serum as ionized calcium. This miniscule amount is closely regulated by the kidney (which can reabsorb it after filtration or allow it to be excreted in the urine) Drinking water lacking in dissolved minerals is safe.
What are the real issues??

 

[scopus tang]

Originally Posted by seltzerd
http:///forum/post/2556354
May I point out my first sentence??? That DISTILLED water does not contain minerals?? I then say water has minerals in it. I (wrongly) assumed that most people would think water=tap water. I point out what is true (for human consumption) That distilled water tastes bad, does NOT have minerals dissolved in it, which may be of benefit in people who do not get enough of these minerals in their diets, and that NO HARM will be done by drinking distilled water (even exclusively distilled water) assuming you eat a healthy diet. I was trying to dispel the myth that drinking distilled leeches the minerals from human bodies. THIS IS NOT TRUE. The human kidney is built to reabsorb those minerals we need and are laking and excreting those we have in too large an abundance. Calcium, for example is reabsorbed when the body sends signals that calcium is needed. Over 99% of calcium is stored in your bones. Of the remaining 1 %, 40% is bound to proteins in the blood, 13% in complexes, and 47% is free in the serum as ionized calcium. This miniscule amount is closely regulated by the kidney (which can reabsorb it after filtration or allow it to be excreted in the urine) Drinking water lacking in dissolved minerals is safe.
What are the real issues??
You are still confusing me with the first portion in red; how is drinking water with no minerals going to be of benefit to those who don't get enough minerals? As for the second part in red; that distilled water doesn't leech minerals from our bodies, you in your assertions are assuming that everyone eats a balanced diet and therefore has an excess of those minerals. In truth lots of people do not eat a balanced diet (like some (certainly not all) vegans and older people who do not get enough calcium to begin with; therefore they do not have an excess to reabsorb. The unattached ions present in distilled water (OH-, H+, H2O2-) are highly aggressive and do seek to bond with minerals; it is true that in those people who have insufficient ammounts of calcium in their body, these ions will bond with calcium and leech bone material. In addition, nondistilled water (tap or RO contains important minerals like phosporus, iron and sulfer - all of which are necessary for life. Where in your balanced diet do you get sulfer?

 

[m0nk]

Originally Posted by Scopus Tang
http:///forum/post/2557194
You are still confusing me with the first portion in red; how is drinking water with no minerals going to be of benefit to those who don't get enough minerals? As for the second part in red; that distilled water doesn't leech minerals from our bodies, you in your assertions are assuming that everyone eats a balanced diet and therefore has an excess of those minerals. In truth lots of people do not eat a balanced diet (like some (certainly not all) vegans and older people who do not get enough calcium to begin with; therefore they do not have an excess to reabsorb. The unattached ions present in distilled water (OH-, H+, H2O2-) are highly aggressive and do seek to bond with minerals; it is true that in those people who have insufficient ammounts of calcium in their body, these ions will bond with calcium and leech bone material. In addition, nondistilled water (tap or RO contains important minerals like phosporus, iron and sulfer - all of which are necessary for life. Where in your balanced diet do you get sulfer?

I think this is usually brought up in the Water section of college level Biology 101. Scopus_tang, aren't you a bio teacher?

 

[sk8shorty01]

I agree with Scopus here. Although drinking distilled water may not be harmful to someone that has excess nutrients (mainly calcium) in the body, the real danger lies in those that are lacking in those minerals. When the body does not have enough calcium to have any free floating in the serum to begin with (so there is none to excrete in urine) there is no other place for the ions within distilled water to obtain calcium so they can become stable. Therefore these ions take the calcium from the only place it can be found, and that is in the bone mass.

 

[scopus tang]

Originally Posted by m0nk
http:///forum/post/2557203

I think this is usually brought up in the Water section of college level Biology 101. Scopus_tang, aren't you a bio teacher?
Yes, but at a high school level, not college. I also teach a aquatic bio class (1st semester freshwater and 2nd semester marine)

 

[stdreb27]

Regarding drinking or not drinking di water, I don't really know, I drink mine. It tastes great. An RO system removes alot of stuff but there is still trace elements in the water. With an RO/DI system it removes alot more. Usually on bottled or filtered water it goes only through a RO system then the add some minerals back into the water to enhance flavor.

 

[sk8shorty01]

Some minerals are added into water for taste reasons, others are added for health benifits. Flouride is one that comes to mind, as it is added to water to help protect your teeth.

 

[seltzerd]

Originally Posted by Scopus Tang
http:///forum/post/2557194
You are still confusing me with the first portion in red; how is drinking water with no minerals going to be of benefit to those who don't get enough minerals? As for the second part in red; that distilled water doesn't leech minerals from our bodies, you in your assertions are assuming that everyone eats a balanced diet and therefore has an excess of those minerals. In truth lots of people do not eat a balanced diet (like some (certainly not all) vegans and older people who do not get enough calcium to begin with; therefore they do not have an excess to reabsorb. The unattached ions present in distilled water (OH-, H+, H2O2-) are highly aggressive and do seek to bond with minerals; it is true that in those people who have insufficient ammounts of calcium in their body, these ions will bond with calcium and leech bone material. In addition, nondistilled water (tap or RO contains important minerals like phosporus, iron and sulfer - all of which are necessary for life. Where in your balanced diet do you get sulfer?

My apologies. I was referring to the minerals being beneficial to those who have a poor diet. It is true, distilled water has active ions, but they tend to form stable ions normally present in the body. Again, I realize tap water has more than just calcium, but we have been using this so I will continue. Calcium tends to bind to large proteins in the blood (as opposed to binding to distilled water) [of course 99% is bound in bone]. The free calcium binds to carbonate, free fatty acids, etc. My point was this. There is no danger to drinking distilled water. Yes, there are trace minerals in the water your body needs, but considering the average person drinks less than two glasses of water a day, they will need to supplement their diet regardless of what they are not getting in water. Also, when distilled water is absorbed in the body, excess ions can be left in the gut, can be bound to CO2 to excrete in urine as bicarb, etc. Actually, these ions can be traded to CO2 (we get with each breath) and excreted and have our calcium preserved in the body.
I appreciate biology 101, but I also took that class. I went on and now have an MD and am double boarded and am well versed in human physiology. I certainly dont mean to say an MD knows any more than a PhD or other learned person, just that I do know from where I speak. Amazingly, you can find scientific articles that show how distilled water can improve your health (I dont agree with that side either)
I think water is okay, regardless or distilled or not IN THE AVERAGE person

 

[seltzerd]

So, I re-read my post and sorry the first was confusing.
Basically I am neither for or against drinking distilled water, just dont want people to think if they drink distilled water instead of tap that there will be a problem.
seltzerd

 

[scopus tang]

Originally Posted by seltzerd
http:///forum/post/2557644
Amazingly, you can find scientific articles that show how distilled water can improve your health (I dont agree with that side either)
I think water is okay, regardless or distilled or not IN THE AVERAGE person
You certainly have higher credentials than I, so no need to apologize. In fact, I'll apologize for calling you uneducated on the issues. And, I will agree that other than the taste, drinking distilled is not an issue IN THE AVERAGE person. The problem is that there are too many people out there anymore who are not "average". I've seen some of the same articles, and like you I don't agree with that side, nor can I bring myself to tell students (or others) that there are no issues other than the taste in drinking distilled water (I used too, but there are just too many unhealthy teenagers anymore). Buy your spring and bottled water (although there are issues with these as well), but use your distilled water in your irons and your saltwater aquariums.