Water Source

hnf2k

Active Member
i get water home delivery from poland spring. I get those big 5 gallon jugs of water...would that water be good for the tank?
 

bang guy

Moderator
No.
Ask if they also sell distilled water that was not distilled in copper. They may even sell RO water.
 

donkeykong

Member
To expand on Bang Guys NO. Spring water, from what I understand, is usaully enhanced with minerals that are not wanted and could cause algae blooms. Correct me if I am wrong though
 

frankl15207

Member

Originally posted by donkeykong
To expand on Bang Guys NO. Spring water, from what I understand, is usaully enhanced with minerals that are not wanted and could cause algae blooms. Correct me if I am wrong though

Spring water is also sometimes sold as "mineral water" and you are 100% correct.
 

ravenx

Member
but isn't spring water good for cycling your tank in the very beginning to help with your bacteria set up or whatever, then gradually as you do water changes switch over an use RO water?
 
Don't know how much you are spending on your drinking water, but we got tired of the bottles. We went to Lowes and bought an RO unit that installed under the sink. We have a smaller tap right next to the main tap that dispenses RO water. Has a 5 gallon storage tank that goes under the sink, so we have 5 gallons on hand at all times. It also is self reversing for the back flush. Took about 2 hours to install and works great. It was $200. We could have paid for it in the amount of bottles we have bought in the last 7 months for water changes. Hind sight is always 20/20. The units are marketed for drinking water and aquarium use. HTH
 

melbournefl

Member
On another note, my concern is somewhat environmental and somewhat economical. From what I've read, RO takes anywhere from 5-8 gallons of water to produce 1 gallon of RO water. Am I mistaken (please, I"d love to be wrong this time)
Later
Paul
 
Ours is 1 gallon wasted to get 1 gallon. Maybe that is why my husband picked it. He also liked the fact it automatically flushed.
 
I have the same Lowes unit,so far its working great,just a little slow on the output of water.I think your right about the 1gal ~1 gal ratio.I wave had all sorts of trouble with alge outbreaks from well water thats why I went to the R/O.
 

rockster

Member
My RO/DI unit "wastes" 4 gal per 1 gallon of tank water. However, the "waste" water is saved in separate containers and is used to water the lawn, cleaning floors, washing the car tires, etc. So, not totally wasted.
 

broomer5

Active Member
The one problem I see about buying any water is not knowing for sure where the water comes from.
I'd venture to guess that most of the so called "spring" water never flowed from a natural artisian spring.
Most drinking water bought in jugs at the store says a lot of great stuff on the label.
I also guess that much of the water bought in stores comes from some municipal water treatment factilty, then is polished off using some other form of purification at the bottlers facility.
RO - maybe
DI - maybe
Distilled - maybe
Activated carbon - maybe
Ozoned - maybe
Or maybe just plain old tap water in a jug with a spiffy lablel & fancy name like "Artisian Delight" or "Crystal Clean"
Even the RO machines at Walmart and other stores - I'd love to open one up and see what set up, prefilters, membrane and holding tank they use.
May just have to do that someday.
How often is this thing serviced, and is the maintenance guy testing the output of this unit for the same compounds we are trying to prevent entering our tanks, or just slapping in some replacement parts.
I don't know
Too many maybe's
Having an RO or RO/DI unit at home is ideal - but not always affordable or practical for everyone. And worthless if not maintained and kept in working order.
Just makes me wonder sometimes.
Never did really trust anyone selling water.
 

melbournefl

Member
LOL Broomer, I'm with you. As a young college lad I went to school in Mexico City for a few years, my parents came to visit one Christmas and were paranoid about the water. I watched as the young guy picked up the 5 gallon jug, went to the side of the building, filled it from the garden hose, corked the bottle, brought it back to my parents room and only charged them 2 bucks for the service! Sorry, I know it's off subject but I started laughing when I read your response.
Later, Paul
 
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