R/O verses Distilled

hickoryhollow

hickoryhollow

Member
What is the difference in R/O compared to distilled? If R/O is 100% pure and distilled isn't why would walmart be selling R/O for .33 per gallon and Distilled at .60 a gallon?
I know, I know... There's going to be some reason, but I was looking into this a little more deeper. When you distill you heat the water to 320 deg. Then you condensate the steam to get pure water. Anything that could have passed will not because no algae spore or contaminate can go thru 320 deg with out perishing to the waste collection.
So what you have in your finalizing chamber is pure water. Some companies even go to the extent of distilling 2,3 and 4 runs. So the question stills lays in front of us. Is R/O as pure as we may think or is distilling the way to go?

Just something to think about.
I will be getting 50 gals of distill from a friend of mine that does a 4 run distill and I will be testing some batches at different runs to see if it is as pure if not more than R/O.

I will post my results.......

Cheers,
Patrick
 
wonderloss

wonderloss

Member
R/O is not 100% pure. It mostly removes particulates. That is why most people use RO/DI in their reefs. The DI removes ions that will not be filtered out by the RO membrane.
 
Neptunesghost

Neptunesghost

Member
Someone brought to my attention recently, sometimes copper tubing is used in the distillation process. The problem is, there is no way to know for sure.

I would recommend RO/DI to ensure all particulate and ionic salts have been removed.
 
jgking21

jgking21

Member
As for the price at Walmart, you are getting the Distilled package and the RO is a self fill, the 30 cent difference is probably packaging and handling. I would recommend trying to stick with RO, distilled could have a few less nutrients.
 
hickoryhollow

hickoryhollow

Member
I just got off the phone with tom and he says the copper thing was the way they use to do it. Now he uses a tubing that is not made out of copper it has no trace of any copper. It's like stainless steel but a little softer. This gives the expansion and contraction ratio for the pressure.
He also uses his stills for some other purpose, but this would be discussed on other sites if you get what I mean... WINK, WINK!
Anyways, the one still he uses for water is strictly for water. I guess my experiment will undergo Sat. I will post it as soon as I have the results.

Wish me luck.

Cheers
 
lcstorc

lcstorc

Well-Known Member
I am not at all sure about this but I don't think RO/DI is necessarily better than distilled just easier and more cost effective for most reefers. Generally speaking, the only way for us to get distilled water is by the gallon at the grocery or some other retail fashion. RO/DI we can do at home by purchasing a relatively inexpensive piece of equipment.
So I don't think it is so much that RO/DI is better. I think it is more that it is more accessible.
All right, now some of you smart people can come tell me why I am wrong. My answer is just common sense not scientific so I would love to hear the real answer.
 
hickoryhollow

hickoryhollow

Member
Ok-Ok if this pans out the way I think it will, I can show you how to make a water distiller for around $50. The R/O units I have priced are well above that some can be even as high as 3 fold. And the units I've seen produce as high as 150 gal per day. When a water distiller can producw as much as you want.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking down R/O just trying to find a purest form of water.
I agree with the R/O being more convenient. Just turn on the water and let her go. But for a little more work I would want the purest I can get. So if anyone would like to comment or get in on this experiment just let me know.

Cheers
 
wonderloss

wonderloss

Member
A still will also have increased energy costs and safety issues, since you have to heat the water.

Not trying to discourage, just pointing out something else to consider.
 
Clownfish518

Clownfish518

Razorback
PREMIUM
I don't think it matters at all. At the end of the day, we get more pollutants in our tank from our homes (dust, pet hair & dander, in my home the occasional oreo). What RO water gives me (and distilled would too) is a consistent mix every time. I think people over think this.
 
Clownfish518

Clownfish518

Razorback
PREMIUM
No silly, the oreo went in to feed the fish. The fish were not buying it, think they wanted chips ahoy

It did make a mess
 
Heliox

Heliox

Member
I'm glad that I came across this thread. I had thought since everyone was using R/O water that it was better than distilled. I can't put a R/O unit in my place so distilled is what I will continue to buy. Hollow, distilled for only 99cents a gallon? wow, it is $1.99 to 2.49 here. Still reasonable for 5 gallons or so I will use per week for my smaller 34 g.
Good to know that the distilled is probably the purest water as that is what I had been using.
 
Clownfish518

Clownfish518

Razorback
PREMIUM
I am in an apartment now so I can't plumb in a unit either. But they make this nifty adapter that fits on the kitchen faucet that you flip a switch, and it goes to the RO unit. Flip it back, and it goes out the faucet.

RO should be accessible to everyone
 
hickoryhollow

hickoryhollow

Member
I'm glad everyone came across this thread. Wal-mart has distilled for .79 a gallon down here. And they have a R/O unit by Culligan water in the store that you go in and get R/O for .33 a gallon. Hope this helps.
 
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