DI water

[wamy2004]

We have a whole house RO system with a DI canister in our kitchen dedicated to our aquariums. When quarantining, we use the TTM. Can we use just our tap water which again is RO and eliminate burning up our DI? I can’t remember what the benefit was for our tanks. I thought it was for algae control to have 0 tds.

In a side note, we always change our media for the DI once it hits 1 tds. Is that overkill? Can you go to 2-3? Or should we still to swapping as soon as it hits 1?

 

[KrisReef]

For fish you could use tap, and ro is better than tap. Tap you need to remove chlorine, ro (with the carbon prefilter) should remove that.

Corals are the sensitive creatures that need RODI for mixing, and it may be better for fishes if your tap really is junky and polluted? But for TTM, for fish tanks, RO mixed with salt should be plenty good. At the last stage of TTM I might switch to regular tank mix so the fish acclimate to what they will end up in?

No comment on TDS and resins. That is a complicated question and I am not up to answering that one, today.

 

[GARRIGA]

Can’t see a reason that for fish only one can’t use straight tap unless they have issues with their tap and not safe for drinking. Flint Michigan tap not the same as NYC tap. For example. Plus TTM by default has one changing out that tap often and not meant for longterm sustainability.

Randy can speak better to this but I’ve always struggled with this 1 ppm as the gauge for changing out filters being we have no clue what that contains as it might be calcium or copper and not all elements can be measured with a TDS meter as some require ICP to identify them. Latter something I learned at RAP where I was being educated on use of ICP-MS and its application with testing source water and not just tank since some elements might be present in PPB and therefore undetectable by TDS meter. Why perhaps best go off ICP-MS results vs TDS showing one or more. Added expense but then this hobby was never cheap to begin with.

 

[Malum Argenteum]

#1. The reason that a person has a whole house RO filter might be a reason not to use that tap water for any animals.

#2. If a person is burning through DI to the point where they're considering ways to bypass it, it may be that the RO membrane is not functioning adequately. If this is the case, see #1.

 

[Naekuh]

You use DI because you do not what the excessive nutriants causing a spike in something you do not want.

In a QT system, your flusing the system constantly, to keep ammonia in check, that your probably better off using RO straight.

You can not use Tap unless you intend to use a dechlor like Kris states.

But if you ask me, i would probably use RO straight, and not burn though my DI resin for a QT tank.

 

[GARRIGA]

Goes without saying one can’t use tap without first decorating it.