Using distilled water for top-up?

[Acanthurus pyroferus]

why dun juz get prime from seach*m.. more safe..costly if u keep buying bottled distilled water..

isn't that for conditioning as an additive.... you mean using prime to top up?

[aStRoBo|]

isn't that for conditioning as an additive.... you mean using prime to top up?

i use it for setting up and topups, no problem leh. am i wrong in doing so.. oMg..

[Acanthurus pyroferus]

Wat I mean is many people do not dose trace elements solution into their tank beside they replenish them by doing frequent water change. If the water change is done using Distilled water, will these trace elements be eliminate by the distillation process?

Apology if this is a dumb question. I'm quite an idiot to chemistry.

no , it's not a dumb question.... trace elements eventually get used up by the invertibrates and fishes in a reeftank and trace elements are generally needed to replace whats lost. Water changes do help but not that much so evidently we need to replace these. Distilled water is void of any elements so it's only practical....

[Acanthurus pyroferus]

i use it for setting up and topups, no problem leh. am i wrong in doing so.. oMg..

maybe I misunderstood... I thought you used prime alone to top up evaporation loss... yes it's alright to mix that with your top up water... sorry if I startled you...

[aStRoBo|]

phew..sis u scare me there..

[lyz77]

Tap water does contain some NO2/NO3. For eg, the tap water I use contain about 5mg/l of NO3!

I remember reading a thread here before that some areas of SG, due to the pipes, some NO2/NO3 are present in the water supplied.

Me 2! I use tetra test kit & found tat the NO3 value oso ard 5mg/l. Lucky, I oni hv a 1ft nano tank, use instead of topping up with tap water, I top up with mineral water! So far so gd!

[Acanthurus pyroferus]

Me 2! I use tetra test kit & found tat the NO3 value oso ard 5mg/l. Lucky, I oni hv a 1ft nano tank, use instead of topping up with tap water, I top up with mineral water! So far so gd!

mineral water......

[weileong]

Me 2! I use tetra test kit & found tat the NO3 value oso ard 5mg/l. Lucky, I oni hv a 1ft nano tank, use instead of topping up with tap water, I top up with mineral water! So far so gd!

My tetra test kit always show a false value which is higher.

[fnscasey]

There is one time after using D-water to top-up, my dKH level fall from 13dKH to 10dKH !!

But anyway, i usually use D-water for mixing kalkwasser or any chemical additives that are in powder form for optimal results !

[Clownfish]

bro if you live near NTU, i can help you 'smuggle' some DI water out from my lab.

hmm... how come i nv see distilled water lying ard in NTU?

[jc85]

There is one time after using D-water to top-up, my dKH level fall from 13dKH to 10dKH !!

But anyway, i usually use D-water for mixing kalkwasser or any chemical additives that are in powder form for optimal results !

If i'm not wrong, distill water is ard 5.8dkh. I may be wrong.

[FuEl]

Trace elements will not be replenished by topping up with freshwater. The best and cheapest way to replace them are to do frequent water changes.

[RAV-65]

hmm... my personal opinion is dat if you use tapwater, there will still be no trace elements..... no diff from DW.... however if your tapwater contains no2/no3... HA! dat's where the difference kick in!! i have been using for 3 days now and the no2 is almost non-existence, haven't tested for no3...but one thing for certain is dat my fishes seems happier, they are swimming around more....

Anyone else got any experience to share?

Vincent Ho

[RAV-65]

Btw, for those using DW, can share as to where you get yours? I still haven't located a wholesaler and so far the cheapest is from NTUC at $0.85 for a 1.5L bottle.... anyone else got a cheaper source?

Vincent Ho

[damsel-in-distress]

Vincent,

Every now and then, Cold Storage has offers on their distilled water. About 3 weeks ago, they were selling their no-frills version at 0.70cents/L so I had them deliver 12 cases (no delivery charge if you spend more than $150) in the same bill. Just make sure you check the label says "distilled water" and not "mineral water" or simply "pure drinking water" which could have all sorts of additives in it.

[damsel-in-distress]

Sorry, error corrected .. the amount should $0.70/1.5L pet bottle.

[RAV-65]

Hmm... damsel-in-distress, any idea if its still at $0.70? or is it juz purely promotional? it's a good idea to buy 12-15 cases and get them to send, if not, carry like hell....

Anyone else got cheaper source?

Vincent Ho

[damsel-in-distress]

Don't know but I can check for you next week. I ordered mine from the ColdStorage at Great World City.

[RAV-65]

Thanxs bro, would be great if u can check it out, i dun even know if there's a coldstorage near my house...

Vincent Ho

[damsel-in-distress]

RAV,

To clarify, Í am a lady reefer not a bro. I recently acquired a deionizer and realized that I don't really need most of the 12 cases of distilled water for my topup tank. I can let you have some if you like - at cost of course ($8.40/case). Let me know if interested. Self-collect. I live centrally.

[RAV-65]

Hmmm... about the dkh dropping... anyone experience it? coz my dkh still 9 after about 5-6days of using DW, top-uped about 15L or so liao and my dkh still 9....

Vincent Ho

[FuEl]

If there is nothing extracting bicarbonates out of your water in the form of carbonate then your kH will still stay the same. If you have lots of coralline algae, clams and other calcium demanding species you will notice your kH drops alot.

For me I have to add a teaspoon of reef builder everyday to maintain my kH

[RAV-65]

Wow.... i have alot of LR and hard corals.... but so far my dkh still pretty stable.... and in fact my bubble keep blooming bigger... does changing water with seawater help with the dkh or something?

Vincent Ho

[FuEl]

What test kit are you using?

[Marineman]

does changing water with seawater help with the dkh or something?

Vincent Ho

That depends on the quality of the sea water, if it is contaminated or contains parasites or bacteria which can harm the fishes and corals. Unless you live in a remote island in the pacific then you may want to used seawater but in my opinion, better not unless you can check for bacteria and parasite in the seawater.