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View Full Version : water machine in wal-mart?


surgy
03/30/2013, 06:22 PM
hello, i have three of those 5 gallon water bottles like on an office water machine, that i bought rodi water in for top offs. im fixing to use the remaining water i have for a water change (8 gallons on my 36 gallon tank). wal-mart neighbor hood market sells water in a dispensor for $00.33 a gallon to refill this type of jug. it says its filtered through reverse osmosis and prepared by distilation.

my question is:
Is this good water to use for top offs and for mixing water for my water changes? or should i keep buying premixed water from the lfs? or both? the lfs charges $2.75 for 5 gallons of rodi and $4.50 for 1.023 salt water.

GrimReefer555
03/30/2013, 06:46 PM
Any buddies with TDS meters? I'm curious as well, got a RODI, but curious...

Gagonzalez
03/30/2013, 06:46 PM
I looked at the Walmart water machine and it was RO only. If it was prepared by distillation, it would be much bigger than the machine. Your best bet is to just buy the pink top gallons of distilled water in the water/soda section for .88 per. I have been using that in my Nano for almost a year. It's worked great!

However, sounds like your LFS is a good deal for 5g of SW. Just buy some more salt of the same kind your LFS uses and mix to 1.025-1.026 for Reef water and be done.

kupadupapupa
03/30/2013, 07:17 PM
Last time I checked the tds from the Wal-Mart machine it was over 100.

AWDcameoLSX
03/30/2013, 07:21 PM
I have rodi system personally bit ky mother uses their water in her 29 gallon reef with much success and does 5 gallon water changes with it weekly. Not 0 TDS but still good enough for a reef with some gfo or appropriately sized refugium.

powdertang05
03/30/2013, 07:34 PM
I checked my local walmart and it has 4 stages. sediment ->carbon->RO->carbon->UV

TDS was 128, water coming out of my tap is 110, LFS RO/DI water was 248. In the case of sacramento I would say use walmart water rather than our broken down LFS. I have used walmart water in the past and quickly switched to LFS with TDS 0. phosphates and other trace elements that cause lack of coral growth and increase algae growth were the reason why I switched to my own RODI. But if your LFS sells water and is TDS 0. I would say thats a safer bet.

petere1989
03/30/2013, 07:36 PM
I wouldn't. I used Kroger water and had mega algae problems in a 20 gallon tank.

surgy
03/30/2013, 08:27 PM
what is "TDS" ?

MinnFish
03/30/2013, 08:56 PM
TDS = Total dissolved solids is a measure of the combine organic and inorganic substance in water.

disc1
03/30/2013, 09:08 PM
TDS = Total dissolved solids is a measure of the combine organic and inorganic substance in water.

Well, only the stuff with a charge. The neutral organics won't register.

OrQidz
03/30/2013, 09:14 PM
Has anyone tested the 44cent per gallon RO at Whole Foods? Just wondering.....

elrey
03/31/2013, 02:51 PM
none of those machines have RO/DI water, they only have RO water because people should not drink Deionized water (dont know why, but it is what i was told)

sleepydoc
03/31/2013, 05:18 PM
none of those machines have RO/DI water, they only have RO water because people should not drink Deionized water (dont know why, but it is what i was told)

WHO recommends against drinking DI water. Probably not harmful in small amounts, but the limited studies available indicate adverse health effects. Haven't tried it, but evidently it tastes nasty, so it's a really expensive way to get pure, nasty tasting water.

Last time I checked the tds from the Wal-Mart machine it was over 100.

Wow - the TDS coming out of my RO membrane is <10 when it's fully 'warmed up'

usmc121581
03/31/2013, 05:19 PM
I would never use that water for an of my tanks. The Walmart by me water stinks and taste like dirt.

kissman
03/31/2013, 05:44 PM
just use RO/DI then you know what you are getting

nynick
03/31/2013, 06:00 PM
You can drink rodi water, it just tastes bad. The total lack of anything somehow makes it taste metallic. Same was the case up north long ago when people melted snow for drinking water during winter. They added a pinch of salt to it and it no longer tastes like metal.

eacosta
03/31/2013, 06:25 PM
I would seriously consider investing in an rodi unit. I started my tank using the green capped ro water from walmart for $0.85/gallon. It was only 5tds, but I had to use prime since it had minor traces of chlorine in it. I did the math for my 29g and my rodi unit will pay itself off in a little over a year. Besides carrying water from the store every week quickly becomes a major pain!

surgy
03/31/2013, 07:08 PM
actually i like to visit my lfs on a regular basis. im sortof building a relationship. and im lucky enough to have an lfs that at least acts like they care. they talked to me for 20 minutes about my tank and then when they heard that i had just got done cycling they insisted that they test my water for everything twice, for free, before i brought my clowns home.

so a bi-weekly trip to visit them and build a friendship/customer relationship will benifit us both i think

BretCreager
03/31/2013, 07:19 PM
pure water from an rodi is so pure that it is starving for nutrients... almost like the idea with salinity, (more salt on one side verses the other will push or pull into the fish and pop the cells) the rodi water will pull nutrients from your body and drinking enough and can hurt you. also it is very harsh for use on just about anything. but once you add your salt mix to it, you have solved those issues. I dont know what the difference between rodi and distilled is, other than drinking distilled is also bad. i do know the difference in process just not outcome.

Stolireef
04/01/2013, 12:58 PM
pure water from an rodi is so pure that it is starving for nutrients... almost like the idea with salinity, (more salt on one side verses the other will push or pull into the fish and pop the cells) the rodi water will pull nutrients from your body and drinking enough and can hurt you. also it is very harsh for use on just about anything... other than drinking distilled is also bad. i do know the difference in process just not outcome.

This is utterly preposterous. This issue has been argued several times and virtually every biologist/nutritionist/doctor will tell you that drinking purified water is harmless and, with regard to someone with a compromised immune system, it is recommended. If you are a serious athlete or live in a very dry region wherein you drink a great deal of water, the lack of salts and other minerals could cause a problem in the most extreme settings. Otherwise, normal healthy eating habits provide all of the minerals and salts that your body needs (in fact, by some estimates, we already consume far too much salt). RO/DI water cannot 'pull nutrients' from your body. Rather, if you drink too much water (of any kind) you can dilute those minerals and salt to such a degree that it throws off your electrolyte balance. Other than that, no danger at all.

TalloneJosh
04/01/2013, 05:45 PM
I actually talked with one of the servicemen, who was servicing one of the water stations, He was replacing the filters and actually had a tds meter on hand. I got to see the inside of one of these contraptions and was impressed with all the filtration that was actually inside, while i was there he tested the water and it came out at 0ppm he also said that they do not add anything to the water after it is filtered. I forgot the name of the refill station that it was, but the one i went to was outside of a cvs. I used this water for the first couple months in my reef and experienced no ill effects. They change the filters every couple of weeks and sometimes as much as every week at some locations. It is best to get the water as close to the serviced date as possible. The machine that I used, displayed the date of its last time being serviced.

sleepydoc
04/01/2013, 08:15 PM
This is utterly preposterous. This issue has been argued several times and virtually every biologist/nutritionist/doctor will tell you that drinking purified water is harmless and, with regard to someone with a compromised immune system, it is recommended.

Actually, the studies in the WHO report do list adverse diuretic and other effects that would not be immediately obvious or expected from drinking pure water. You are right in that the average American diet contains more than enough sodium to make up for any lost in the water, but from the studies I've read, the effect is different from a simple reduction in salt/mineral intake.

You are confusing drinking unpurified water with contaminated water. I have taken care of many patients undergoing bone marrow transplants who have profoundly suppressed immune systems and we never had them drink deionized or otherwise purified water. We did, however, make sure they drank clean water.

cap032
04/01/2013, 08:25 PM
I would seriously consider investing in an rodi unit. I started my tank using the green capped ro water from walmart for $0.85/gallon. It was only 5tds, but I had to use prime since it had minor traces of chlorine in it. I did the math for my 29g and my rodi unit will pay itself off in a little over a year. Besides carrying water from the store every week quickly becomes a major pain!

Considering gas prices, it will probably pay for itself much sooner! lol