Mineral water top up's

[Rossij101]

I have been using mineral water to top up my tank for a while,but I noticed on the back of the bottle jt reads nitrate 29!!!! This is bad no?? My Lfs said topping with mineral is good !!

 

[Rossij101]

I have been using mineral water to top up my tank for a while,but I noticed on the back of the bottle jt reads nitrate 29!!!! This is bad no?? My Lfs said topping with mineral is good !!

Does anyone know weather or not this is bad or not??

 

[carey]

I use ro/di or spring water for my sw top offs. I'm not sure that mineral water is good for a sw tank. have you tested the water for nitrates?

 

[Rossij101]

I also use RO DI but also top up with mineral water which I'm pretty sure is the same as spring water. My levels seem ok but the fact that the mineral values on back of bottle read 29 for nitrates I thought was a bit scary is that a normal reading for nitrate in bottled water??

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

29 what? If it's 29ppm, that's beyond the Federal limits in the US for tap water. But "mineral water", I believe, falls under different regulations since it's "natural" and probably avoids major regulation.

I wouldn't use bottled water meant for drinking for top offs. Most of the bottled waters start out as RO/DI water, but then mineral and compounds are added back in to give the water a more desirable flavor for drinking. Good for flavor, but bad for purity - if that's what you're after.

 

[Gregcoyote]

Right on...don't use it. Striped water is what you need to use as make up water. RO/DI if possible. You can drink RO but it tastes terrible. They add minerals back to this stuff or just bottle whatever comes out of the spring to make it taste good. Both are bad ideas as make up water.

I think investing in at least a RO unit is one of the basic parts of aquarium operations. Spend $50 less on that clam you HAVE to have and buy a RO.

 

[Rossij101]

I use a water meter and pay for any water used I hear the units throw alot away which I would pay for I bug RO water but when I run out I would top up with mineral until I read the 29 nitrate level it's mg/l !!

 

[Rossij101]

Sorry"I BUY RO water that should say!

 

[Gregcoyote]

They waste a trickle of water daily. Like having a dripping water faucet. Convenience makes up for it and it is far safer to add to your tank.

 

[Rossij101]

Ok it's on my list! For now I've seen a brand of wTef that reads < 0.1 nitrate I'll go with that!

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

They waste a trickle of water daily. Like having a dripping water faucet. ...

All depends on how much water you're making. Some units are more efficient than others, but you're going to generate anywhere between 2 and 5 gallons of waste water for every gallon of pure water you make. Not really a trickle, in my book, but in the end if you calculate it out it's not that expensive.

 

[Gregcoyote]

I routed the waste water from my RO unit out the window into my garden. No water gets wasted this way.

 

[carey]

I have mine hooked up in my back porch connected to mygarden hose and the waste water also goes to my flowers. I get a 2 for 1 ratio with my unit it seems.

 

[EGMono]

I have been using mineral water to top up my tank for a while,but I noticed on the back of the bottle jt reads nitrate 29!!!! This is bad no?? My Lfs said topping with mineral is good !!

Here in Florida there are 4 types of water on the shelf at the grocery store, they are (by label):

Drinking water: RO processed, minerals added (for taste).

Spring water: Carbon filtered, ozone treated.

Distilled

Mineral water: the fanciest and most expensive; I like the flavor of the one bottled in the Czech Republic, but only buy it once every couple of years since the drinking water is 1/20 the unit price. Basically treated the same way spring water is, just comes from springs with higher mineral content.

If you want to top off salt water and you're closer to the grocery store than your LFS, use DISTILLED.

Why? Because the evaporation point of most minerals is higher than H2O, or in other words, most/all of the minerals WON'T evaporate, so you only want to return the part that does... pure water.

 

[EGMono]

I use a water meter and pay for any water used I hear the units throw alot away which I would pay for I bug RO water but when I run out I would top up with mineral until I read the 29 nitrate level it's mg/l !!

The cost of RO water depends on its efficiency and the makeup of the source water. At a guess, it would be cheaper for me to buy water from the LFS than install a home unit imo, because Florida has such hard (read impurity rich in terms of RO) water, and the large units that the LFS can justify purchasing are [generally] more efficient.

 

[carey]

I live in Florida and I can't believe I lived without the ro/di unit for this long. lol it's so much more convenient you can fill up your jugs while watching tv hehehe....and the pure water i am getting out has 0 everything including TDS.

 

[EGMono]

If you don't mind me asking what model RO, and did you buy it online or at store? (Trying to talk myself into one lol)

 

[carey]

I got it off ebay for $59. theres even a thread so you can see what it looks like and how I hooked it up. Lots of good info in that thread. Its under equipment I believe and its called just got my ro/di unit from ebay.

I would link it but I dont know how. LOL

 

[Gregcoyote]

I spent more money on a Kent Marine RO/DI system 18 years ago. Had some problems with a leak a few months ago and Kent sent me all the parts for free.

 

[Gregcoyote]

Carey,

Just copy the URL from your browser and paste it into a reply.