DIY DI water?

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mumrah

Aquarium Advice Freak
Joined
Dec 8, 2004
Messages
248
Location
Tallahassee, Fl
Well, just as i was about to give in and start buying RO/DI water from a lfs, i had a thought. All of the articles i've read on lowering the ph of tapwater suggest getting a water purifying unit, or one of those fancy RO units. "Too bad i dont have a fridge with a water thingy.. oh well"

Wait! i forgot i had one of those britta water pitchers. So, just as a little test, i brewed up some britta water, and tested the ph.

Tap: ~7.6
Britta: ~6.2 !!!

Man was i supprised. And this filter had been used a lot, longer than is recommended. Tonight i'm going to pick up a test kit for hardness and such to check those as well. But i sure am pleased. I started filling up 2.5g containers right away.

I'll post the rest of the parameters once i get the test kits.
-David
 
It may be a long way to do a 25% water change on a 55g with Brita pitcher. I've heard some people add peat pellets to their filters which supposingly do a nice job on PH. I've never used them ...
 
I sad I've never used them, nor I'm in favor of tampering with Ph. But for the sake of curiosity, can you describe "mess"? It may help someone ...
 
well, the peat i got came in a compressed brick. You soak it in water and it exands a lot. It is not very cohesive, so if given the chance, it will just scatter away. Even in the filter bag (very fine mesh) if you squeeze it, paricles will come out. If there's some better way to implement peat, i'd sure like to know, but i've not had great success.
 
Brita filters are just a carbon block filter.. Im unsure how it dropped the ph.. most likely CO2.. but let it set overnight possibly stick a airstone in it and test it again.. I am assuming the PH will come right back up.. the minerals in the water will still be there to buffer the PH back up..
The fancy RO units are only 65 bucks on e-bay by the way..great output as well 100gpd
 
Before I got my RO unit, I read almost everything there was to lowering PH. Brita and Pur filters were one of them. Greenmagi as right in the fact that those filters do not remove the hardness of the water and the ph should bounce back over time to what it should be. I think that somehow the price of RO units have gotten a bad rap. They are cheaper that almost every canister filter out there, yet no one suggests that they are expensive or fancy, just a needed piece of equipment. I think that the water is just as important. I would venture to say that most people, in their zeal to lower the ph of their water spend a lot more on various chemicals and setups to lower their water than they would actually spend on an RO unit.

For what it is worth, I spent $130 on a 4-stage RO unit that puts out 150 gpd and it is portable for those who live in apartments or rent. You can get some units a lot cheaper on ebay as had been mentioned earlier.

Just some thoughts to ponder.
 
What is wrong with pH 7.6? That is what comes out of my tap and I have been successfully keeping fish for years and years. If it ain't broke....
 
Ditto. I have successfully bred angels at a pH of 8, in medium hard water (375 microSiemans). Fish are very adaptable, and it is easier for them to adapt to your water source, than for you to adapt to theirs. There are exceptions of course, but stability is more important than perfect parameters, in my view.
 
Having said that, there are some municipalities where the water is full of all DOCs, nitrate and whatnot that would make it not the best for drinking or showering in, so there are certainly instances where using RO water (mixed and/or supplemented) is a good idea and in that case I'd install a unit under my house where the supply comes in.
 
Like my water for instance. It is so hard and full of minerals that if I were to drink it, and then go to the airport, I would set off the metal detectors. :lol:
 
I am getting some - two tanks worth! I have the RO setup for my drinking water and community tank.

DANG!!

Can someone get me down. I walked by a magnet again and am stuck.
 
Toirtis said:
greenmagi said:
Brita filters are just a carbon block filter..
Click to expand...

I was under the impression that they were a carbon-resin mix....now I have to pull one open to see. :lol:
Click to expand...

I realize that may have been a bold statement but thats what I read on the boxes when I was looking to buy one.. Id be glad to be wrong though! :D :D
 
well, my attempts to lower ph was form my rams. They're survived in 7.6 for a while, but i'd like to lower it to a more natural ph for them. According to brita's website, their filters remove Chlorine, Zinc, Benzene, Cadmium, Copper, Lead, Mercury, Tetrachloroethylene, Toluene, and Taste & Odor ;).

I think i will give it a shot. They claim it captures ions in an ion exchange resin, and since the ph coming out of there is low, i imagine all of the ions it captures are alkaline.

Thanks for the input though, i'll post back with some numbers and results in a week or so.
 
Keep in mind that the filter will remove "most" of the chlorine, but not all, so I'd dechlorinate also.

I am very interested in your results with this, so definitely keep us posted.
 
mumrah said:
well, my attempts to lower ph was form my rams. They're survived in 7.6 for a while, but i'd like to lower it to a more natural ph for them. According to brita's website, their filters remove Chlorine, Zinc, Benzene, Cadmium, Copper, Lead, Mercury, Tetrachloroethylene, Toluene, and Taste & Odor ;).

I think i will give it a shot. They claim it captures ions in an ion exchange resin, and since the ph coming out of there is low, i imagine all of the ions it captures are alkaline.

Thanks for the input though, i'll post back with some numbers and results in a week or so.
Click to expand...

Did you let the treated water set 24 hours and then test the PH again?
You could also just test the KH of the tap water and the KH of the treated water..
This would tell you if it actually has resin in it.. Carbon removes those pollutants.. It did not advertise that it removed Calcium Carbonate and thats what your wanting it to remove..
And as TG says you will still want to use dechlorinator.. all the chlorine is not removed...
 
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