Brita Filter ?

[furryrabbit]

well ive recently come into some money and am thinking about setting up a 2-5 gal pico . ro water isn't sold anywhere around me and ro filters would just be too expensive if im only doing a pico .

i was doing a bit of research and came across an article which said that brita filters * act well as "DI" filters .
is this true - it would suit me very well.

*( im not sure if these are available outside the uk and ireland , theyre basically containers with a special filter pad on them - you pour in tap water ( dechlor it the article says ) and it purifies it )

also - what do you think of this ? ebay marine salt

 

[Matthew5664]

I usewd a brita in my planted tank. I also used carbon and NitraZorb all mixed in a 2" pipe with a filtersock at one end (could use you girlfrends tights) the have a hose feed the water in at the top and collect the water in a bucket at the bottom. This worked for me for a while.

 

[Neal]

It says on their website they do not recommend it for use with aquariums, but I don't see no harm, and i'm certainly going to try it, rather than splashing out £80+ I haven't got on an RO unit.

Neal

 

[furryrabbit]

i'll probably go for the brita then .

any opinions on the ebay sold salt?

also - are there any fish suited to life in a 2-5 gallon tank?

 

[pica_nuttalli]

a brief FYI, a while ago there was a member who frequented the betta forum (named Bettamomma?). she bought a brita water pitcher as a special "treat" for her bettas, mostly rescues and other delicate specimens. the very next day she found most of their tails in tatters and several of them were swimming erratically. she performed emergency 100% water changes and called brita up to demand an explanation. know what they said? don't use our filters to prepare aquarium water.

just thought that i'd mention it.

 

[SkiFletch]

Yeah, I have to chime in here on this one. There are only two reliable and "affordable" means that I know of to remove heavy metals from water. Distillation, and Reverse Osmosis (RO). Brita filters use Carbon filtration. Carbon filtration does eliminate many organic compounds such as nitrates, phosphates, and organic halides like chlorine, flourine and chloramine. It does not however remove the heavier silica's, copper, iron, or other heavy-metal toxins. Some filters (including RO filters) have additional "De-Ionization" cartridges. These too are only designed to pick up very small molecular contaminants that may have gotten through initial filtration, they do not remove heavy metals. I can't stop you from trying this filter out, but I do not agree with the choice.

 

[furryrabbit]

Hmm ... well - dechlors claim to remove said heavy metals , so if you were to dechlor your water , and then put it into the brita filter , would it work?

Any opinions on the ebay salt?

 

[andywg]

I was looking into filters and things and remember reading that tap water often has TDS of around 300-400 ppm. Brita filters lower it to around 160ppm and RO can get it to 5ppm and lower.

Brita is not a good replacement for RO, though if you absolutely cannot get RO water then it should stem the tide of the usual problems associated with using tap water.

Without getting an actual ingredient list for what is in the ebay salt it is hard to recommend or disuade from it.

 

[furryrabbit]

If this is what you mean by ingredients than the link says it contains : " Saltwater Correct Salt Composition

(Approximate Values):

Alkalinity 3.2, Calcium 450 ppm, Specific Gravity 1.026, pH 8.2, Magnesium 1250mg/L, Borate1.5 meg/L, Bromide 65mg/L

" . What do you think ?

 

[SkiFletch]

That part of the chemistry sounds fine. Most salt mixes are ok chemistry wise. However some have difficulty with containing extra nitrates or phosphates... Can't comment on that since I've never used the Ebay salt

 

[furryrabbit]

Well - as I've said before this is only gonna be a small project , most likely just a 5 gallon tank ( max ) with LR , a nice shrimp or hermit - and possibly some form of shroom . I think I've been given great advice re the Brita filter - but there is just no way I can afford an RO unit , and hence I'll give the Brita a try . The ebay salt I shall also give a try , though if necessary I can get some of the more expensive brands .

 

[steelhealr]

Big thumbs down on Brita. See marine topic of the week. If you can't afford an RO and it's a small tank, use distilled. SH

 

[furryrabbit]

Big thumbs down on Brita. See marine topic of the week. If you can't afford an RO and it's a small tank, use distilled. SH

I'm uber confused on how exactly one gets distilled water.
Can you make your own without having to shell out a fortune? Or is it something you purchase in a store?

Sorry for the silly noob q's

 

[Donya]

Places that sell bottled water usually sell distilled as well. Only problem is, not all distilled bottles are created equal. You should make sure they really are distilled and don't have a kH reading. Distilled should be kH of 0, but I got some that had a kH of 4 and mucked up my tanks' pH (I didn't check the bottle first and assumed the kH would be 0...that was the mistake). Technically you could make your own, but I tried that once and it was a mess...I don't recommend it

 

[SkiFletch]

Yeah, making your own distilled is not a great idea . Distilling water is really only successful in an industrial setting and most aquarists would find it exceptionally difficult to make themselves. Furryrabbit, the basic idea of distilling water is to heat the water to the point of boiling or evaporation and then to collect the evaporated water in a second container. The original container is left with most of the solutes of the water. Usually this is done two or 3 times to remove all solutes from water. Triple distilled water is what most chemistry laboratories use when pure water is required for experiments and is really the only substitute for RO water.

As mentioned, most grocery stores sell distilled water as well as spring water. I know in my local area I can buy a gallon of distilled water for $0.37. Ironically enough its more pure and cheaper than the "spring" water . As Donya says, make sure it says "Distilled" on the bottle and that it tests out with a 0kH. Or heck, if you have a TDS meter, throw that in there and see if its got a TDS of 10 or less