DI Water

[Stonker]

Well, we're up and running
When I asked the LFS about RO water, he pulled a strange face
They use their own water system, which is DI water.
He advised me that this would do the job fine, and RO can be considered an overkill.
Anyway, I puffed and panted my way home, added the salt, and put it in the tank.

What are the major differences between RO and DI water, and is there anything I need to be looking out for. Readings so far:

PH - 8.0 (a little low)
Nitrate - 0
Nitrite - 0 (ish)
Ammonia 0 (ish)
Temp - 79
SG - 1.022 (will increase slowly to around 1.026)

I'm using 2xEheim powerheads, which is powering the water through around 13 kilos of fully cured LR.

Also, when can I add my crew?

Oh, one more question, the DI water is supplied in plastic cannisters, with a screw on lid. Will it be ok to store a cannister full for a while for top-ups etc, or will it become a bit nasty?

 

[steelhealr]

When using a good RO/DI unit, the reverese osmosis filter screens out 99% of minerals/contaminants and the DI portion will filter out more to about 99.9% purity. The RO portion uses a 'semi-permeable' membrane while the DI portion uses an ion exchange resin. Using pure distilled water would do the same thing but, in our homes, we would have to boil water and use lots of heat energy (gas/electric) to do the job.

Honestly, DI itself, as RO, probably is not as good as the two together.

Yes, you can store RO water in a cool place.

You can add your crew when the 'ish's' are zero.SH

 

[Stonker]

Thanks Steel
When I say "ish", I mean there is a very slight reading, but then again I've been assured that my test kit was "extremely accurate", which is why I paid quite a lot for it. If I tested using a standard test kit, it possibly wouldn't register.