Im Finding Nitrites in ALL of my LFS's RO/DI Water. HELP!!!!!

[Artti Sowerbrower]

I am about to my wits end with this. I have purchased about 20 gallons
of RO/DI from 3 different sources. (I live in South Florida) and have
found between .5ppm and 2.0ppm of Nitrite in all sources. WTF!!!!

Has anyone else ever heard of this? The odd thing is that I live about
1.5 miles from one of the LFS's and I would assume that we use the
same municipal water supply, and I can test ZERO nitrites from my tap.
I dont have a problem paying .50 a gallon for RO/DI top-off water, but
jeez, at least I should get what Im paying for.

Any help or suggestions are appreciated. BTW, the LFS's reaction to me
telling them about the nitrite is "Really,......Hrrrm.....I dont know
why that is."



THanks,
Vai

[Todd Nicholson]

Have you had your LFS test their own water using their own test kit.
Possibly your test kit has gone bad?

-Todd


"Artti Sowerbrower" > wrote in message
m...
> I am about to my wits end with this. I have purchased about 20 gallons
> of RO/DI from 3 different sources. (I live in South Florida) and have
> found between .5ppm and 2.0ppm of Nitrite in all sources. WTF!!!!
>
> Has anyone else ever heard of this? The odd thing is that I live about
> 1.5 miles from one of the LFS's and I would assume that we use the
> same municipal water supply, and I can test ZERO nitrites from my tap.
> I dont have a problem paying .50 a gallon for RO/DI top-off water, but
> jeez, at least I should get what Im paying for.
>
> Any help or suggestions are appreciated. BTW, the LFS's reaction to me
> telling them about the nitrite is "Really,......Hrrrm.....I dont know
> why that is."
>
>
>
> THanks,
> Vai

[J Codling]

Another question. Why buy RO/DI water when you can buy a unti for around
150 and install it yourself?


"Artti Sowerbrower" > wrote in message
m...
> I am about to my wits end with this. I have purchased about 20 gallons
> of RO/DI from 3 different sources. (I live in South Florida) and have
> found between .5ppm and 2.0ppm of Nitrite in all sources. WTF!!!!
>
> Has anyone else ever heard of this? The odd thing is that I live about
> 1.5 miles from one of the LFS's and I would assume that we use the
> same municipal water supply, and I can test ZERO nitrites from my tap.
> I dont have a problem paying .50 a gallon for RO/DI top-off water, but
> jeez, at least I should get what Im paying for.
>
> Any help or suggestions are appreciated. BTW, the LFS's reaction to me
> telling them about the nitrite is "Really,......Hrrrm.....I dont know
> why that is."
>
>
>
> THanks,
> Vai

[Gary V. Deutschmann, Sr.]

Hi Artti

Properly deionized water has no nitrates and no buffers to make test
readings accurate!
And I know of no reliable way to test deionized water for impurities
until it is reionized with something to give it substance.

For example. If you drop one grain of salt into deionized water, it
will have 100% more salt than it had previously. The water would also
test highly alkaline from one grain of salt, because there is nothing
else there to buffer the reading.

Now, if you mix the deionized water with a nitrate free blend of reef
salt to the specific gravity you desire and then test it, you should
find zero nitrates.

TTUL
Gary

[Artti Sowerbrower]

Thanks for the replies, but Im finding Nitrites- 0 Nitrates. However,
The deionization theory you gave does make sense. I'll do a little
more experimenting and see what I come up with. And to answer an
earlier query, my test kits are ok. I have even cross-tested them
against distilled, and water that was already determined to have high
nitrites (with a separate kit).

I am definately about to drop the buck-fifty on a RO/DI unit if for
nothing else, my own peace of mind, and I'll save a buttload on test
kits. As of now, Im testing my RO/DI top-off water more than I have to
test either tank.

Thanks,
Artti

(Gary V. Deutschmann, Sr.) wrote in message >...
> Hi Artti
>
> Properly deionized water has no nitrates and no buffers to make test
> readings accurate!
> And I know of no reliable way to test deionized water for impurities
> until it is reionized with something to give it substance.
>
> For example. If you drop one grain of salt into deionized water, it
> will have 100% more salt than it had previously. The water would also
> test highly alkaline from one grain of salt, because there is nothing
> else there to buffer the reading.
>
> Now, if you mix the deionized water with a nitrate free blend of reef
> salt to the specific gravity you desire and then test it, you should
> find zero nitrates.
>
> TTUL
> Gary

[Gary V. Deutschmann, Sr.]

Hi Artti

We have a probe type test meter that measures in micro-siemens.
As long as the reading of the DI water is between .05 and .06
microsiemens, we know it is as pure as it can get, yet not to raw for
aquaria top ups and can be stored for short periods of time with no
problems.

The purer the water, the easier it becomes contaminated from the air.
Water processed through lets say an all glass Barnstead still that
provides triple distillation is way overkill and way to raw for
aquaria use. Open the bottle and you can almost see the ammonia being
sucked out of the air and into the bottle. Not quite, but you get my
drift!

I don't consider RO pure enough for reef aquaria use,
DI is just about right,
and Triple distilled (in glass) is way overkill.
Never use copper distilled in a reef aquarium.

TTUL
Gary

[Aquatic-Care]

Gary,

"I don't consider RO pure enough for reef aquaria use"

Humm, I have been using it for at least 12 years now and I think my
customers tanks are pretty nice. IMO Deionized is a little overkill and
Triple Distilled water is just rediculous. I guess it is just personal
preference.

aquacare

[Aquatic-Care]

Artti,

If you are buying RO/DI water for .50 per gallon you can't complain. I think
the DI is messing with your kits.

aquacare

[Gary V. Deutschmann, Sr.]

Hi Todd

Although rare, we have lost some delicate corals due to contaminants
not removed by RO alone.

But as you say, for the most part, and on most public water supplies,
RO is sufficient.

But DI cost of treating post RO is next to nothing, so why not use it
as added insurance!

After being faced with a few pathogens getting through RO in the past,
during pre-filtering, we now bombard the input water with strong UV
and blast ozone by injection to burn up their remains.

Every little precaution, although in many cases is considered overkill
by many, can prevent problems from occurring.

TTUL
Gary

[Aquatic-Care]

Gary,

I was wondering how long do you get between changing DI resins. I make at
least 100 gal. per day of RO. Like you said polishing the RO shouldn't use
too much resin, but it is an added expense I need to get an idea on. What do
you think?

Aquacare

[Gary V. Deutschmann, Sr.]

Hi Todd

DI resins don't wear out!
I have been using the same resins now for at least 10 years.
Color change resins lose their ability to show exhaustion by color
change, so you can always use a tablespoonful of fresh new resin in a
small pill bottle sized cylinder on the output lines to show
exhaustion. Then when you recharge, just add these new resins to main
cylinder.

My system is set up with recharging in mind, so recharging is quite
simple and works without much attention. Perhaps 3 minutes total
labor time, although there is a half-hour recharging time that does
not need to be watched.
Cost to recharge a small system is about a buck, my system is a little
larger and takes about 3 bucks worth of recharging chemicals.
A small spaghetti cannister sized system would only cost about a buck
and produce well over 200 gallons of pre-RO filtered water through it.
It depends a lot on which type of RO you are using and what is passing
through it.
St. Louis hard water burns up my DI system in about 800 gallons, but
softer water supplies as found here in TN, we've already crossed 1,400
gallons and it's not showing any signs of needing recharged yet.
Output is still a steady .05 microsiemens.
Now if you forego RO alltogether and go DI only, they burn up quite
fast. You would get maybe only 40 gallons instead of over 200 gallons
before needing to recharge. It seems that regardless of what goes IN
the DI resins, provided it is treated with some form of pre-filtration
such as pressed silver impregnated carbon blocks, .05 to .06 always
comes OUT.
But for large volume water supply outputs, using RO ahead of DI is the
only reasonable way to do it.

By the way, if your storing the water in large tanks for distribution
to your customers. It is best to make the DI filtration system at the
output of the tank, as it is dispensed to the customer, or into a
smaller 3 to 5 gallon container that is emptied each day.
DI is just raw enough to suck some impurities out of the air and
through the walls of plastic containers over time.

TTUL
Gary