TDS of bottled water

[reefNewbie]

I just checked the TDS of a bottle of ice moutain drinking water because ive been test happy since i got my tds meter. It read 206 TDS. Doesnt that seem kind of odd, especially considering that my tap water is like 170 TDS.

 

[Mikef1]

WOuldnt mountain water have more minerals left in it

 

[reefNewbie]

thats kind of what i was thinking but i wasnt sure if its garbage in the water or minerals

 

[jandree22]

if you test a bottle of Aquafina, it'll probably be a lot lower. I think some bottled waters, like Aquafina, make an attempt to completely purify the water. Others, such as Dasani, add minerals to give it a crisp refreshing taste.

 

[kim]

Natural spring water has tonnes of TDS in it....why should it be lower than tapwater ? It just depends upon the geology of the source. Whether it's garbage or not depends on what you consider to be garbage !

kim

 

[tangir1]

Kim's right. If it is not the nitrate and organics and carcingens and phophates in my water, I would be able to use it for reef tank directly no matter how high the TDS reading is.

 

[cdeakle]

I tested a 2 gallon of Fred Meyers "Distilled Water" that in the product desscription on the label stated that the water was filtered/RO water. My TDS reading was 78, looks like its time for the plant to change there filters!!!

Should I not be able to get a refund because the product is not what it was labelled as? :wink:

 

[tangir1]

They distilled and then RO, or they RO then distill? Or they did neither :?

I think Fred is up to something...

 

[cdeakle]

They are def up to something. I also thought RO Filtered water and Distilled water were 2 different results of 2 different processes but maybe I am wrong? :?

 

[Anonymous]

they are!...actually when i was using distilled, it actually made my tank worse...! :? whats up with that?

 

[jandree22]

they are!...actually when i was using distilled, it actually made my tank worse...! :? whats up with that?

i read some study which showed that the distillation process really messes up water's properties and it's not healty to drink. i forget the specifics and it might be a bunch of BS, but personally I'm never gonna drink it.

 

[tangir1]

>... it might be a bunch of BS....

You bet it is. In fact, almost all the water was distilled many, many time. All rain water is distilled.

 

[kim]

Depends on the distillation process. Since water is not the only thing that evaporates (think of a nice whisky.....), if you just boil a load of contaminated water and condense what comes off, you'll find water...and lots of other stuff in there too ! Not calcium carbonate, perhaps. For example, many mineral acids are liquids and will evaporate.

What you really want is the stuff that evaporates at 100 C and nothing else...

Distilled water can be very pure, but I guess not always.

kim