Distilled Water vs Purified Drinking Water.

[Fenix]

Are they are same thing?

[~Erik3.8.07~]

im not sure, but i use purified bottled water for top offs and dont have any problems

[Incredulous_Ed]

No, do not use distilled water for aquariums. Supposedly, it can kill fish. Purified drinking water is put through an RO filter, and is always safe.

[cocoa_pleco]

yep, in reefs the best water is RO, tapwater can cause hair algae

[Fenix]

yep, in reefs the best water is RO, tapwater can cause hair algae

oh really i have so much of that right now. OK purified drinking water it is.

[jimpierce]

purified drinking is better then distilled? Why is that? I'm just curious.

[coachfraley]

If I remember right, the problem with distilled is that some water distilleries still use copper equipment, so there can be trace amounts of copper in the water.

If the distiller does not use any copper equipment, I don't think there is anything wrong with using distilled water???

[cocoa_pleco]

ive heard the copper thing too, and copper is terriblefor a reef, it can kill all of your corals.

otherwise i dont think theres anything bad with distilled water

[Fish Whisperer]

Although it is true that trace amounts of copper can leech into distilled water, the big issue is that distilled water is absolutely pure-meaning no minerals, trace elements, etc. Therefore if it is used, you MUST add them. I recommend using Kent's Essential Elements and Boyd's vita-chem.
If you add these, then distilled is the best water to use.