qnp@SAGE.CC.PURDUE.EDU (vinod kutty) (01/20/90)
I dont understand Albert Thiel's statement that deionized water is better than distilled or reverse osmosis water when it comes to aquarium use! Perhaps the situation is different in marine aquaria, but in freshwater, it is only used to soften tap water. Yes, fish will die if put in pure RO or distilled water, that is why tap water is mixed to give the desired hardness. Vinny.
BRIDGE@rcgl1.eng.ohio-state.edu (JOHN BRIDGE) (01/20/90)
Perhaps Albert is a little strong in his statement about the superiority of deionized water. I haven't read the context in which he made that statement, so I don't really know. Deionized water has "zip" metal ions in it. Not all distilled or RO water has so little metal impurity. I doubt if whatever levels are present in distilled or RO present a problem for the aquarist, however. John