recommended distilled water brand?

[Captain Quint]

sorry what do you mean by distilled water is made by a glass? can elaborate please :)

Most modern distillers are stainless with glass tubing or another tubing for the steam to run through and the steam cools and is purified water from the steam, but there are still copper units out there.

 

[Dana Riddle]

sorry what do you mean by distilled water is made by a glass? can elaborate please :)

There are a couple type of stills - lab grade distillers have glass boilers and condensers, while cheap ones are made of copper. I agree with comments made earlier by others here - water with zero TDS doesn't taste very good so minerals are added to prevent a 'flat' taste.

 

[CoralReefer13]

Great Value brand works very well, as a few people have already posted. I test every jug and it is usually 0-3 TDS. I have also tested for Silica, Copper, Phosphates, Ammonia and Nitrates for kicks. All come back with zero.

 

[BZOFIQ]

today i did a test and Dasani was 67 ppm :(

Ouch, that's higher than most people test out of tap in NYC. Usually NYC Tap is about 42-48.

Side note: Recently there has been some talk about some work going on upstate that stirred some sediments up and people complain about water tasting like wood, my TDS is dead so I can't even re-test at the moment to see how the tap water was affected.

 

[BZOFIQ]

I agree with comments made earlier by others here - water with zero TDS doesn't taste very good so minerals are added to prevent a 'flat' taste.

I heard that as well.

 

[cromag27 Verified Sponsor]

and make sure you calibrate your tds meter on a regular basis!

 

[cristata.reef]

I used the Walmart brand for many years in my nano tanks.. always tested 0 TDS and only .85 cents a gallon.

I've used that one several times as well. Works in a pinch

 

[Dana Riddle]

I heard that as well.

Yup, it's true. I was responsible for the water systems at the Four Seasons resort in Kailua-Kona Hawaii. We had to install a 2 million gallon per day RO system since the water there was very aggressive and was dissolving the copper pipes. We had to blend (bypass) some water around the filters for taste and other reasons.

 

[Jesterrace]

Some water stores might have an RODI unit. Ask around. I get 1 gallon of RODI for 25 cents and it's useful in emergencies since it's a self service

True, I get RODI for free from my LFS or 75 cents per gallon for pre-mix. Not ideal for many, but it would definitely work in the short term.