Dehumidifier water recycled

[B-Fit]

Had an idea of reusing the water from my dehumidifier back into the tank as top off water.

The TDS meter reads the water at 30. Anyone know what the dissolved substances are that give that reading?

Has anyone tried it?

[dshnarw]

Had an idea of reusing the water from my dehumidifier back into the tank as top off water.

The TDS meter reads the water at 30. Anyone know what the dissolved substances are that give that reading?

Has anyone tried it?

 

It's probably a mix of these:

Ozone (ground-level ozone is the principal component of smog)

VOC's (Volatile Organic Compounds)

Nitrogen Dioxide

Carbon Monoxide

Particulate Matter (dust, smoke, soot)

Sulfur Dioxide

Lead

 

They're the most common air pollutants, so most likely to be pulled from air. I wouldn't use it just because the above pollutants are entering your aquarium through the air anyway. By adding water that gets concentrated in some of them (most likely organics, particulates, and lead), you're increasing the concentration of those elements in your tank instead of diluting them.

 

You could run the water through an RODI system and use it. The benefit being that the low starting TDS would yield a longer lifetime for the various filters.

[ReeferMan]

why would you risk it? water is pretty easy and cheap to replace

[Grav]

Funny how these ideas cycle back around.

 

Don't do it. All kinds of funk growing in there.

[johnnybv]

Dehumidifiers work off of the condensation principal, and they usually use COPPER coils to condense the moisture. SO the water that was collected has been condensed on copper that may be leaching, I would never use it in a system that contains corals or inverts, maybe fish only. Test it for copper and see what you get, not worth the risk IMHO.

 

john

Edited December 1, 2007 by johnnybv

[zotzer]

Would you recycle it as drinking water? Give it a big chug and then decide.

 

Tracy

[dschflier]

I used to do it for years when I had my 210gal african chichlid tank but would not advise it for a reef tank. I never saw any problems in my fresh tank and I felt the water was better then the water out of the tap but as Johnny mentioned I had heard that they use copper as well and so decided never to use it for my salt water tank

[extreme_tooth_decay]

and I felt the water was better then the water out of the tap

 

My gut tells me that must be true. Recall that all the tap water has been through a maze of copper pipes in our houses, and this water has 1/10 the TDS.

 

I don't think I'd use it for a reef tank though, mostly for the reason phisigs79 said.

 

tim

[dschflier]

I agree. Plus just for the fact that their is no question as to what you are getting when you use RO/DI water.

[dshnarw]

Recall that all the tap water has been through a maze of copper pipes in our houses, and this water has 1/10 the TDS.

 

Tap water won't have much in the way of copper because it's treated with phosphates, which inhibit copper solubility. Assuming the dehumidifier is using copper coils, there's no phosphate to stop copper dissolution.

[B-Fit]

Well, I guess there goes that idea. I agree, why risk it. That

[Grav]

I wouldn't drink it either.

 

Tap water is also treated to keep bacteria and other nasties from growing in it... no such treatment plant in the dehumidifier

[zotzer]

I wouldn't drink it either.

 

Yeah, I was totally kidding. Nasty....which is why I don't think it belongs in a reef tank.

 

T