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Re: New Water Filter



>>>>> Adam Weingarten <javablue at concentric_net> (here: "AW"),
>>>>> on Fri, 02 Oct 1998 23:55:37 -0500,
>>>>> pondered the meaning of life, then wrote down:

    AW> I recently got a PUR water filter,  it is one of the half liter
    AW> pitchers.  I was cynical when I saw this at first.  However, after
    AW> putting water that comes out of the tap with a PH of 8-9 and have it
    AW> come out with a PH of 6.2 I have become a definate believer.  Does any
    AW> one know what is in this thing? All it says is that it contains a
    AW> "pleated microfiber"  an "ion exchange resin" and "activated carbon."
    AW> What is this "ion exchange resin"?  I'm guessing that this is what is
    AW> making it tick.  I'm not trying to plug the product, but am just
    AW> interested in applying whatever is at work here as a cheap alternative
    AW> to expensive water treatment gadgets and machines such as RO.

Adam,

I'm not sure about PUR specifically, but typical ion exchange mechanisms
used for drinking water exchange calcium and magnesium ions for sodium 
ions. A little saltier in the end, but humans tend not to notice or care 
too much. It's not a replacement for RO, but you could use it.  Your 
problem will come in that if you use it for your aquarium, you'll have to
replace the expensive filter media frequently.

Most people on this list don't need RO water for their water changes. If 
your tapwater isn't too high in copper, your plants will usually do just as 
well without RO or filtered tapwater. Plants are hardier than you expect.

If you can, leave the hassle and expense of RO, DI and ion-exchange to the
marine people and hard-core FW breeders. When I first started, I was all 
excited about using RO water. But after two water changes, I realized how 
tedious and expensive it was going to be. Some insight from members of this 
list helped me trust my tapwater. 

Carlos E. Munoz 
<cmunoz at crystal_cirrus.com>