[james1116]

I am getting ready for my first home brew, ordered an all grain kit from mail order, all the eqiupment is ready and then I read Palmer's "How to Brew". Now I am at a loss.  I don't have a water report yet.  But I do have access to RO water, I use an RO/DI filter for my aquariums.  So My question.  After just the RO my tds is 6ppm after the DI it is 0ppm.  Could I use the RO water and build the water profile from it assuming all parameters are zero?  Or should I just wait until I get my water report.  Just an aside, I have well water that has a tds of appox. 650.   And no we don't drink the water without filtering it.

[a10t2]

Just assume the RO water has zero content for everything, and you can build the water you need. A TDS of 6 ppm is totally negligible. If you need help figuring out a water profile or the mineral additions to get there, just ask. But if you've read Palmer's chapter on water you're well on your way.

[Kaiser]

One of the crux of using RO water for beginners is having the necessary salts (especially calcium sulfate and/or chloride) available. Do you have salts to treat the water? Looks like you build your aquarium water from scratch and may already have them.

Kai

[james1116]

Thanks for the replies.  I have calcium chloride, epsom salt, baking soda, and canning salt.  I think I am going to go to the LHBS to pick up anything else that I might need.  I was just overwhelmed when I first started reading about water profiles and such. But after rereading and watching a series of videos on youtube, I feel that I have a better grasp on it. Thanks again for the replies.
James

[Kaiser]

There is a lot you can do with water. Just make sure you don’t go overboard with adding salts and don’t worry too much about hitting exact ppms. Figure out water recipes that work for you and stick with them until you want to look deeper into the details of water chemistry.

Kai