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Crzyfshguy 
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 Topic: Tap water in your tank?
Posted: December 27 2007 at 2:48am |
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Just wondering what people thought of using standard tap water in their tanks. Im going to be setting up the new 110 soon, and want some ideas.
I brought r/o from work to fill the 29, but no way in hell do I want to transport 110 gallons home.
Everytime I look at an r/o system, someone tells me they dont like them for one reason or another.
I have used tap water in my 90 gallon fresh tank for years and it is doing GREAT. I used yucky Magna water for a long time, I actually think my fish miss the stuff.
SO... What do you guys use? I'd just fill the tank, but I hear Bountiful water is the worst in the state, And I have seen what the filters in our R/O system at work look like after a few months...
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GARFVolunteer
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Posted: December 27 2007 at 4:14am |
Not all tap water is the same.
Adam Blundell used water out of the tap and his tank is doing awesome. GARF has never used anything but tap water and they have some of the nicest tanks you will ever see.
I live in an area that used to be farm land. The phosphates in my tap water can be pretty high. I bought an RODI unit a few years ago and was pretty happy with it except for the amount of waste water. I was watching an Anthony Calfo video a while back and he recommends using DI water. I removed the RO membrane and have been using only the sediment, AC, and DI units. I run phosphate removers 24/7 so I am not that concerned about ant phosphates making it through.
Cascade Raft & Kayak's tap water (hour north of me) has read more than 40 ppm nitrate in the past. High water years tends to flush the nitrates out of the ground water and last I heard it was undetectable.
I would test for the usual nasties like phosphate, silicates and nitrates. If any of those are present I would think about an RO, DI, or RODI unit. If not try using tap water. GARF lets their makeup water and water change water sit in open air containers for 24 hours to let the chlorine dissipate out...
Thanks,
Scott
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President Idaho Marine Aquarium Society
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bbeck4x4
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Posted: December 27 2007 at 7:39am |
Scott, I certainly could not have said it better. that info should be bookmarked or stored in a faq for future use. 
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Mike Savage
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Posted: December 27 2007 at 8:16am |
I used tap water to set up my 120 and then R/O for top off and water changes after that. I never had any problem. A lot depends on how good your tap water is.
Mike
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Adam Blundell
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Posted: December 27 2007 at 8:23am |
Like Scott said...
<----- adds 4 gallons of tap water every day.
Adam
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Corey Price
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Posted: December 27 2007 at 8:52am |
I too agree with Scott. Syracuse tap water is quite high on a lot of undesireables.
You can get a water test report from Bountiful City and see for yourself how bad your water really is. Ask Jon Finch if you don't understand something (or any of it).
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MadReefer
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Posted: December 27 2007 at 10:49am |
I live in SLC and use tap water. My water has small amounts of undesireables that are gone quickly after adding to my sytem. Refugiums are great.
I would check the water test report to look at stuff that you don't have a test kit for and test it yourself if you have any doubts.
I have read a claim that tap water is the best thing for coralline algae growth.
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CrimsRayne
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Posted: December 27 2007 at 11:41am |
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I use tap and haven't had any problems either. But like stated above not all tap water is equal.
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Kevin
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Posted: December 27 2007 at 1:32pm |
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I assume cities do testing on their water to see what is in it. Is there somewhere where a person can go to see that information, and how often is that information updated. That might give a person a good idea if the tap water in their area would be good to use in a salt water fish tank.
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MadReefer
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Posted: December 27 2007 at 2:54pm |
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GARFVolunteer
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Posted: December 27 2007 at 3:01pm |
Kevin,
In Boise where I live, United water has 88 different wells. The wells that supplied GARF's old location and new location have good water. My tap water comes from 4 different wells. Prior to 2004, my water changed from week to week depending on what well was supplying water at the time. I know at least one well was good and at least one well was high in phosphates. In 2004 they built a huge storage facility below our house and now all 4 wells supply the storage tank so the water quality is steady an in between good and not so good..
United water's quality report just says what the highest and range of tested levels are for all 88 wells with no break down per well(no mention of phosphates in the report). When I called them, all they could tell me is my address was supplied by 4 wells but would not provide any test results for those wells.
When I was in the SLC area earlier this month I went to Fish 4 U and saw that they would do many water tests for no cost and some others for a nominal fee. Some other LFS may do the same thing. I would call around and see if you can get your water tested.
Thanks,
Scott
Edited by GARFVolunteer - December 27 2007 at 3:03pm
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President Idaho Marine Aquarium Society
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wilson7561681
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Posted: December 27 2007 at 7:07pm |
I know im not the most knowlegable person on this board but i say no to tap water. just the fact of how much copper it is exposed to is a no to me...not to mention all the clorein and other things that it has in it...your fish will do allot better to r/o water. When you think of how much time and money you put into your fish tanks....why would you take the chance at adding toxins into it....
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Re-Entering the Salt Water World
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MadReefer
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Posted: December 27 2007 at 8:35pm |
Not that I know what I'm talking about but,,
I think that my shrimp would be the first to show signs of toxins from tap water. But they are pumping out eggs after eggs. And their little babies are swimming around under my rocks.
So,, so far so good.
Oh and also, my coral is growing, all 14 different types (sps, soft, lps). Maybe it takes time to build up from the top off water, but I know small amounts are good for the system and water changes will slow the build up.
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chk4tix
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Posted: December 27 2007 at 9:32pm |
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For my 120g, I personally have an R/O unit but that is because it makes it easier for auto-top off. For water changes I actually use the R/O run off water and have been doing so since getting the R/o unit. For my 30g, I have only used tap water. I call it my "dirty" tank and thing always seem to thrive better in that tank then my 120g. So who know.
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jfinch
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Posted: December 27 2007 at 11:04pm |
 Kevin wrote:
I assume cities do testing on their water to see what is in it. Is there somewhere where a person can go to see that information, and how often is that information updated. That might give a person a good idea if the tap water in their area would be good to use in a salt water fish tank. |
Contact your city water department and ask for the last detailed report and also see if they still have one from last summer (water sources can change with the seasons). I think they do a detailed analysis monthly or quarterly. The detailed report will test for just about everything you can think of. Ask if they use chlorine or chloramine. Chloramine can be a bigger issue then chlorine.
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Cody Pearce
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Posted: December 27 2007 at 11:50pm |
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I used it for my first year and had no "major" problems, but its just not worth the risk to my investment now.
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Danner
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Posted: December 27 2007 at 11:53pm |
i feel the same as cody does, with all the places that give away free RO if you dont have a system itjust makes me feel better about it,
Ryan
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griffith
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Posted: December 28 2007 at 9:13am |
Tyson,
I have a TDS meter you can barrow to test your water.
We actually have good water in Davis County compared to many areas in the state.
Linn
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Mark Peterson
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Posted: January 03 2008 at 4:10pm |
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Kold Ster-il works great and is cheaper than R.O. water
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BobC63
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Posted: January 03 2008 at 7:02pm |
The best advice I would give is to have someone check your tap water TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) level first before deciding what to do...
If your tap TDS is very low (under, say, 50 ppm) than tap water would be fine, once dechlorinated. If your level is a bit higher (say, between 50 - 250 ppm) you can "get away with" a cheap RO / DI unit; like the kind sold on e-bay for maybe $75 - $100... if your TDS is higher than 300 ppm I would recommend getting a "name brand" RO / DI unit (which can run from $150 up to over $300)
In my case, my Lehi City tap TDS is right around 200 - 210ppm... I bought one of those "cheap" e-bay units and get output water with a TDS between 0 - 3 ppm consistently, changing out a $10 DI cartridge once every 6 months, and 15 bucks worth of pre-filters once a year.
The only thing I have against always using tap water is that when water in your tank evaporates, only pure water evaporates; all the dissolved solids and salts stay behind... (that's why you don't top off with salt water but only fresh water...) I would be concerned, long-term, with mineral "build up" in a setup where tap water with a certain higher TDS is used to fill the tank initially, then for makeup water, water changes, etc... eventually the amount of dissolved materials in the tank water may get to the point of negatively affecting the organisms in the tank (slower growth, prone to diseases, lack of breeding, etc.)
And, as has previously been stated, when it comes to more "delicate" organisms like certain corals and inverts, expensive fishes, etc. IMO it's just not "worth it" to not invest in the RO/DI unit...
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