Natural Spring water OK?

[gemini9]

I was reading some other posts on here from members and RODI setups. I wanted to see if anyone could give me some input on my water source. I filled my tank using spring water, instead of RODI. There is a natural running spring just right down from my house and since we have well water, we have always gotten our drinking water from the spring out there. I'm hoping this is okay until I can afford a small RODI filter. I would like to test my water for signs of copper and other things that may be bad for the fish but I'm not sure where to take a water sample to for testing. What are your thoughts on the natural spring water? I can't afford a RODI system right now. I've put all my dough into the tank stand, live rock, Nitrite, amonia etc test kits and other things I need. I'll get a RODI later, but for now, this is what I've got to work with.

 

[gemini9]

Speaking of my water, what are these little.... tiny particles floating around in my tank? Are these just little air bubbles? Are they pests or bugs in my water? Some sort of bacteria? Salt that never dissolved? pH balancer powder that didn't dissolve? Should I be concerned? :squigglemouth:

 

[gemini9]

Speaking of my water, what are these little.... tiny particles floating around in my tank? Are these just little air bubbles? Are they pests or bugs in my water? Some sort of bacteria? Salt that never dissolved? pH balancer powder that didn't dissolve? Should I be concerned? :squigglemouth:

 

[mike007]

I would not trust spring water without taking a sample to a lab and having it tested. There can be all sorts of impurities in it.

 

[gemini9]

Not sure where to take it tho

 

[mike007]

You might want to check with your city water department and they can lead you in the right direction. But to be honest I would not add any water to my tank without running it through a rodi. Why spent money on corals , fish etc. to only have things go bad?

 

[NanaReefer]

I would not be using well water nor spring water, period.

 

[AZDesertRat]

NO.
Unless you know specifically what the water contains and in what amounts it does not belong in a reef tank. Spring water can be high in iron, copper, sulfates, sulphur and any number of other things besides just calcium and magnesium.

This is why we use RO/DI water and a good salt mix so we know only the things our tanks need are present and in the correct amounts.

 

[gemini9]

Ill start using rodi then. Point out a good budget friendly rodi unit? Finances short right now

 

[BlueDartReefer]

Ill start using rodi then. Point out a good budget friendly rodi unit? Finances short right now

Check BRS (Bulk Reef Supply). Money goes a lot further when spent wisely the first time around.

 

[gemini9]

What about the wAter already in the tank? Can I add something to clean it up or make it safe

 

[AZDesertRat]

Refurbished 90-GPD RODI System

BRS and others don't even come close and I can go into great detail on why if needed but it has been done before if you search.

Second choice would be:

Premium RODI System - Buckeye Hydro

Third would be:

Optima Automated RO DI System

Once you get a RO/DI start doing regular 20% water changes. Until then you can get Poly BioMarine Poly Pads and use them in a HOB filter or somewhere you can ge tflow past them to a soak up metals in the water.

 

[FLipp]

salt water is like 89cents a gallon.

 

[gemini9]

Those rodi units do they just sit under the sink and hook up tk the faucet?

 

[salttanklife]

I've got mine mounted beside the washing machine and tied into the water line . You can just put the drain from it directly in the washing machine drain or use it to wash clothes.

 

[gemini9]

We have rusty orange hard water at the house so im probably looking at frequent filter changes on the rodi

 

[AZDesertRat]

Sediment filters are inexpensive, the others should last the normal length of time as long as you use a high quality, low micron sediment filter to protect them.

 

[salttanklife]

^What he said^ it will pay for itself from what you save from buying rodi or already mixed sw

 

[salttanklife]

I believe my sediment filters are around 8 dollars on mine

 

[reeffirstaid]

Lowes or Home Depot sell drinking water kits. They include an iron, pesticide, bacteria, nitrate, nitrite and ammonia test, along with a few others. That would be a good start. Any of those things in source water is bad news. I used spring water for many years in my reef aquariums, when I was still in grade and high school, living at home with my parents. I use a RODI now, but back in those days use of a RODI was unheard of in the hobby. I never had any problems, but I ran tests as I noted above.