Tap Water - What's the big deal??

[JCOLE]

I am just getting back in the hobby from taking 8 years off. It's starting to be a struggle now but I am sure I will get through it.

I used to have a 65, 75, and a 150 gallon in the past. I never used RODI water. I only used tap water for my water changes and salt water mixes. I used a water chlorine conditioner with all the water I used. I never had an issue for the 4 years I had my tanks. At least nothing I couldn't control and levels were normal.

Soooooo...what is the big deal with RODI systems?

This is just a question. Don't beat me up on it...lol

 

[brandon429]

if you aren't getting algae issues from your particular mix of tap, then no harm. I still use tap water lots of ways in reefing, though I need cleaner water for the make and topoff. For example I wash out my sandbed with tap water a couple times a year to blast it clean, then put it back into the tank all cloudless. Tap is a very poor sterilizer, its actually a vector for bacteria to shoot out as sloughed pipe scum and into our lemonade cups so I like to use it as a rinse for messy sands because you can rinse as long as you want.

all old school freshwater aquarists rinse off their filter media in tap water, bc they know it doesn't sterilize the media at all. Not even hot tap will.

There may be some sensitive corals who don't like whatever solids may be in solution, but overall its algae. If you aren't getting algae from high total solids, rock on then and enjoy not having to pay a lot for water sourcing. 100% fact you can find full blown reef tanks on pure tap, Lubbock has a 200+ on it and our water is darn hard magnesium white water. The man didn't want to make up 200 gallons of clean water, so tap it was and he hasn't had major issues at the time of report (our reef meeting a while back)

 

[JCOLE]

if you aren't getting algae issues from your particular mix of tap, then no harm. I still use tap water lots of ways in reefing, though I need cleaner water for the make and topoff. For example I wash out my sandbed with tap water a couple times a year to blast it clean, then put it back into the tank all cloudless. Tap is a very poor sterilizer, its actually a vector for bacteria to shoot out as sloughed pipe scum and into our lemonade cups so I like to use it as a rinse for messy sands because you can rinse as long as you want.

all old school freshwater aquarists rinse off their filter media in tap water, bc they know it doesn't sterilize the media at all. Not even hot tap will.

There may be some sensitive corals who don't like whatever solids may be in solution, but overall its algae. If you aren't getting algae from high total solids, rock on then and enjoy not having to pay a lot for water sourcing. 100% fact you can find full blown reef tanks on pure tap, Lubbock has a 200+ on it and our water is darn hard magnesium white water. The man didn't want to make up 200 gallons of clean water, so tap it was and he hasn't had major issues at the time of report (our reef meeting a while back)

Thank you. I wish I would have thought of this earlier. I didn't want to spring for a 5 stage RODI system so I decided to buy purified gallons from the grocery store. Needless to say I probably have spent more in purified water than the RODI system.... :-(

 

[AdamNC]

6 months of using tap water and Prime gave me a nice looooong battle with Golden Algae (chrysophytes) and Bubble Algae.

 

[brandon429]

If I used tap in my reef it wouldn't kill it, but the algae would be untenable.

My tap isn't pumping out phosphates, to this day I still don't know what aspect of TDS relates algae but for the love of pete it does in 98% of tanks.

 

[Rick Krejci]

I do find it interesting now-a-days that people say there's too much nitrate and phosphates in tap, but turn around and dose...nitrates and phosphates I think the big issue is using it for ATO water, whatever impurities are concentrated. I think if you do a lot of water changes, it could mitigate that somewhat. But it really depends on what's in there

 

[andrewkw]

If you have a detailed report of what is in your tap water then you may find out it's fine. If you don't have this report it's just a guess. The water you have and what your neighbor has can be completely different. I change my filters as soon as my RO/DI reaches 1 tds out because I don't know what that 1 is.

 

[HB AL]

Constant algae issues would be the main concern.

 

[JCOLE]

Ok. I just figured if we could drink it then it should do that bad. Then again I just ate Ice cream....sooo

 

[JCOLE]

6 months of using tap water and Prime gave me a nice looooong battle with Golden Algae (chrysophytes) and Bubble Algae.

What part of NC are you from?

 

[HB AL]

I drink my fair share of tap water but using it for an aquarium is a whole different ball game.

 

[AdamNC]

What part of NC are you from?

Winston-Salem

 

[samnaz]

It completely depends on the quality of your tap water. Everyone is quick to say tap water is the devil and RODI is a must, but there are some cities with clean high quality tap water... it all depends on where it comes from and the treatment processes. To find out exactly what's in your tap, read your cities water quality report (you can probably access this on the city/water management website).

Using tap doesn't mean you'll have algae explosions, but it certainly could cause algae and does for most people. I assumed RODI was a must when I started out so I bought one, but I never even set it up cause using tap wasn't causing any issues.

My hammer had a single bubble algae on it's base when I got it a year ago, I have been watching it intently to be sure it doesn't spread and what do ya know, it hasn't. This is in part thanks to the high quality water here in metro detroit. I know, I'm lucky. Apparently so are you

 

[AdamNC]

The water coming from the city plant can be pristine, it’s the pipes between them and your faucets that matter just as much.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I am just getting back in the hobby from taking 8 years off. It's starting to be a struggle now but I am sure I will get through it.

I used to have a 65, 75, and a 150 gallon in the past. I never used RODI water. I only used tap water for my water changes and salt water mixes. I used a water chlorine conditioner with all the water I used. I never had an issue for the 4 years I had my tanks. At least nothing I couldn't control and levels were normal.

Soooooo...what is the big deal with RODI systems?

This is just a question. Don't beat me up on it...lol

Copper from pipes is the biggest concern, IMO. EPA allowed levels can kill corals.

 

[samnaz]

The water coming from the city plant can be pristine, it’s the pipes between them and your faucets that matter just as much.

Right. But in my city water quality report they only take samples straight from residents faucets, they do not report test results from the water treatment facility itself. Perhaps this isn't the case for other city reports?

 

[JCOLE]

Winston-Salem

Cool. I live in Concord

 

[Haberdasher]

Depends on your tap water quality I suppose. I'm on Los Angeles DWP water which means tons of metals, minerals, and chloramines. I use a 5 stage but I know it doesn't get all the chloramine out so I also treat with a dechlorinator.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Right. But in my city water quality report they only take samples straight from residents faucets, they do not report test results from the water treatment facility itself. Perhaps this isn't the case for other city reports?

Most water supplies test water from the plant, then a few tests must be done from a survey of homes. Those faucet tests must include copper and lead, and they vary house to house.

 

[cpschult]

What about these levels of cyanide? I’ve never used tap water but our water bills are about to go up significantly to build a water station to Lake Michigan. Would love the option of using tap over rodi.