Water Questions

[lickyricky]

Hey Guys,
I just moved and where I used to live I had a store that sold pre-mixed and RO water....no such luck in Boston. I am nervous about making my own water. The lady at my LFS said they treat the tab water and then mix in the salt. Is this acceptable? I don't have the money to invest in my own RO system.

 

[Reefing Madness]

You can get your water from the store, using distilled or water from the a Water & Ice Store. If you aren't running a reef you could use your tap water, but man the things that grow in that water. If your running a fuge, the macros will eat out most of the garbage from the tap water, but not entirely, unless you have a big one.

 

[lickyricky]

well I do want to have some soft corals. I already filled by 30 gallon tank with treated tab to start the cycle. Should I just use the distilled water from the store each time I do my water changes? do you think that is my best option?

 

[Reefing Madness]

Best option is to use store bought water. What you could do is test your Tap water and see what kind of creeping crud it contains, then go from there. I used Tap water for years, and had Softies, but I also had some weird looking sponge growth all over the place. Check your water for Phosphates, Nitrates, Nitrites, Ammonia, Calcium and ALK, see where your sitting.

 

[lickyricky]

Best option is to use store bought water. What you could do is test your Tap water and see what kind of creeping crud it contains, then go from there. I used Tap water for years, and had Softies, but I also had some weird looking sponge growth all over the place. Check your water for Phosphates, Nitrates, Nitrites, Ammonia, Calcium and ALK, see where your sitting.

last question....since I already filled my tank with treated tap to get the cycle going, do you think its best to just perform the water changes with store water or drain it out and start again? well I mean, obviously draining it out would be best but dont want to use all the salt to remix everything so I guess im wondering if doing the water changes with the store water will be sufficent

 

[Reefing Madness]

Na, no reason to drain the tank. Just start with the water changes, you'll be ok.

 

[AZDesertRat]

You will never get all the tap water out so just keep doing regular water changes with distilled water. A good RO/DI or at least access to a trusted source of RO/DI is almost a must in this hobby. Tap water quality varies day to day or even shift to shift at the plants and then it can change in the distribution system once it leaves the treatment plant so you have zero control over its quality. Safe to drink but unknown and often unsafe for a sensitive reef system.

 

[mike007]

I agree just make sure you use rodi water when you do your water changes and it should be okay. We have places here where you can get water that goes through several steps besides just being rodi water. You should check to see if there are any fill stations in your area if not you can buy water at your grocery store.

 

[lickyricky]

So you are saying if I have no where that sells RODI water then I am out of luck and can no longer have my tank? What are some other options without spending $200+++ on a RODI unit that will still work for soft corals and invertebrates?

 

[Reefing Madness]

I only spent $100 on my unit. You don't need anything fancy. You could still keep Softies and Easy to care for Mushroom with Tap Water, they don't much care about some phosphates in the water. Its not a necessity to use RO/DI water, its just better if you do, not a Must or you can't have a SW tank. I ran a tank for years without the use of RO water, but you do get some growth you don't want. Then again if you have a ton of snails, they will handle that for you.

 

[AZDesertRat]

You can get RO or distilled water at any grocery store or bulk RO from vending machines though that would not be my first choice due to lack of maintenance and questionable water quality. 30 years ago I started reefkeeping with tap water but would never consider it today. The battles I had back then were not worth it, I'm surprised I'm still in the hobby.