Whats wrong with TAP water?

[oonycxwilloo]

As I been told so many times not to use tap water, but that is my only selection right now. I am currently saving up for a RO system but what is so bad about TAP water? Will my tank crash if i keep using TAP water? Or it is just Crazy ALGAE problem?

 

[masterswimmer]

NYC tapwater contains various health related additives, flouride and chlorine. Depending upon how old your building is, you might have lead in your pipes. Newer buildings are built with copper pipes.

None of the above are good for your reef tank. An RO/DI filter should remove all the above harmful solids from your water.

In addition to the above, you might also find high levels of phosphates and silicates in tap water. These are food for algae.

Bottom line is RO/DI water is better than straight tap water. Can tap water be used? Yes. Is it as good as RO/DI? NO

swimmer

 

[reefman]

as least get a tap water purifier n mix kalk until u can get a ro/di hi s

 

[Breezp]

i started my tank by using tap water, and used tap water for about a year and a half later.... needless to say i had crazy algae, now im using r.o water, and besides the water being 10x more clear, i have less algae and my coral are alot happier. The r.o unit is def worth the money that is being spent. If you do decide to use tap water, i would suggest doing a small water change every once and a while.... good luck!

 

[Reefer420]

or you can use distilled in the meantime. gets to be more expensive in the long run though than getting a cheap RO/DI unit. They really aren't that much. Go to airwaterice.com and you can find some good prices on some pretty good units- no need to go w/ a namebrand...

 

[masterswimmer]

Aquasafe, many MR's use it, me included.

swimmer

 

[pecan2phat]

Heh, heh,
Back in the late 70's up until the mid 80's, tap water straight from the faucet is all we used with a squirt of Kordon to condition the water.

 

[masterswimmer]

Heh, heh,
Back in the late 70's up until the mid 80's, tap water straight from the faucet is all we used with a squirt of Kordon to condition the water.

Aaahhhhhhh, part of the advancements of the hobby. Isn't it a wonderful thing! In the 70's & 80's we couldn't keep the variety of corals we can now either.
Sometimes technology and advancements are a good thing :wink1:

swimmer

 

[pecan2phat]

Russ,
Do you remember UGs as a standard with dolomite, Supreme 600 hob filters for larger volume tanks. Eheim cannisters were the had to get pricey item (wet drys were still across the ocean) along with a Kordon saltwater master test kit. Dyno piston air pumps to drive air stones, then came powerheads but we just used them for the UG lift tubes, didn't even think about jerry rigging them for circulation purposes. Hawaiian Marine UV sterilizers with the rusting transformer. :lol:

 

[PalmTree]

:wink1: I agree, at the very least you should use a tap water purifier. TDS out of the faucet in NYC is roughly about 37ppm. After it is filtered through my RO I get a reading of about 3ppm. I think an RO unit is well worth it.:flower:

 

[marrone]

Russ,
Do you remember UGs as a standard with dolomite, Supreme 600 hob filters for larger volume tanks. Eheim cannisters were the had to get pricey item (wet drys were still across the ocean) along with a Kordon saltwater master test kit. Dyno piston air pumps to drive air stones, then came powerheads but we just used them for the UG lift tubes, didn't even think about jerry rigging them for circulation purposes. Hawaiian Marine UV sterilizers with the rusting transformer. :lol:

Actually in either 86 or 87 I got one of the first wet/dry filters that came out, which I'm still running. They where being made by the guy Smith and some one else out of Chicago. The only protein skimmers available where Sanders or the very expensive Tunze. Use to have to get the lime stone air-stones to run the Sanders Models. The lighting for reef tanks was basically the Triton bulb, which was new at the time, and the Philips Actinic which weren't even in the hobby. You had to import a box of 60 just to get them. A few people where running MH but not many. And nobody was dose cal or kalk or even check cal at that time. On top of that the corals that where available where really tough to keep.

That being said some tank where actually pretty good using those methods. As for FO tank UG and dolomite worked pretty well.

 

[masterswimmer]

It was amazing we were able to keep anything alive........with the knowledge we have today, looking back at those times. I remember the days back then when we would see the tank getting all gungy and we'd get a holding tank set up. Move all the livestock from the display and scrub the display from top to bottom so it was clean! OMG the stupidity!

Funny stuff thinking back on those times. However, this thread went just a little bit off topic :lol2:

37 ppm TDS for out of the tap is fantastic. I thought mine was pretty good at 105 ppm.

Anyway, some people have actually had a modicum of success using tap water. Most don't though. However, you rarely hear of a person using RO/DI water having a problem that can be traced back to their source water.

We should start a reminiscing thread. We'll see all us old timers come out of the woodworks. :lol2: We could host a geriatric party :party: :lol:

swimmer