Should i use a normal water conditioner to dechlorinate the tank water?

  • Yes

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • No

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Get a RO/DI system

    Votes: 1 100.0%

  • Total voters
    1

Elias

New Member
I'm new to reefing and i need to ask, since i use tap water in all my tanks should i use a tap water conditioner to dechlorinate the water i use to cure live rock, also whats an optimal saline level for curing live rocks?
 

Robert_ellis

New Member
Yes. But my recommendation is to stop using tap asap. You'd be better off with even standard ro water from any water store. Tap has to many particles in the water that are not good. You will always battle types of algae because of the stuff in the water.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk
 

Elias

New Member
Yes. But my recommendation is to stop using tap asap. You'd be better off with even standard ro water from any water store. Tap has to many particles in the water that are not good. You will always battle types of algae because of the stuff in the water.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

Battle algae? isn't that what a cleanup crew is for? also were i live buying water for my 450 liter aquarium is not an option, ill keep using Tap for now and might go over to a osmosis water system in the far of future. Also i know tap water got a bad rap in some countries but I live in Sweden and we have the cleanest tap water in the world.

Anyways thanks for the suggestion.
 

DaveK

Well-Known Member
This is a questions where the best answer is "none of the above". Get your own RO/DI unit and use that as your water source for mixing SW. You can use RO/DI water from your LFS, but it's really iffy. Always test it first to make sure it has 0 nitrated and 0 phosphates and very low hardness and carbonate hardness.

If you must use tap water (not recommended) you should use a water conditioner such as Prime and let the water stand for an hour or two before mixing your SW.
 

Uncle99

Well-Known Member
It's not a count of how good your water is because some good stuff is there as well, good in respect to humans, not good for fish or corals. We to have great water in the 120 TDS mark right out of the tap but our city includes phosphates because it keeps supply pipes from decaying over time.

Sorry, IMO, if your not using TDS 0 water to make saltwater, then your longer term experience is not going to be good.

Tap water, maybe 5-7 months, then your simply going to have a big mess on your hands, do yourself a great favor, and get the $100 buck RODI maker ans a bucket.
 

Elias

New Member
It's not a count of how good your water is because some good stuff is there as well, good in respect to humans, not good for fish or corals. We to have great water in the 120 TDS mark right out of the tap but our city includes phosphates because it keeps supply pipes from decaying over time.

Sorry, IMO, if your not using TDS 0 water to make saltwater, then your longer term experience is not going to be good.

Tap water, maybe 5-7 months, then your simply going to have a big mess on your hands, do yourself a great favor, and get the $100 buck RODI maker ans a bucket.
This is a questions where the best answer is "none of the above". Get your own RO/DI unit and use that as your water source for mixing SW. You can use RO/DI water from your LFS, but it's really iffy. Always test it first to make sure it has 0 nitrated and 0 phosphates and very low hardness and carbonate hardness.

If you must use tap water (not recommended) you should use a water conditioner such as Prime and let the water stand for an hour or two before mixing your SW.
Yes. But my recommendation is to stop using tap asap. You'd be better off with even standard ro water from any water store. Tap has to many particles in the water that are not good. You will always battle types of algae because of the stuff in the water.

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

Since everyone who has commented here wants me to get a RO/DI system i have, i bought one for 350 dollars with a flow rate of 400 GPD.

osmos-1500_grande.jpg
 
Last edited:

DaveK

Well-Known Member
Having an RO/DI unit will do wonders for water quality when it comes to mixing SW. In addition, if you ever get involved in very demanding FW fish, such as discus, you have a source of high quality water.
 

Elias

New Member
Having an RO/DI unit will do wonders for water quality when it comes to mixing SW. In addition, if you ever get involved in very demanding FW fish, such as discus, you have a source of high quality water.

That's the reason i got a 400GPD i was planing on using it to refill all of my FW aquariums as well, not that i have any fish that needs very high quality water but it will still be nice to have RO/DI water in all aquariums, i'm also going to get a second Saltwater aquarium once this 450 liters one is done witch will take most likely a very long time. I'm more into starting aquariums and building well balanced tanks rather than the fish itself.
 

DaveK

Well-Known Member
If your doing FW tanks, be sure to add something to rebuild the mineral content such as RO Right or a GH booster and a KH booster. I do this for my FW planted tank and take the levels to about 4 DH and 4 DKH. Still very soft water but the balance between all the potassium, calcium, and magnesium is right on. I found I got better plant growth doing that compared to straight tap water. Using CO2 injection and dry fertilizers were what really put things over the top though.

Another trick people do with FW is to measure the DH and DKH levels of their tap water and then figure out how much RO water to use to reduce the DH and DKH to what they want. For example if you have water that is at 12 DH and 12 DKH, you would mx 1 part of tap water with 4 parts RO water to give your 4 DH and 4 DKH. You don't need to get this exact, just close.

BTW, you don't need the DI part of the RO/DI unit for making FW. You might want to add a T fitting and a valve so you can bypass the DI part of the filter when making water for a FW system. You'll save money because you will not need to replace the DI resin as often.
 
Top