Tap water

pgrtgunner

Member
How damaging to corals is tap water? I have an RO, but it has only a five gallon tank and it takes 45 min. to re-fill.

I had the RO serviced yesterday. I asked the tech. about the chems. added to the tap water and he knew nothing, like Sgt. Shultz.
My main concerns are the Arsenic and Chlorines. Can anyone make me feel better about the tap water?
 

frisbee

Well-Known Member
I'm not sure if you've seen this article already, but it discusses some of the dangers that are usually associated with tap water.

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2004/1/chemistry

FWIW though, I've been using tap water for almost 15 years now without any problems. Go figure...

If you've already got the RO unit, keep doing what you were doing. It would suck to start using tap water now and watch everything go downhill. GL.
 

Steve L

Member
Tap water is different everywhere, and what works for you may not work for somebody in the next town that gets their water from a different source. When I got into reefing I found out that the 3 lfs's in my area all sold RO water but they all used tap water in their own tanks (go figure huh?). I've used tap water myself for several years and never have problems other than a little cyano/algae build-up on the glass that I clean off every week or two. My fish and corals do great. All I do before mixing is add dechlorinating drops and I'm good to go.
 

StirCrayzy

Well-Known Member
A debate for the ages !

You'll likely hear no definitive answers, as so many folks have had extraordinary success both with Tap, and RO(di).

The one clear cut defining difference is you either take control over what goes in your tank, or trust control to your local water treatment plant. I have had success both ways myself, but having RODI is a peace of mind you don't get with Tap, and I won't be going back to tap anytime soon.
 

DianaKay

Princess Diana
RS STAFF
I agree with the thoughts Stircrayzy just shared. I want to try to provide the best water I can for my tank.
I use a TDS meter and sometimes it reads a little higher than other times on the "IN" reading but always reads 0 (zero) on the "out" reading.
Mistakes are made, lines break, contaminates get in, "boil orders" are issued, ect.
Why not just do what you can to insure better water quality :fishy:
 

DaveK

Well-Known Member
On thing not mentioned is that tap water, even from the same supplier can vary a great deal in quality.

It can vary due to season. Also some water companies have multiple sources. So if they switch to another quality will change.

On one of the planted FW tank forums I visit, there are more than a few cases of people loosing their fish due to tap water being bad at one point.

Best to play it safe and use RO/DI water. No point in loosing the tank due to bad water. It's cheep insurance.
 

pgrtgunner

Member
Hi!!

First of all, I like your sense of humor :)

I lived in Las Vegas, NV for 34 years and had a 240gal predator tank. I also had a 84 tank, one of the first wet/dry systems in NV. Even back in the 80's, the water quality was good.
Now I live in NM, and the water quality is not soo too good.

I agree with you.

Thanx hon....Mark
 

pgrtgunner

Member
Thanx Steve

With my impatience, while I'm waiting for the RO tank to refill, I could use both, as long as I mix it well.

Mark
 

pgrtgunner

Member
Now I have another problem. I wish I had enough posts to posts some pics, so everyone can see.

I have about 80lbs of live rock in my tank, but it seems that all the fish have a place to hide. That alone should not be a problem, but they
all hide after about 2 days in my tank. Some of the fish (yellow back Anthias, a trio, A trio of Blue Chromis , a Blue Dot Puffer, Green Mandrin (1).

I've had besides the ones above. Coral Beauty (1) hat it 8 days deceased, Royal Gramma (1) 21 days, deceased, 15 Turbo snails (6 deceased) 9 still with me,
15 Hermit crabs (7 deceased) 8 still eating. 21 pieces of coral (8 small), (7 med.), and (6 lg.).

All of my tests come out okay.


I have an 80 gallon Nuvo Reef Tank, all suggestions accepted. HELP!!!!!!
 

StirCrayzy

Well-Known Member
are you still on Tap water? And please define "okay" parameters more specifically. Including kit brand.
I havent found your tank/system stats anywhere, but it could help to know equipment, and also the timeframe we are talking about.
When did it get wet, how long to cycle, and how long of a wait between fish/snail addition.

It's not normal to lose fish like that, and it would be best to avoid trying any more until you find the cause.
Snails and hermits can be susceptible to an entirely different range of problems, but there must be something off balance.
 
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