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ro/di vs tap


bigriver

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Hi, does anyone here use regular tap water on there fowlr tanknot including a reef tank. Is there any benefits of having some algae grow such as food for fish? When im at the pet store i hear quite a few people say they never use ro systems and claim they have no problems at all.just wondering what everyone thinks.

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aquascaper08

Ya I have a 125 fowlr and run tap water. I do get some alge growth but the animals nip at it and keep it under control for the most part. I do have to clean the glass twice per week but other than that I.m ok. believe me, I am against tap water in any other tank but tap work fine in this one. B)

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Scott Riemer

I would think it depends on the quality of your tap water. I don't know any fish that eat Cyanobacteria for food.

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for a fish-only (FO), tap is fine. there's not much you need to worry about in that kind of setup other than dechlorinization of the water.

 

in a fish-only-with-live-rock (FOWLR) setting though, i'd still recommend RO or better. not as "necessary" as for a reef setting but i'd recommend it. the exception would be if the LR only served as an aesthetic value rather than a biotope aid. and if so, i wouldn't bother buying Live Rock but just get cheaper dry rock.

 

imo, the issue with most (not all, as scott points out) tapwater is the level of contaminants, while tolerable by human consumption still adversely affects reef livestock and chemical balances, e.g. alkalinity and toxic metals.

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+1 on knowing what's in your tap water, it may have heavy metals or organics that the water conditioner drops won't remove. People in your local reef club probably know what the deal is.

 

IMO, the only reason to use tap water is the cost and ease of use. Feeding your fish supplies enough nutrients for beneficial amounts of algae. If the tap has a lot of silicates or other stuff that will lead to algae blooms that's not a good thing. That being said, I used tap water for years in my 75g FOWLR system with no problems, but won't use it in my reef unless I forget to go to Publix to fill up on RO/DI for top-off. :)

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You do need to know that you CANNOT sell he rock to anyone that is not going to use it for a reef tank. The copper pipes that your tap water runs thru will leach into the rocks and be extrememly harmful to anyone that buys it for that reason.

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I do have well water,but i also have copper pipes house built in 1940 my tds reading is 127 ppm.I may try dead rock and a liitle live rock but as tinyreef said fo tank with filter may be the way to go.

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