Makin' water - what's your take?

[DaJMasta]

I'm a first time reefer with a tank going up this coming week (7.5 gallon nano, no sump for starters), but I've had some experience with nano and standard sized freshwater tanks as well as worked in an aquarium store briefly. I've done my homework and I've got a ton of stuff en route to my apartment and I am borderline giddy with anticipation.

 

All told, one of the things I've been wrestling with is how to get my water. When I was running freshwater, I was on a system which was fairly clean and used chlorine, so aging the water was really all that was really required, but things are different this time around. My local water system (Austin's city water) seems to be fairly good in terms of dangerous chemicals and disadvantageous chemicals (according to their yearly water quality reports), though the pH is rather high and they use chloramine. I don't expect for it to pose too much of a problem, but I know that there's a lot to be concerned with and a lot of uncertainty when dealing with a water system. That all being said, my options are limited; I can't buy premixed water or deionized water because my only means of transportation is a bike, and I have no interest in going to a store every week to buy and haul home 2-3 gallons of water. I've also looked into RO/DI, but there's two problems there. First, and probably easier to get over, I'm in an apartment shared with a roommate. We don't have a washroom with a faucet spare and I don't think I can get away with taking up the one kitchen faucet with the RO (even with the valve) for as much time as I'd need, especially early when the tank is cycling and I need a lot of water. I also don't know what the water pressure is for the building, and in all likelihood could need a booster pump anyways. That leads to the second problem, price. I know a 50gpd would satisfy my needs for water, but I also know that I'd be looking for a 4 stage system with a modification for wastewater reduction and possibly a booster pump and tank. And that's if I can find a place to setup the RO for a long period and a place to store water.

 

So while I don't want to spend for an RO, it doesn't seem like a viable option for the moment. Now that leads me to tap water as really the only good option, but I know so many people opt for cleaner water sources and I want to know how much RO water could really improve things.

 

My current plan is to mix in Prime and Instant Ocean salt to the tap water and keep it circulating and heated with a pump in a 5 gallon bucket. That way it stays mixed, is available for emergency water changes and such, and can age at least somewhat. Then for topping off I plan on using just tap water treated with prime. I've got a refractometer as well as pH, KH, Ammonia, Nitrates, and Nitrites tests and will have a baseline of the treated tap water and mixed saltwater that I add recorded so I know what's going into the tank - but is there a way to get better quality water than this without a RO or hauling water? Is tap water a viable source for a nano reef once it's been treated?

[HernandezJ35]

you could get a mighty mite from airwaterice.com it is portable so you can make ur water than put it away

[roy91079]

I'm a first time reefer with a tank going up this coming week (7.5 gallon nano, no sump for starters), but I've had some experience with nano and standard sized freshwater tanks as well as worked in an aquarium store briefly. I've done my homework and I've got a ton of stuff en route to my apartment and I am borderline giddy with anticipation.

 

All told, one of the things I've been wrestling with is how to get my water. When I was running freshwater, I was on a system which was fairly clean and used chlorine, so aging the water was really all that was really required, but things are different this time around. My local water system (Austin's city water) seems to be fairly good in terms of dangerous chemicals and disadvantageous chemicals (according to their yearly water quality reports), though the pH is rather high and they use chloramine. I don't expect for it to pose too much of a problem, but I know that there's a lot to be concerned with and a lot of uncertainty when dealing with a water system. That all being said, my options are limited; I can't buy premixed water or deionized water because my only means of transportation is a bike, and I have no interest in going to a store every week to buy and haul home 2-3 gallons of water. I've also looked into RO/DI, but there's two problems there. First, and probably easier to get over, I'm in an apartment shared with a roommate. We don't have a washroom with a faucet spare and I don't think I can get away with taking up the one kitchen faucet with the RO (even with the valve) for as much time as I'd need, especially early when the tank is cycling and I need a lot of water. I also don't know what the water pressure is for the building, and in all likelihood could need a booster pump anyways. That leads to the second problem, price. I know a 50gpd would satisfy my needs for water, but I also know that I'd be looking for a 4 stage system with a modification for wastewater reduction and possibly a booster pump and tank. And that's if I can find a place to setup the RO for a long period and a place to store water.

 

So while I don't want to spend for an RO, it doesn't seem like a viable option for the moment. Now that leads me to tap water as really the only good option, but I know so many people opt for cleaner water sources and I want to know how much RO water could really improve things.

 

My current plan is to mix in Prime and Instant Ocean salt to the tap water and keep it circulating and heated with a pump in a 5 gallon bucket. That way it stays mixed, is available for emergency water changes and such, and can age at least somewhat. Then for topping off I plan on using just tap water treated with prime. I've got a refractometer as well as pH, KH, Ammonia, Nitrates, and Nitrites tests and will have a baseline of the treated tap water and mixed saltwater that I add recorded so I know what's going into the tank - but is there a way to get better quality water than this without a RO or hauling water? Is tap water a viable source for a nano reef once it's been treated?

 

Dont even bother starting a tank without RO water... or with water from a tap. Have you tested your local water? What is the TDS of your local water?

[Llamaguy]

you can get RO water from Walmart for less 50cents a gallon if you take in your own jugs. Definitely better than buying prime and using tap water.

[HernandezJ35]

i used to use prime and tap...not so good...now i use use ro from one of the walmart machines and its all better

[DaJMasta]

Dont even bother starting a tank without RO water... or with water from a tap. Have you tested your local water? What is the TDS of your local water?

 

I have not personally tested it yet because I don't return to the apartment until wednesday. I also have no means to test TDS (though maybe a lfs could do it for me), and it's unlisted in the city water report:

 

http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/water/whatsinthewater.htm

 

 

It's not like I'm on well water and compared to a lot of cities it seems better than most, is super-purified water that important as a starter that it's really 'not worth starting' without it? I don't deny that RO water is better, but I get the impression that it is still possible to do with treated tap water. The LFS I worked on previously (though on a different water system) ran all of their fresh and saltwater tanks on tap water (treated and aged in huge vats).

[roy91079]

I have not personally tested it yet because I don't return to the apartment until wednesday. I also have no means to test TDS (though maybe a lfs could do it for me), and it's unlisted in the city water report:

 

http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/water/whatsinthewater.htm

 

 

It's not like I'm on well water and compared to a lot of cities it seems better than most, is super-purified water that important as a starter that it's really 'not worth starting' without it? I don't deny that RO water is better, but I get the impression that it is still possible to do with treated tap water. The LFS I worked on previously (though on a different water system) ran all of their fresh and saltwater tanks on tap water (treated and aged in huge vats).

 

what do you plan on doing as far as "treating" the water?

[DaJMasta]

what do you plan on doing as far as "treating" the water?

 

Seachem Prime as specified, Instant Ocean salt, mix, heat, age. So not a whole lot, but if I find that it's lacking something in particular or needs some adjustment I can get the appropriate additive. Other than the costly and awkward RO route, I'm not sure what else I can do.

[farkwar]

I have water delivered. Distilled. 6 bucks for 5

gal.

 

I use the empty 5gal bottles and

take them to the RO outlet. 3 bucks for

10 gal.

 

With the cost of waste water and everything else it is the best deal for

me.

[DaJMasta]

I have water delivered. Distilled. 6 bucks for 5

gal.

 

I use the empty 5gal bottles and

take them to the RO outlet. 3 bucks for

10 gal.

 

With the cost of waste water and everything else it is the best deal for

me.

 

 

And the delivered way could be an option, but there's no way for me to get them refilled when I would be biking to the source. Out of curiosity, how much is a delivery of water like that?

[OClownsandNanos]

If you have the money and the opportunity, I'm in favor of making your own RO/DI, or even just R/O. I bought a nice Spectrapure Pro Plus unit for $149 and their faucet adaptor (for another $16 or so) which just pops out when you want to revert back to regular water (you probably can get an adaptor cheaper elsewhere). It's a 90GPD, which means that I make over 3 gallons an hour. You could make enough to fill your entire tank in little over 2 hours.

 

However, if you don't have the means and your tank is small - 7.5 gallons - if you keep in mind that you could have nitrate, phosphate, metals, or other problems in the water before it even touches the tank, and understand what while planning your tank and your live rock/stock purchases, I don't see why you couldn't do it with tap water. Some in our local reef club have used tap water with nanos before. Not always successfully but if you know the risks at the outset and plan your spending and stocking around them, I'd think it can still be enjoyable.

 

I'm a noob too, but I'm always a little skeptical of naysayers. People have done it, some successfully, even with the high TDS in Utah, so it can be done. There are definitely greater risks. But if you're willing to take them, why not?

[DaJMasta]

Thanks for all the input so far. I think I will be using tap for the first few weeks almost regardless, as it will be mostly just cycling with live rock, but after that point I should have some pretty consistent measurements from the tank and from the source so I can make the call to get an RO unit or not. I can also try to make sure that we've got the water pressure and stuff and check to make sure one of our faucets would actually take the adapter.

[violinist]

You aren't going to be able to test for most of the 'bad' stuff in tap water, so good luck.

[NanoReefNovice]

A lot of people who say you cant do a tank on tap water have never tried it, but hell neither have I. I hear it really depends on your water source. A water report will not necessarily tell you what is coming out of your taps, water can change and it doesn't factor in your pipes and such. Low TDS water can still be bad, it really depends on what that dissolved solid is. That is why i as well as many others only use 0 TDS water to eliminate risk. Tap water can be done successfully and if it works then cool. The problem is that if you start having problems with tank (i.e. algae blooms, livestock dieing...) your water water will always be that x-factor.

[farkwar]

And the delivered way could be an option, but there's no way for me to get them refilled when I would be biking to the source. Out of curiosity, how much is a delivery of water like that?

6 bucks for 5 gallon distilled jug.

 

10 buck deposit per jug.

 

2 jugs every 2 weeks.

 

It is a reasonable price. Alhambra water.

 

Arrowhead charges 9 to 11 bucks per jug delivered.

[reefer916]

6 bucks for 5 gallon distilled jug.

 

10 buck deposit per jug.

 

2 jugs every 2 weeks.

 

It is a reasonable price. Alhambra water.

 

Arrowhead charges 9 to 11 bucks per jug delivered.

 

Check out your LFS's because they usually sell RO/DI water. There are a few local to me that give it to members for free. I usually pick up about 30 gallons per week for my water changes and top offs. Call around and see what they're charging.

[AZDesertRat]

RO/DI gives you consistency, period. With tap it can anddoes change day to day and even hour to hour, its a crapshoot at best. Do it right from the beginning and you will never have that doubt if something is related to the water you used.

[Mr. Fosi]

RO/DI gives you consistency, period.

 

^ This and: I used tapwater on my 5.5g for over a year with no ill effects... Then I moved to a new city/state and the tap water jacked me up.

 

Try it if you want but be prepared to let it go when the tank looks like crap all the time.

[Scott Riemer]

You can contemplate all you want whether you can have a tap water reef, but nobody is going to argue that using 0TDS water is a bad idea. RO/DI Unit was one investment that kept me from quitting and has been worth every penny invested in it.

[AdrianBryce]

Def. RO/DI. i was using walmart water for a while but It was causing my kh to get up to around 18. it was coming out of the machine at 6+. I have "good" tap water too. zero nitrate, nitrites, ammonia, no chloramine, and barely detectable phosphates, and hardness at zero as well. I still prefer the RO/DI. And yes I have done it both ways.

[fewskillz]

You could try one of those Camel back pack things for hikers. I'm pretty sure they hold quite a bit of water and that would be easy to wear on a bike. That wouldn't work too well for your initial fill up, but it could be enough for top-off and water changes.

 

I use tap water in my Cichlid tank, and I've occasionally done a tap water top-off because I'm out of RO, but using it long term scares me.

[DaJMasta]

The camelback like packs are an idea, but they're very rarely seen in sizes more than a gallon - it's pretty easy to find them around 100oz, but to my knowledge not much above. And while this would be fine and all, it's really no different than going to get gallon jugs of distilled water at the grocery store - you're still making trips often and carrying a fair amount of weight when you do.

 

 

I've begun the new tank and am in the midst of cycling my live rock and sand. I am using treated tap water and everything seems fine so far, though my kH is a bit higher than expected - I'll let the tank get going for at least a week or two before I make any judgments on why though. It's quite nice to have a big supply as I'm soft cycling the tank, so I'm doing large water changes twice a day at this point. It would have taken me 4 or so trips alone to haul enough water to do the initial fill and the changes that I've done so far so I think this is the best option - for now.

 

I'll be adding things gradually, first CUC, then a few corals, then livestock more than a month down the road. Hopefully by that time I'll have a good grasp on what's going on in my tank and reevaluate whether I should get an RO/DI unit and determine exactly how I would use it (since we have a kitchen and a bathroom faucet, aside from hooking it to the plumbing and just undoing it if maintenance ever comes in, it doesn't leave too many hook up options). But I figure at least for now, before the livestock goes in, I can stay with treated and aged tap water.

 

I know it's sort of a roll of the dice on each fill, and I do think I'm leaning towards the RO/DI side, but not immediately.

[sharkwater]

hey, i am also going to try using tap water with prime. i have a low tds of 30.

 

im very new and also come from freshwater background.

keep very sensitive freshwater dwarf shrimps species and from my experience, to my surprise initially as well, water change using well aged tap water with conditioners actually produces less mortality in the shrimplets than water change using ROwater with water conditioners...

 

my thought was, perhaps RO water requires more playing around with to get parameters right. and therefore is harder to acheive the same parameters every single time. whereas tapwater (if your provider is reliable), has strict quality control, and they test their water quality more frequently than us. so even though there may be some undesirables in the water, the amt of it is kept relatively the same. therefore actually provides a stable condition even though it may not be perfect.

 

wondering how were the results from your cycling?

[Scott Riemer]

hey, i am also going to try using tap water with prime. i have a low tds of 30.

 

im very new and also come from freshwater background.

keep very sensitive freshwater dwarf shrimps species and from my experience, to my surprise initially as well, water change using well aged tap water with conditioners actually produces less mortality in the shrimplets than water change using ROwater with water conditioners...

 

my thought was, perhaps RO water requires more playing around with to get parameters right. and therefore is harder to acheive the same parameters every single time. whereas tapwater (if your provider is reliable), has strict quality control, and they test their water quality more frequently than us. so even though there may be some undesirables in the water, the amt of it is kept relatively the same. therefore actually provides a stable condition even though it may not be perfect.

 

wondering how were the results from your cycling?

What? How would tap be more consistent than using RO/DI with a consistent TDS of 0. If you use a quality salt mix with 0TDS water I think it would be safe to say your water quality will always be more consistent than using tap. You would also be avoiding any "undesirables in the water".

[AZDesertRat]

RO and RO/DI are consistent every time and require no adjustements period. Your salt mix has all the buffers and adjustments required. For topoffs is plain pure RO/DI every time, no crud or minerals to throw things off. Water treatemnt plants have little control over water quality other than removing the turbidity or big stuff and bacteria through disinfection. You may want to do a little research.