Starting a tank with tap water?

[fishieCJ]

I want to start my 55 gallon tank soon but have no way of etting 55 gllons of rodi water anytime soon. So do you think that if I start my tank with hose water just for cycling will it be bad. I know it probabley has phosphates but i could use a phosphate reactor which i was gonna use anyways. and i have a protein skimmer. and i might be getting an ac70 for a fuge. so what do you think hose water ok to cycle?

[coolwaters]

theres a lot of heavy metals in your tap water. my main concern would be the copper in the copper piping.

then theres chlorine.

 

play its safe and use only RO water.

[fishieCJ]

Well I have seen some people with tap water setups. And what about a combo phosphate reactor with a pura pad i believe that removes heavy metals?

[nemmy]

I want to start my 55 gallon tank soon but have no way of etting 55 gllons of rodi water anytime soon. So do you think that if I start my tank with hose water just for cycling will it be bad. I know it probabley has phosphates but i could use a phosphate reactor which i was gonna use anyways. and i have a protein skimmer. and i might be getting an ac70 for a fuge. so what do you think hose water ok to cycle?

 

I wouldnt do it. That stuff will stick around forever. After ten 10% water changes your still going to be 30% + of tap water.

 

Go to a bunch of grocery stores and walmarts and buy them out of distilled water.

[Jacobnano]

Just start filling the tank now with RO/DI.

[fishieCJ]

whats the cost of distilled? Alright also i just put together a cart at drs f & s and it would $66 for a phosphate reacto and media and a bottle of prime for the tap water. Would that cost less then buying 55 galons of distilled water? I was already planning to get a phosphate reactor so i guess the prime coulnt hurt the distilled water if i went thtat route

[nemmy]

whats the cost of distilled? Alright also i just put together a cart at drs f & s and it would $66 for a phosphate reacto and media and a bottle of prime for the tap water. Would that cost less then buying 55 galons of distilled water? I was already planning to get a phosphate reactor so i guess the prime coulnt hurt the distilled water if i went thtat route

 

You dont need to use prime with distilled water. Its a waste of time and money. In my opinion prime has no place in the saltwater hobby because you should always use good water. Save the money and buy a nice ro/di unit.

 

Distilled water at walmart should be less than a dollar a gallon.

Acme supermarkets is like .89

[plantarms]

whats the cost of distilled? Alright also i just put together a cart at drs f & s and it would $66 for a phosphate reacto and media and a bottle of prime for the tap water. Would that cost less then buying 55 galons of distilled water? I was already planning to get a phosphate reactor so i guess the prime coulnt hurt the distilled water if i went thtat route

i would say just kick it up to the ro/di unit because it will be a pain to deal with the phosphate problems and algae that hang around from using tap water, especially in the sand

[smokey_the_bear]

distilled water 1 gallon jugs at my wally world for .83c

thats what i use to mix my water too.

[ajmckay]

I buy RO water from my local grocery store (Wal-mart has it sometimes too) for $.29 per gallon from a refill station. I just bring in a bunch of 5 gallon buckets with lids.

[nemmy]

I buy RO water from my local grocery store (Wal-mart has it sometimes too) for $.29 per gallon from a refill station. I just bring in a bunch of 5 gallon buckets with lids.

 

I gave your tank thread some love.

[Asureef]

RO is cheap, why risk it? I can get RO water for .50 per gallon at my LFS & they charge $2 for reusable 5g jug.

 

But, I got tired of going back and forth every weekend for water, so I decided if I can folk up $200+ for a single powerhead, why not a RO/DI system? Save yourself the headache, time, and money, get a RO/DI system. I have one coming this week from BulkReefSuppy, woohoo!!

[rizakaniza]

Tap may seem like a time and energy saving shortcut at first, but when you start having problems later you realize you made yourself more work in the end anyway.

[skimlessinseattle]

I filled my 55g using five 3g jugs, and going back and forth to the grocery store...it was not fun. However, it was IMO the better option. You should be able to get a water report online - take a look at yours; mine was enough to persuade me to use RO water...yikes! Plus, getting rid of the "cycle water" to replace with quality water would require either a full volume change or a series of very large changes to sufficiently dilute the "cycle water". If you live in an area with farms, nutrient runoff is a nightmare for reef tanks - I know from experience on my 29g which started with tap water - algae city baby! It took many good water changes to bring that tank around, thus I started the 55g with the good stuff

 

In the end, I bought a 75g/day RO unit and suggest you do the same. A 55g requires substantial top off, not to mention water changes.

 

Grocery store/Walmart RO water is pretty cheap, just make sure your municipality does not use chloramine in your water first, as then you would have to use Prime (or another conditioner that will remove chloramines) with this option. If your local water source uses chloramines, than Prime is a very valuable tool for the reef aquarist, and has every place in the hobby. RO/DI does not get rid of chloramine molecules, a special filter is required for that task.

 

Fishie - man up and buy a small RO/DI unit. Your tank will love you for it.

[neanderthalman]

so what do you think hose water ok to cycle?

 

NO

 

 

Tap water contains many things for which we do not or cannot test. However, that's not the main concern.

 

The main concern is that the quality of tap water is unstable, even if you're on a well.

 

You could test it today with every available test kit and determine that it's perfectly suitable. Hell, you could even have a magic test kit that tests things we don't have test kits for, and find that your aquifer must be located under a unicorn sanctuary because the water quality is somehow of RO/DI quality. The problem is that the water quality on a well or municipal system can change dramatically. Even slamming a door in your house can dislodge a massive load of solids into your water. A truck running down the road, a small (unfelt) seismic event, maintenance on the municipal system, or countless other things can disturb the pipes between you and your water source. Not only that, but issues like seasonal runoff in the spring or farm fertilizers in the summer can and will affect your tap water.

 

Don't believe me? Run your kitchen tap at maybe half-stream, so you can see it. Start catching it in a drinking glass. Go have a friend go into your basement and tap some pipes with a wrench. See the nice colors that the water turns. Would you drink that? Would you put that in your tank?

[cruiZe]

NO

even after 20 water changes it will still be there. don't do it. Why risk potentially hundreds or thousands of $ live stock over $40 of water?

[reefer916]

My LFS gives RO water for free. I haven't setup a R/O system yet, but I have (6) 5gallon jugs that I take there weekly. I keep some for topoffs and I have a 30 gallon Brute trash can with a powerhead and heater to mix my water in. I always have water mixing for emergencies and maintainence. Definitely start off with the right water or you could be running around doing 10x the amount of work. The last thing you want to do is cut corners in this hobby. Good luck

[AZDesertRat]

Look around, you probably have a Water & Ice store close to you, in CA I can almost guarantee it. Most sell RO only water for 25 cents a gallon and the ones by me have specials certain days of the week for even less.

 

Granted its RO only and not RO/DI but its a big improvement over tap and most of the manned stores do a very good job of treating the water. They are usually more than happy to pull out the TDS or conductivity meter and test it right in front of you when you tell them it is for a reef tank, they are proud of their store and its product. her in Phoenix they get it down from 700+ TDS to less than 10 which is pretty good for the volume they do.

 

You can buy a couple 5G water jugs from them or Wal Mart and make a couple trips and you are done plus have the jugs for future water changes even if you end up buying your own RO/DI unit which I highly recommend. If you cannot start it out right from the beginning you may want to reconsider the reef hobby, it will only get worse when you try to cut corners, never better. There is an old saying in the hobby, "All good things take time, only bad things happen quickly". And that is very true, so take your time and do it right. Don't get in a hurry and you will get years of enjoyment out of the hobby instead of frustration.

[northstar1357]

I started my tank with tap water but i live in NYC. I used it for about 6 months or so before i started using RO water LOLZ. but everything was okay. i had corals and fishs and none of them had any problem. Plus i didnt use any chemi pure before or protein skimmer. But i did get a lot of algae outbreaks.

After using RO water plus chemipure no more algae problems.

[Dani3d]

It really depend on your tap water. I did it with mine and it is thriving. There is absolutely NO phosphate nor nitrates in my tap water and my shrimp are doing well so I guess no copper either or not enough to be detrimental. I switched to RO/DI water slowly after a month.

 

Never had an algae or cyano problem either.

 

You have to test your tap and then see if it contain phosphate, nitrates or copper un too much quantity.

 

Not all tap water is the same and what work for someone will be a disaster for someone else!

 

I want to start my 55 gallon tank soon but have no way of etting 55 gllons of rodi water anytime soon. So do you think that if I start my tank with hose water just for cycling will it be bad. I know it probabley has phosphates but i could use a phosphate reactor which i was gonna use anyways. and i have a protein skimmer. and i might be getting an ac70 for a fuge. so what do you think hose water ok to cycle?

[AZDesertRat]

No.

Tap water changes. What happens when a strom blows through? Treatment changes meaning chemical additions and pH change. Or when the backhoe down the street hits the water main? Or when they add a new source to the blend, or add a new well? Or at shift change and the new operator changes techniques?

 

It is never the same day to day or hour to hour. Don't trust it as you can test it now and in 10 minutes it may be different.

 

With RO/DI you have consistency, every time its the same. I run municipal water plants for a living and I won't use it myself, wouldn't hesitate to drink it but not for my tanks, too much invested to be foolish.

 

NYC has some of the worst water in the country, it gets little if any treatment and they are under massive daily fines from the EPA unit plants are constructed and in operation. I sure wouldn't brag about it! Yes the TDS is low but the TSS, turbidity and particulates are through the roof.

[Pilg0re]

I think we all agree to get the RO/DI unit, or go to the store and pick up some cheap DI water.

[lasongo]

No.

Tap water changes. What happens when a strom blows through? Treatment changes meaning chemical additions and pH change. Or when the backhoe down the street hits the water main? Or when they add a new source to the blend, or add a new well? Or at shift change and the new operator changes techniques?

 

It is never the same day to day or hour to hour. Don't trust it as you can test it now and in 10 minutes it may be different.

 

With RO/DI you have consistency, every time its the same. I run municipal water plants for a living and I won't use it myself, wouldn't hesitate to drink it but not for my tanks, too much invested to be foolish.

 

NYC has some of the worst water in the country, it gets little if any treatment and they are under massive daily fines from the EPA unit plants are constructed and in operation. I sure wouldn't brag about it! Yes the TDS is low but the TSS, turbidity and particulates are through the roof.

 

+100000000000

 

Why risk it. Seriously, if it is an issue having access to RO/DI water from a store, then just buy a filter. You can find a new one for $100-200 online and have it delivered or buy used for cheaper.

 

Its a consistency issue. RO/DI will always be the same, tap changes like AZDesertRat said. Also, like he said, in tap water it's not only copper and phosphates and nitrates you have to worry about, but also things like flourine, chlorine and other contaminants.

 

Check out the EPA's water quality page:

 

http://www.epa.gov/safewater/dwinfo/index.html

 

Short answer start saving a few bucks for a RO/DI filter. You won't have to leave the house to make water and your livestock will thank you for it.

[Billdemart]

No freaking way. Just buy gallon jugs at the grocery store... It will be so much better in the long run. You will have so much crazy algae in that tank if you hose it.

[OClownsandNanos]

If you were doing a small nano I could see how you might take the risk. But a 55 gal? A 55 gal and all the money you've got to sink into it is not worth the risk of tap. Skip the phosphate reactor and get the ro/di unit now. You can buy the reactor in a few months after your tank has cycled.

 

I have a 45 gal display and a 20 gal QT tank, which is very similar in gallonage to what you'll have. I go through about 15 gal of ro/di water in a little over a week for topoffs and water changes. That's a lot of water you'll have to buy if you don't make it yourself and that's after you've completely filled it. Don't consider tap; instead consider buying a RO/DI device. It's worth a heck of a lot more than a phosphate reactor in the long run.