Starting a tank with tap water?

[fishieCJ]

I have an ro unit but it is the in sink kind i guess i could hook up a tube to a big 33 gallon bucket. yeah actually if i found the correct tube i could make a big bucket soon. but the problem is we use that water for everthing so not being able to use it would be bad

[matt frizz]

Don't do it. My 29 will forever have algae problems because of tap water. Not worth it IMO. I've gone so far as to buy a 55 Gallon breeder and supporting equipment so that I'll never have the problem again.

[AZDesertRat]

Get yourself a hose bub adapter and a brass wye like for hooking two garden hoses to a single spigot. Hook it to the cold water feed to the washing machine so one side feeds the washer and the other the RO, that way you don't tie up the kitchen faucet.

[thatoneazn]

Ro/di...get a used unit here or on a local forum..shortcuts= disasters trust me...

[AZDesertRat]

Be very careful when buying used, chances are there is a reason the seller is getting rid of it. Used often ends up costing moer than new by the time you buy replacement filters and a membrane which is almost always needed. You would need a TDS meter and pressure gauge to go along with it since those are the only way to tell if its good or not. Add up those costs plus the initial cost for the unit and its almost always more and you still have a used non guaranteed system. New reef quality units can be had complete for about $150 with everything including the TDS meter and pressure gauge plus its warrantied, its not worth messing with a used system for that.

I can't tell you how many people I have helped with used systems over the years and it can be a hassle, many were not designed for reef quality water from the beginning so modifications can get expensive.

If you don't know and trust the seller, know the unit and its history I wouldn't even consider it. You can do more harm than good with an improperly operating or poorly maintained system.

[thatoneazn]

hmm very good info desert, i guess i got lucky..when i got my ro-di shipped to me the it worked and operated fine, 0tds on the meter

[AZDesertRat]

Thats great. Monitor your RO only TDS too though as that is what determines how long DI lasts. Most people fail to monior the RO which is what does 98% of the work. Any DI filter should ge tyou 0 TDS at least for a little while, its the RO that tells the whole story, the more efficient it is the lower the operating cost.

[cms90740]

ok then as a newbie i still have a few questions. tap water is out. everyone disapproves. so can i use distilled water to mix my saltwater with? will i have to add any conditioners to it or is it good to go?

[LebaneseDlight]

Distilled water is perfect. No additives should be needed.

[AZDesertRat]

Distilled would be my second choice but you still lose control of the quality. You are depending on someone else and their quality control. For short term of for a very small system its OK but you should invest in a handheld TDS meter if you are going to be purchasing any water no matter the source.

[Spicer]

And what do I do if I started the tank, and am now dealing with a nasty cyano breakout?

Break down the tank, put the corals and fish in the qt, and empty everything out, even the sand...

And restart the tank?

 

Or would a LARGE water change do most of the good.

I started my tank for a month with tap water, 5months now using ro been 6 months now, cyano break out.

[neanderthalman]

And what do I do if I started the tank, and am now dealing with a nasty cyano breakout?

Break down the tank, put the corals and fish in the qt, and empty everything out, even the sand...

And restart the tank?

 

Or would a LARGE water change do most of the good.

I started my tank for a month with tap water, 5months now using ro been 6 months now, cyano break out.

 

Do larger water changes over time. Eight 25% changes will bring any contamination down to 10% of the starting concentration, and another eight will bring you to to 1%.

 

Patience. Beauty happens slowly, disaster happens quickly.

[Spicer]

Do larger water changes over time. Eight 25% changes will bring any contamination down to 10% of the starting concentration, and another eight will bring you to to 1%.

 

Patience. Beauty happens slowly, disaster happens quickly.

I see, ive done about 15 or so water changes.

Ill start doing larger ones for a couple weeks.

[bruce922]

Please take everyone's advice, and don't do it!

[hahaximmaxfish]

Don't you live by walmart? Just use their distilled water!!

[fishieCJ]

My mom went to a raleys ad said the only sell by 1 gallons. how am I supposed to buy 55 gallons of distilled water by ones that would be to much to even carry. how do you guys sugggest I buy distilled?

[OClownsandNanos]

My mom went to a raleys ad said the only sell by 1 gallons. how am I supposed to buy 55 gallons of distilled water by ones that would be to much to even carry. how do you guys sugggest I buy distilled?

 

 

You start doing it now and you make as many trips as you have to until you've got 55 gal of water ready to lock 'n load. Maybe do it at minimum 10 jugs at a time. You can put all those in a shopping cart, load it up into your car's trunk, and unload it at your house. If you have to make six trips, you have to make six trips.

 

Either that or use your r/o device or do it or use both. If you've got a 30+ gallon can you can just feed it all into that.

[fiction101]

By a couple 5g jugs and take it down to the RO vending machine.

[BostonMike]

On a related note:

 

The book I've read instructs to fill the tank up with freshwater to test out for leaks, that everything works, then flush out and replace. Would tap be ok for this purpose?

[LebaneseDlight]

On a related note:

 

The book I've read instructs to fill the tank up with freshwater to test out for leaks, that everything works, then flush out and replace. Would tap be ok for this purpose?

 

Yup. Fo'shizzle my nizzle. It's just a leak test. Any residue of tap water left will be insignificant for starting up your tank.

[nor_cal_nano]

My mom went to a raleys ad said the only sell by 1 gallons. how am I supposed to buy 55 gallons of distilled water by ones that would be to much to even carry. how do you guys sugggest I buy distilled?

 

if they have an RO filling station. Use that. It's like 33c a gallon

[moovinfast]

I have an ro/di unit for our water. But we went out of town for a few days and came home to a busted hose from the sump. So it pumped 20+ gallons of water onto the floor before it shorted out the powerstrip for the pump. I didnt have any RO/DI water made up except for 5 gallons of top off water. So we went to wallmart and just bought 30 1 gallon jugs of distilled water. Its really not that big of a deal to do. I mean you can use a cart in the store. And Im assuming you're going to the store in a car. Just have to make a bunch of trips from the car to the house.

[LebaneseDlight]

My mom went to a raleys ad said the only sell by 1 gallons. how am I supposed to buy 55 gallons of distilled water by ones that would be to much to even carry. how do you guys sugggest I buy distilled?

 

Dude, you live in sacrapeopleto and you can't find 2.5 gallon jugs? They sell them at any supermarket and even whole foods! They are $3 for a 2.5 gallon of distilled. Trust me, they're everywhere and you don't need to buy 30 gallon jugs. Even CVS/Riteaid/etc will have them. You can doo eet.