Real Ocean water from Petco, is it good?

[Fluffeh]

i just got to a place in town that only sells RO/DI water. i fill up three 5 gallon jugs of it, then use it as needed whenever i want to do a water change. i think its $1.25 per gallon

[Dave9905]

the only problem with buying R/O water from your local pet store is you don't really know what your getting or how often they change their filters if ever and you cant believe what they tell you either. Years ago i worked in a pet store that sold fresh and salt "R/O" except they only had a small 2 stage unit which was making on average 300 gallons per day between customers and store use and the water sat in 2 huge holding tanks which were covered in nasty slime algae and in the 3yrs i worked there the filters were only changed twice. Pretty sad when i had to persuade my customers away from our water and to purchase their own RO/DI (which we didnt sell)

[initial_reefer]

i use it on my nano

[burtbollinger]

sorry to be the negative nancy here, but:

 

guys/gals, you should not be buying Petco BOXED water as your long-term solution to water changes...the better bet is going to be to make your own water as soon as you can financially afford to do so....

 

An RO/DI unit is not expensive, nor is salt and a mixing container. I find having these tools is preferable to buying premixed water from an LFS...but it is FAR preferable than buying a box of water at Petco.

 

I shudder at beginners reading this thread coming away with the idea that buying boxed water at Petco is normal.

 

If you were running a pico....maybe....

 

I implore those of you doing water changes with PETCO boxed water to rethink what you are doing. I'd ask that those using it realize they are taking an expensive shortcut. Not to be an elitist hater, but when I see that box of water on a shelf at my Petco, I shake my head and laugh.

 

Metrokat, I assure you...once you begin mixing your own water, you'll look back at buying this product as a somewhat humorous mistake. The faster you can get save up to purchase a RO/DI unit, a container, and a bucket of salt....the better.

 

You cannot let strange, overpriced Petco water in a beat-up cardboard box on a dusty shelf be THE medium which determines the success or failure of your tank. My .2 cents anyway.

[nor_cal_nano]

I cannot dispute other comments about the parameters always being different. They probably are. But in a nano cube your size or mine, it takes very little get the params out of wack to begin with. Watch the specific gravity/salinity.

 

I'm confused. So the water with params which you have no control over, helps keep things from getting out of wack?

[metrokat]

I shudder at beginners reading this thread coming away with the idea that buying boxed water at Petco is normal.

 

Metrokat, I assure you...once you begin mixing your own water, you'll look back at buying this product as a somewhat humorous mistake. The faster you can get save up to purchase a RO/DI unit, a container, and a bucket of salt....the better.

 

BurtB, I do agree with you and I look forward to the day when I too can discuss water chemistry with the aplomb you experienced hobbyists do.

 

The first tank I helped set up was a BC29, no mods done to it, as-is. works fine but I knew I wanted something better for myself. I modded mine within an hour of getting the tank. You learn, you grow, you want different things, better things. (Considering the $388 nano tuner LED upgrade, OMG!)

 

For the time being I look at it this way: Petco's natural ocean water 'claims' to be from the ocean, not mixed synthetically in a facility somewhere. My water at home has had issues, in fact for 2 weeks now I can't even drink it without boiling it then filtering it. My tank is 14G, much less if you factor in the LR i have. Even a major water change of 5 gallon (1 box of water) can be done on the fly in an emergency.

 

Granted, being aghast at boxed Petco water and beginners practices is to be expected. If you have $10, buy a box, test it. It may surprise you. Especially if you have a stand alone tank you can use it in.

 

I'm confused. So the water with params which you have no control over, helps keep things from getting out of wack?

 

The response was to posters saying each batch of water has different parameters no matter where you buy it, in a box or at the LFS supply. I'm saying it takes very little in a small tank to get the water params out of wack anyway, even if you put in perfect mixed-at-home water. the water you make could be perfect when you made it, what happens when you add it to an existing eco system in your tank is entirely different.

[vince76]

The point of this tread was more to know if it's really a good water or not. Not really about the cost.

Petco Ocean water claim to be 100% Natural: "Water is Purified natural seawater collected directly from the pacific Ocean."

"It's more healthier: Marine biologists have long recognized that the average artificial seawater mis is an imperfect substitue for pure ocean water...Wholesale fish importers who switched to our water have reported decreased fatalities in fish and prolonged life in corals and invertebrates"

 

Well it's kind of commercial but if it's true and really good for my reef tank I really don't care to spend 12$ by month for my reef tank who cost me for only for the setup around 1000$. and I dont' have yet any coral and fish...^^

 

Btw thanks for all your replies, I end up to buy a RO/DI filter, I think I will use both....

[northeastern]

i ran my cycle with petco water. it cycled fast and everything seems to be in check. i don't mind it but in the long run it is not the cheapest way and is nearly my short time fix.

[PilotMaximus]

This thread went way sideways. Not surprised. That is the fundamental nature of internet forums. Rather than supply data on the OP's topic he was lead a different direction based upon personal opinion, be it that of many experienced aquarist which did not seem to have empyrical data for or against the product, Only the company. And advising on a different method, product, or tool. That advise however valuable and should be considered isn't what the Topic was opened for. It is clear that PetCo is viewed as Evil on this forum. Are they the only ones selling water from the ocean? Some people manage this hobby with tight budgets. Some however have choice of buying whatever they want or need. So the question remains. Is Petco Ocean water any good? How does it test out of the box? Does it really very from one box to the next? Any recommendations for using it for Nano Reef setup? Top off? Quick equipmentless water changes? Emergency or otherwise? I think these are the questions we would like answered in this thread. RODI and its Perks are for another thread which very likely exist in length and detail already. So who has real world data and real opinons base on use and experience? And for anyone using with success, Own it. Don't be sorry if you like something generally viewed as EVIL.

[Eisernes]

Did you really create an account just to necro a 3 year old thread? A better one to look at if you wanted answers would have been this one.

[PilotMaximus]

Created an account to be a part of the community, to ask questions and relay findings. This just happened to be one of the first things I was curious about and didn't find much research on the original topic. Thank you for the link. I did a search and came across this thread and not the one you linked me to. Hence this being where I posted. What I was looking for was data and opinions on the water itself. Thanks a ton.

 

Also just in case anybody lands here on this thread be sure to check out the link Eisernes posted above. It has the type of responses i was hoping to find.

 

To summarize the other thread most people that use it seem to be happy with it or at least haven't had many notable problems with it. The water is repackaged Catalina Water Company found here http://www.catalinawater.com

 

Thanks