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taboo: using tap water to make saltwater


bruinhd

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The whole reason for using RO/DI or distilled is stability. You get the same consistent high quality water every time.

With tap water, regardless if its a domestic well, municipal well, surface water or whatever, it can and does change. You have no control over how it comes out of the tap. Even the best treatment plant in the world cannot prevent a contractor from digging up a water main and causing a backflow. The best designed well in the world still changes as ground water levels change or pumping rates change or in rainy seasons and herbicides, pesticides and fuel products wash into the water table.

 

We as aquarists should be providing the best possible environment for our inhabitants and livestock period. If we are not doing that we have no business in this hobby. We agonize over the best lighting, the best pump, the best live rock or corals but you know what, none of that matters if you don't have good water.

 

Water is the single largest ingredient in an aquarium, reef or otherwise, and everything in that tank depends on its quality and stability. I don't think it can be put any simpler!

 

Wow, I wish my city Water and Wastewater department thought like you do. I might actually have potable water in my city. lol...

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down here in FL we all have well water thats hard as rocks... my tanks always seem to love it.... after all the same water im pumpin out of the ground is the same water the reefs off the coast are made of .. juust filtered through limestone.

 

Same here. But I don't pour it directly into the tank I just make a slight water change then pull out a gallon and mix it with a gallon of tap then i allow it to drip into the tank. So far I have had no ill effects

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Yeah, I was out of drinking water last night so I syphoned some RODI water into my cup. wow it tastes sooo good!!

 

^ Joking?? I tried DI water and it tasted soapy to me but, from what I understand we should not drink it as it will eventually have ill effects on our system, if you use it as a regular drinking source. You can become mineral deficient and electrolytes can become low which can lead to dehydration... If I can remember correctly.

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I have been Water plant oper.for almost 20 years.Have won the best tasting water in the state an came in second ,third,so on so on,have great water,BUT use a RODI.We treat water from a stable lake,not much change from the seasons,BUT,the water is still not stable to the point that I would trust it in my tank.Water leaks,chemical byproducts,rainfall,your pipes,our pipes,much more factors in. Why take a chance?

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I have been Water plant oper.for almost 20 years.Have won the best tasting water in the state an came in second ,third,so on so on,have great water,BUT use a RODI.We treat water from a stable lake,not much change from the seasons,BUT,the water is still not stable to the point that I would trust it in my tank.Water leaks,chemical byproducts,rainfall,your pipes,our pipes,much more factors in. Why take a chance?

 

Coming from people that work in this field, i would take this advice. It blows my mind that ppl will still risk their reef with tap water.... i dont even drink my tap water :P

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I am not saying it wont work,what I am saying is that you ARE taking a chance.I know whats in our water ,do the test myself( well below all state regs)its great water,drink it every day,but im not willing to take a chance on my tank.I am 100% sure its safe for me,but for my tank??????????????????????Things that are added are not for reefs but for human consumption.

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The whole reason for using RO/DI or distilled is stability. You get the same consistent high quality water every time.

With tap water, regardless if its a domestic well, municipal well, surface water or whatever, it can and does change. You have no control over how it comes out of the tap. Even the best treatment plant in the world cannot prevent a contractor from digging up a water main and causing a backflow. The best designed well in the world still changes as ground water levels change or pumping rates change or in rainy seasons and herbicides, pesticides and fuel products wash into the water table.

 

We as aquarists should be providing the best possible environment for our inhabitants and livestock period. If we are not doing that we have no business in this hobby. We agonize over the best lighting, the best pump, the best live rock or corals but you know what, none of that matters if you don't have good water.

 

Water is the single largest ingredient in an aquarium, reef or otherwise, and everything in that tank depends on its quality and stability. I don't think it can be put any simpler!

Well said Rat,we are in a new plant(less than a year),puts out great water at the eff.but after that its out of our grasp.Change is why we have a job.If the water never changed an was stable 365 days a year I probably would be out of work.
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  • 3 weeks later...

I used tap water the first time around... then a few years later my tank crashed so hard and epicly that it was not even funny.

Even had to discard the rocks becuase they had accumulated so much crap. :(

 

Never again!

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  • 1 year later...

I know its an old post but found it to be very interesting. Spoke with my father who has been running a smaller reef tanks up to his 200+ gal reef now and he has been using tap water for all of his tanks for almost 20 years now. He said he has seen endless debates on these topics and its always a constant battle, however he did bring up 1 important issue.

He has lived from IL, FL, and now TN and used the tap water in all those states. He did say that it is an extra plus to use one but not necessary, and from his almost 20 years of successful reef keeping speaks for itself. Yes you may encounter additives from tap water but being that he hasn't had a tank crash or alage bloom because of it in that duration of time I think its safe to say that you can use the tap.

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AZDesertRat

He is by far the exception and not the rule. 35 years ago when I first started keeping saltwater fish I used tap water too as it was all that was available at the time. 25 years ago the private water company of which I was the Operations Manager sold to the City and the water sources changed from non chlorinated deep wells to mostly treated surface water and my nightmares began. It changed day to day and when storms blew in forget it, the quality changed dramatically. I have thousands invested in my tanks and inhabitants, why would I not use soemthing that only costs less than a nickel a gallon and be consistent each and every time because I alone control its outcome? Foolish not to!

  • Like 1
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I know its an old post but found it to be very interesting. Spoke with my father who has been running a smaller reef tanks up to his 200+ gal reef now and he has been using tap water for all of his tanks for almost 20 years now. He said he has seen endless debates on these topics and its always a constant battle, however he did bring up 1 important issue.

He has lived from IL, FL, and now TN and used the tap water in all those states. He did say that it is an extra plus to use one but not necessary, and from his almost 20 years of successful reef keeping speaks for itself. Yes you may encounter additives from tap water but being that he hasn't had a tank crash or alage bloom because of it in that duration of time I think its safe to say that you can use the tap.

Sorry, but no. It's great that he got lucky with the places he lived and the water systems he used, but that doesn't mean it was smart. I can cause an algae bloom at will in my tank by changing my ATO reservoir to tap water. There are some water supplies you can get away with tap water, but most you can not.
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Whenever anyone says they use tap water without issues ...

 

I want a high rez full tank shot. :)

 

Water varies based on location.

Tolerance to algae varies based on reef keeper, tank size, and inhabitants.

 

I know a guy that lives in this area, runs a 110 gallon on tap water. Has great corals, great looking tank, and lots of algae eaters he doesn't have to feed because the tap water does it for him. I also remember the last big drought that hit our area, 10 or 12 years ago, where the water started to smell due to the low level of the Ohio river and extra chemicals being added.

 

I don't mind people saying they use tap water and everything is fine, but I reject those who refuse to believe they are rolling the dice with tap water, including well water.

 

This is yet another one of those long lasting threads where people love to post ... it works fine for me so ....

 

Everything works fine right up until the second it doesn't. Know the risk, evaluate your tolerance for risk vs cost, and be honest with yourself. If you're 2 years into the hobby, have spent $1000 on corals and fish and whatever else that is now growing and getting larger, and for whatever reason you crash a tank due to something in the tap water ... did you really save $300 by not purchasing an RO/DI unit?

  • Like 1
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So the pro-tap argument's going something along the lines of "Hey, lighting hasn't struck me yet..." :D

 

Back in my freshwater days on more or less the same municipal water system I had nothing but trouble with algae outbreaks using tap water + Prime.

 

Years later & only running a nano reef tank, a ZeroWater pitcher fed with the same tap water lasts long enough to be worth the cost of filters for my weekly 2 gallon water change. Testing for my area indicates low TDS (albeit I have no idea about TSS), I use a quality salt mix, and my tank's inhabitants are flourishing with nary an unexplained algae bloom to be found. Anything changes and I know where to look first... the point's to know what the heck's in the water you're putting into your tank. By testing the water before mixing salt I'm reasonably sure it is reasonably pure. Testing one day may indicate that that RODI's required to ensure this. Right now, testing indicates it's not required.

 

As for well water - some people's well water is ideal for sustaining a reef and is akin to getting free calcium/alk supplementation. For others the stuff coming up out of the ground's one step up from mud. ;)

 

Again, testing should tell you which you're dealing with in your particular situation. Check out Subsea... his macro prop farm runs off some of the best well water out there and its a huge benefit to his operation to not have to futz with the chemistry unduly. But he's spent the time to research & test to verify that this is so. My folk's vacation house's well water? Not so much.

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Whenever anyone says they use tap water without issues ...

I want a high rez full tank shot. :)

That was my initial reaction as well.

 

The tanks I've seen in my area that use tap water have never looked great, even if they weren't covered in algae and diatoms.

 

My sample size is small though, and there are most certainly other issues at play. From what I've seen, an unwillingness or inability to buy an RO/DI is indicative of an overall unwillingness/inability to spend money on a tank in general. If you're not invested in the tank it is easier to let it fail.

 

Now that's just my observation and not the rule. I've seen many successful budget builds. They usually involve an RO/DI though =)

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  • 5 years later...
On 1/25/2012 at 9:27 AM, wankreas said:

shhh.....I use tap water and I have been reefkeeping for 7 years...:ninja:

I want to use tap water in my tank. What do you run to combat any dissolved solids in the water like silicates and phosphates? I plan to run a refugium to battle nitrate and phos, and then maybe chemipure elite in my HOB to pull out any heavy metals and silicates. Sound solid? Thanks!

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  • 3 weeks later...

tap water has a detrimental abuse factor about 30.40 that means its a ration of about 30-1 before the conjunction of an alma-matter peroid of photosyntetic material of about a half hour period long before the period becomes to satisfactory period of nigh effecti(ve)fe you must realize that this is thermodynamics plus nuclear physics, which means that the tap water is radiator with nuclear isotopes which is why its such a difficult thing to address.

 

god luk on this one

 

sincerely frokly, rab

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its funny because you can't use kits to measure nuclear reason on isotopes on the basis of rudimental measure kits that uses colours for guidence

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Snow_Phoenix
On 2/15/2019 at 6:53 PM, pascal590 said:

I want to use tap water in my tank. What do you run to combat any dissolved solids in the water like silicates and phosphates? I plan to run a refugium to battle nitrate and phos, and then maybe chemipure elite in my HOB to pull out any heavy metals and silicates. Sound solid? Thanks!

Check your tap source first for heavy metals, nitrates and phosphates. I run a large in-tank fuge + mini skimmer and having been using tap for a while now. My tap puts out 25 ppm nitrates and 0.03 ppm phosphates. Once converted into SW and it runs through my system, the tank water measures to almost zero nitrates and 0.03 phosphates (too 'clean'). I've been overfeeding my fish to bump up nitrates but have been unsuccessful so far. I run a mixed reef and coral growth varies from each piece. Some have grown quicker, others slower but steadier. Coral colors have improved in some pieces though. 

 

I think it honestly just goes back to your water source. I don't live in the US and there is a large metal distiller plugged directly into our plumbing and filters any water that enters any of the pipes leading inside our home. I only reverted to tap because they doubled the prices of bottled RO and DI water at stores near my home. It wasn't affordable for me to own any kind of marine or discus tank if I continued purchasing water. So I just use water from my toilet sink for my 20G. It's turning out ok so far. 

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