HOME FILTERED WATER

[Deb K]

We live in an Austin suburb and our water is extremely hard. We do have a Puronics water softening filtration system that of course uses salt. Would this water be safe to use in a reef tank? I do realize I'll need to add ocean salt for the proper salinity as well. Thanks!

[colormegone]

You need Deionized water which has been run through a RO filter first. You want 0 TDS for water before mixing with your salt.  Never use tap water with a reef tank. You can also use Distilled water which can be bought at the grocery store in gal. jugs.

[mcarroll]

On 4/27/2024 at 12:54 PM, Deb K said:

We live in an Austin suburb and our water is extremely hard. We do have a Puronics water softening filtration system that of course uses salt. Would this water be safe to use in a reef tank? I do realize I'll need to add ocean salt for the proper salinity as well. Thanks!

Seawater (<-read that) is supersaturated, so if you have really soft (almost no minerals; very low TDS) water, technically it can work.  Test your softened water, or have it tested for you.  Some folks do use tap water successfully.

But there are some risks in using it.  If you have city water, they can change the contents of your water without telling you (typical during seasonal changes)....which sometimes doesn't matter, but in other cases it can KAPOW your tank.  TALK TO YOUR WATER SUPPLIER – THEY ARE TYPICALLY KNOWLEDGABLE ABOUT FOLKS WITH FISH TANKS and they can give you a heads up on any typical changes they make.

 

RODI water is cheap....like 5¢/gallon after you buy the system.  Distilled water usually costs $1/gal at the store.....maybe only 30¢/gal if you buy a distiller.

 

$100-$300 is typical for the upfront costs on an RODI system....maybe similar for distillers, though Home Depot appears to have one on sale for a lot less.  

 

If you go RODI (cheapest water) then try not to spend on the lower end of that price range...filter elements are more expensive on the cheapest "Buddy" units.