Ro Water

[newfishaddict]

Hi , I am going to build my first salt water tank soon. My tap water has nitrate and phospahte at zero, and kh at 95degrees with a ph of 7.7 to 7.8.; can I use my tap water for water changes and distilled for top ups?

Thanks

 

[SkiFletch]

Well, if you plan on keeping corals and some inverts now or ever in the future in that tank, you need to test it for copper as well. Also please remember, that your tapwater may contain silicates which can fuel algae blooms and stunt coral growth. Are RO units or water that expensive around you? I know I bought my used 100GPD RO unit for $75 shipped and it's been a blessing to have pure conditioned water right in my basement

 

[Lynden]

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=150000&st=0

I thought my tap water was good for marine tanks too;

It's nearly perfect...

-Lynden

 

[haulme]

I got bad advice when I first started that tap water is fine. Big mistake, lucky I was cycling my tank otherwise I would have really been in trouble. Big algae bloom and alot of die of on the cured live rock. Loads of worms died and so forth.

Now I use nothing but RO water and my corals and life are alot better with it.

 

[JJ1234567]

Lets put it this way. IF you have a truck, that sees alot of mud, and you want to off road...you probably could do it with 33" tires. However, every now and then you WILL get stuck. It would be much better to run 40" tires. Much less likely to get stuck. Tires are like RO. Yea you might get away with running less quality for a large majority of the time, but when it does go wrong (or you get stuck) you will regret it. Esp since most corals and fish in the marine world carry a hefty price tag. Never settle, always jump the highest you can, get the best you can afford. RO and tires are both nessecary expenses if you wanna play that game.

 

[crazyelece]

IME RO/DI is the only way to fly. Tap water changes daily depending on the incoming water quality at the plant. So even if you think you have perfect water it is far from it. It also has many chemicals such as flouride that you can't test for that are harmful in an aquarium. Mainly tap water will be a nusience as a source of algea blooms, but it could also be toxic to your livestock. For the cost of a RO unit, one or two livestock deaths will pay for it.

 

[newfishaddict]

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=150000&st=0

I thought my tap water was good for marine tanks too;

It's nearly perfect...

-Lynden

that is a long thread and I read slow...Did you findout what was in the tap water that caused the issue?

Well, if you plan on keeping corals and some inverts now or ever in the future in that tank, you need to test it for copper as well. Also please remember, that your tapwater may contain silicates which can fuel algae blooms and stunt coral growth. Are RO units or water that expensive around you? I know I bought my used 100GPD RO unit for $75 shipped and it's been a blessing to have pure conditioned water right in my basement

Ok the "experts" at my fish store say our tap water is great....attached is my water quality lab report, copper is ok but Im but sure if silicates are on this list in some other wording...

 

[SkiFletch]

I'm sure they're not on there since silicates have almoast no bearing on human physiology Thats great that your water treatment plants in edmonton put out water with no copper. So does mine. However, by the time that water has traversed the 10+ miles of piping to my house, it has enough copper to be detected by a simple copper test kit (0.50ppm in my case). Lab tests at the treatment plant, are NOT the same as tests at your faucet, so please make sure you know the chemistry of the water you're actually putting in the tank

 

[furryrabbit]

slightly off topic but - what is distilled water?

 

[SkiFletch]

Distilled water is water which is boiled in one container and then condensed back into liquid in a second. The condensed liquid in the second tank is free of most solutes. If the distillation apparatus is good enough, a single pass can remove nearly as many salts/solutes as an RO membrane, but usually water is considered solute free after it has been distilled 3 times. Many chemistry labs use triple distilled water when de-ionized water is required.

 

[newfishaddict]

I'm sure they're not on there since silicates have almoast no bearing on human physiology Thats great that your water treatment plants in edmonton put out water with no copper. So does mine. However, by the time that water has traversed the 10+ miles of piping to my house, it has enough copper to be detected by a simple copper test kit (0.50ppm in my case). Lab tests at the treatment plant, are NOT the same as tests at your faucet, so please make sure you know the chemistry of the water you're actually putting in the tank

They are here...? does silicon = silicates?

 

[SkiFletch]

Silicon can equal silicates. The term Silicon however refers to any material containing the eliment Silicon (Si 14). That can include silicates (usually single bonded polymers sometimes with metals or hydrogen) or silicones (containing double bonded oxygen polymers). Unfortunately the test doesnt say which, so its not that clear. Silicates CAN be used by nuisance algae for nutrients while silicone cannot.