Would Lr Die In Tap Water?

[BlueRam]

If the problem with your parents is that they will not allow you to have an RO unit in the house, you can buy a garden hose connector to fit the unit outside. Most of the RO companies sell them but here is a link to show you what I mean -
[URL="http/www.osmotics.co.uk/john-guest-12-bs...tube-p-269.html"]http/www.osmotics.co.uk/john-guest-12-bs...tube-p-269.html[/URL]

 

[Betta5]

that would be perfect but we got rid of the outside tap when i was like 7 lol. Are they hard to fit? i could just do it and not say anything

 

[BlueRam]

If you are serious about keeping marines and as you say money is not the problem, then have a plumber come round and fit an outside tap and buy an RO unit to go on it. You will not regret it and your livestock will love you for it. If you use tap water, I suspect you will be continually posting new questions about "how to get ride of your hair algae" and "why do my corals hardly come out".

Keeping these corals in the best conditions possible is not an option in my opinion, it is a necessity.

 

[Betta5]

If you are serious about keeping marines and as you say money is not the problem, then have a plumber come round and fit an outside tap and buy an RO unit to go on it. You will not regret it and your livestock will love you for it. If you use tap water, I suspect you will be continually posting new questions about "how to get ride of your hair algae" and "why do my corals hardly come out".

Keeping these corals in the best conditions possible is not an option in my opinion, it is a necessity.

I clean for algae in my tanks daily or bi-daily (to stop build up) and i am not planning on corals, but i get where you are coming from and i will look into it

 

[Betta5]

if i cant find an RO source i will do a fish only, if not i will do a reef/fowlr

 

[andywg]

Be very careful here as tap water is not normally used in marine tanks. Test your tap water to see how much phosphate and Nitrates it contains as I think you will be very surprised. Tap water is different all around the country but all if it contains all sorts of things not suitable for marines.

This is only really true when keeping reef tanks and inverts that require nutrient poor waters. Fish are more than capable of coping with nitrates (Scott Michael admits his suggestion of 100ppm as a maximum for ultra sensitive sharks is an arbitrary limit way below the levels scientific studies show as being a problem for fish).

Phosphates and silicates are harmless to fish at levels they cause problems to corals.

If you are only doing FO or FOWLR then tap water is more than adequate. While RO water is nice for all marine tanks, the truth is that is just isn't a in FOWLR and FO tanks. All reef keepers also contest with algae, but on a FO or FOWLR you can have nice dim lights that will prevent algae from growing, not to mention the fact that algae uses up nutrients, so is doing nothing but good by growing in a tank (so long as you can harvest it).

 

[SkiFletch]

Agree with Andy. If only doing FO or FOWLR, tapwater is more than adequate. You MAY encourage algae blooms with it, but nothing that would harm fish or LR. If you do end up going reef, you can always purchase distilled water from your local grocery store.

 

[Betta5]

thank you guys anyway but i have decided to sell the tank i was going to use and put the money towards my "make me a 6x2x2' fish only tank fund" (see saltwater fish section if you want to help me out with regards to stocking questions). Not a pointless post though as i learned something and someone may want to know too

thanks again for answering all of my muddled questions friendly saltwater reefers lol

 

[BlueRam]

Sorry guys I have to disagree with you on this. Yes, fish can "survive" with high nitrates and all manor of other elements in water but that is hardly the point. If we are privileged enough to have these delicate marine animals then we have a responsibility in keeping them in the best possible water conditions. As RO units are now so cheap, there is no an excuse in not using one.
Tap water contains more than just high nitrates and phosphates and all these additional elements are not found in the water that these fish come from.

Simple, fit an RO or RO/Unit to the outside tap regardless if you are going to keep fish or fish and corals.

 

[Betta5]

This is a touchy subject as it is down to the individual. And cheap to me and you could be alot of money to someone else. I have kept marine fish in dechlorinated water before, (firefish and tomato clown) and they were fine and healthy.

 

[andywg]

Sorry guys I have to disagree with you on this. Yes, fish can "survive" with high nitrates and all manor of other elements in water but that is hardly the point.

I know someone who is breeding (or at least spawning) clowns in tap water, hardly just surviving.

If we are privileged enough to have these delicate marine animals then we have a responsibility in keeping them in the best possible water conditions. As RO units are now so cheap, there is no an excuse in not using one.

Apart from the potential ethical side of wasting up to ten times as much water as you can use.

Tap water contains more than just high nitrates and phosphates and all these additional elements are not found in the water that these fish come from.

And? Care to provide a list of all these elements that are in tap water and some science showing at what levels they become a problem for fish? The fact that many people successfully keep (and breed) fish in tap water makes me think RO water is unnecessary and potentially wasting water.

I assume you also think that anyone keeping neon tetras should utilise RO and black water additives to get water to the soft acidic levels of the amazon where they come from?

 

[badlandz]

Since this is the first thread I've seen where dechlorinated tap water was said to be ok (at least by some). I am curious... if a tank was started as a FOWLR with tap, could it be converted to a reef later on if you started to do water changes with RO?

 

[chris348]

I think i may be missing the plot here guys.

Do you mean to say you can have a RO system fitted to an external water source i.e. garden hose tap?

 

[BlueRam]

chris348,
Yes, that is possible to do if you want.

andywg,
No need to provide proof as it is a common fact that RO or RO/DI water with salt provides the correct balance of elements as found in natural saltwater. Just ask for a list of elements found in your tap water from your local water board and compare that with natural saltwater. There will be a difference.

Just because an animal spawns, does not mean it is happy as spawning can be a survival instinct. I am not saying it is not possible to keep marine animals in tap water, I am saying it is not the right thing to do when we can provide a better alternative. Yes, some areas have better water quality than others and people have kept marine animals in this type of water, I just do not believe it is right telling people it is OK to use it when RO's are available so cheaply. In my view, if anyone is concerned at the cost of water or the cost of RO untis, then they should not be keeping these animals.

We will obviously differ of this opinion but surly you agree it is our responsibility to produce the best conditions possible for these animals whose natural habitats are being destroyed daily. These animals are becoming endangered because of the destruction of their habitat so we need to keep the ones we have in the best possible conditions......maybe I am alone in this opinion in which case, god help the reefs!

 

[@ombomb]

Do you mean to say you can have a RO system fitted to an external water source i.e. garden hose tap?

Yes, as long as there is enough pressure on the supply to force it through the filter, I make all my RO water from the garden tap... "it's too messy inside" according to the girlfriend