Water for Water Changes

[knghtryder]

Hey guys,

Im just wondering what water do u guys use for your water changes?
Do you use the polaris water from the water machines(water stations) or do you use tapwater??

Do you know a place where I can get cheap jugs of demineralized water, lemme know, thanks.

Oh yeah, I am currently using the polaris water.

[Quinster]

I use RO from my home unit....soon to be adding a DI filter as well

[Willow]

i think most people use water from an ro/di unit. if you use any quantity of water it's probably the most economical way to go.

[G1GY]

I use ro/di also. I used to use tap water here in Calgary also without negative results. :biggrin:

[Dez]

been on tap water in Edmonton for over 3 years, no negative effect so far. knock on wood.

des

[Invigor]

tap water all the way, all I get is some hair algae in the winter time, but come spring it goes away...

[Dale D]

Tap water. :biggrin:

Used to use DI, but, stopped a couple of years ago.

[muck]

Straight from the tap. Haven't had any algae blooms or nuisance algae grow.

[Willow]

wow im suprised :eek:

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

Been on Vancouver/Burnaby tapwater for a while, but switching over to RO/DI water to help stop the hair algae that used to pop up with tap.

[megatron_55]

Hey just thought I'd put my two cents . . . Most people use RO (reverse osmosis water). In order for you to get RO water is to buy a $300-$400 machine that will convert your tap water to a reef friendly water. But like I said the water that I get from Superstore or Save on is filtered and also says purified using reverse osmosis technology . . . But I mean tap water ain't bad . . . But I'd rather not take any chance =) . . . Tap water has chlorine and some metals in the water. Chlorine kills fish and metal substance will destroy your inverts (corals and invertibrates) :eek:

[Richer]

FYI, a nice RO/Di unit can be bought for around 100 bucks over at ebay here (http://stores.ebay.com/The-Aqua-Safe-Pure-Water-Shop_W0QQsspagenameZl4QQtZkm). Not as fancy looking as some of those other units, but I hear they're have the best bang for your buck. You can also contact them directly at 604-922-3030. I believe they're located in the Vancouver area.

-Rich

[Nemo]

I started with bottled water from Cosco. But I have now gone to RO water filter. I picked mine up off of Ebay for about $120.00 CDN


Robert

[Rikko]

I've just started using one of the Aquarium Pharmaceuticals "Tap Water Purifiers".. It's strictly a DI unit but works well. The only obvious downfall to DI only is resin fatigue.. Some people in the UK reported they got 17 gallons (!!) of water before it was worn out. When our tap water in the Vancouver area reads around 10 ppm TDS, the cartridge goes a lot farther.

[G1GY]

When our tap water in the Vancouver area reads around 10 ppm TDS, the cartridge goes a lot farther.

If you've got 10 ppm tap water readings, there's absalutely no need to do anything to it. Just add salt!

[StirCrazy]

When our tap water in the Vancouver area reads around 10 ppm TDS, the cartridge goes a lot farther.

If you've got 10 ppm tap water readings, there's absolutely no need to do anything to it. Just add salt!

wrong, way out to lunch on this one. we may only have 10 to 20 PPM in our water depending on the time of year but remember that is only metals.

Don't forget about phosphates, algae content (which we have a very high level of due to the mild weather) silicates, ect that are not part of a hardness test.

Victoria/Vancouver water is very soft , has a low PH, but has lots of other junk in it.

Steve

[G1GY]

When our tap water in the Vancouver area reads around 10 ppm TDS, the cartridge goes a lot farther.

If you've got 10 ppm tap water readings, there's absolutely no need to do anything to it. Just add salt!

wrong, way out to lunch on this one. we may only have 10 to 20 PPM in our water depending on the time of year but remember that is only metals.

Don't forget about phosphates, algae content (which we have a very high level of due to the mild weather) silicates, ect that are not part of a hardness test.

Victoria/Vancouver water is very soft , has a low PH, but has lots of other junk in it.

Steve

"Dissolved solids" refer to any minerals, salts, metals, cations or anions dissolved in water. This includes anything present in water other than the pure water (H20) molecule and suspended solids. Suspended solids are any particles/substances that are neither dissolved nor settled in the water.



we may only have 10 to 20 PPM in our water depending on the time of year but remember that is only metals.

Only metals how?

Other disolved solids include Sodium, potassium, Bicarbonates, carbonates, Sulfates, Chloride, Nitrate, Floride, Boron and Silica. All of which are not metals.

[Murminator]

Good ol tap water here :cool:

[kuatto]

Tap water with "Prime".

[Skimmerking]

I use to use RO water on my old er tanks and then switched to RO/DI after after got a awesome deal on a 100 GPD RO/di unit 5 stage. Like RO/DI better .




mike :mrgreen:

[IslandReefer]

When someone posts on the board that they are having algae or toxicity problems with their reef, the first question is : Do you use RO or what?
Several reefs in my area have suffered mysterious "toxins" , one person thought it might be the copper fittings on the Superstore water dispenser, but most remain unsolved and the reefs either died or were rebuilt.
RO water is just one other barrier to accumulating unknown substances in your tank thus helping with extending the lifespan of your reef before the dreaded "old tank syndrome" and gives you uniform quality water . I like it for the peace of mind...and for $100 bucks why risk it?
my 2 cents

[Aquattro]

Other disolved solids include Sodium, potassium, Bicarbonates, carbonates, Sulfates, Chloride, Nitrate, Floride, Boron and Silica. All of which are not metals.

Um, you know sodium is a metal, right? I'm thinking K is also a metal. Many "ides" and "ates" are salts of metals. Just clearing things up a bit :razz:

[dirtyreefer]

But like I said the water that I get from Superstore or Save on is filtered and also says purified using reverse osmosis technology . . .

This is also risky because sometimes grocery stores can neglect changing their RO filter cartridges before they are shot, therefore you may as well be adding tapwater to your tank.