The LFS owner gave him that advice because he really doesn't need to, Calgary is an unusual case in this regard.

I agree with a copper idea but not from the plumbing. if you run your water for a min or two befor you fill you are not going to get any copper from the pipes. now he has had the rock for 10 years where did he get it from then and has he ever had coraline. if it was from a fish only tank it could have been treated with copper or some lfs might have given him bad info to treat with copper based products for a problem. more history is needed here. the cloramine in the tap water might be a factor also.

Steve

reply
 

I don't really agree with this statement, can you please elaborate?

It's pretty simple.

There isn't very much chlorine in the water because it is pretty clean to start with. Chlorine will not remain in solution very long, agitate the water a bit or let it stand overnight and it's gone. Get a test kit and try it.

Chloramine does stay in the water but they don't use it here.

reply
 

How long is long though? Long enough to negatively effect corals?

It would depend on the temperature of the water and the exact amount of chlorine, etc. My opinion, by the time you have mixed salt completely it should be gone. Small amounts of water added for top up wouldn't make a difference.

If it makes you feel better go ahead and treat your water. It's probably a good idea, DeChlor and such things are cheap and you never know what the city is going to do. In certain situations they do boost the amount of chlorine they add so better safe than sorry. You can usually predict when they're going to do that and personally I can smell the difference easily so I'll take action when I need to.

There's just no way that this is the reason for your friend's problem though, the chlorine doesn't stick around that long.

reply
 

I wasn't aware that chlorine evaporated that quickly, or that Calgary doesn't add chloramine to their water.

I personally use RODI water because of all of the other nasties that are found in tap water. Such as heavy metals. I have noticed a positive difference in my corals because of it, and it tastes better.:mrgreen:

Besides chlorine and high TDS there are some other inorganics that could maybe build up.

Inorganic Substances
___________Unit____ Calgary Water_________ Limit
Aluminum -----mg/L ------0.013 - 0.214 -----------0.1
Arsenic -------mg/L ------< 0.0005 ---------------< 0.025
Cadmium ------mg/L ------< 0.0005 ---------------< 0.005
Calcium -------mg/L -------39.8 - 69.9 ------------no limit
Chromium -----mg/L ------< 0.0005 - 0.0016 -------0.05
Copper --------mg/L ------< 0.001 - 0.003 -------< 1.0
Fluoride -------mg/L --------0.62 - 0.80 ------------1.5
Iron -----------mg/L ------< 0.100 ---------------< 0.3
Lead ----------mg/L ------< 0.0005 ----------------0.01
Magnesium ----mg/L --------10.6-18.1 -----------no limit
Mercury -------mg/L ------< 0.00002 --------------0.001
Nickel ---------mg/L -----< 0.0005 - 0.0011 ------no limit
Potassium -----mg/L -------0.461 - 1.636 --------no limit
Sodium --------mg/L -------2.24 - 7.84 ---------< 200
Zinc -----------mg/L -----< 0.001 - 0.003 -------< 5.0

Sorry for my crappy table.

reply
 

Yup, there's a few in there that I wouldn't want building up in my water.

do those water changes...