tap water
 

Does anyone have success in keeping coral reef tank with just tap water?

a discussion people on here have had many times! yes. i only use tap-water my reef tank is fine! search around and see what you can find.

I use tap water but I'm going to do the ro/di route down the road just to eliminate tds and such from any problems encountered down the road..

I use tap water. Without issue

I use tap water. But also ro/Di but I have success. It all depends on the quality of you tap water. Mine has some crap in it so I try to use ro when possible.

Most area's have ground water test reports. Check out your city page and they should have some. You can see what the TDS is, as well as more tests than we run in our tanks. Most places around here the ground water is good, and the stuff that's actually in there is also in our salt mixes, making it very good. I run RODI because after a couple lead and copper pipes I'm worried about my houses contamination in the water.

I use tap water but the lower mainland has really good tap water under 10 tds

I use tap water too, it fine for my sps but i have algaes

I always had an algae problem when I used tap water. There used to be a guy on here who lived in the N part of Calgary ( different water source ) who used tap water and prime. He had a nice little mixed reef.

Here's the thing. Yes, you can use tap water. Especially in Van, the water is very soft and pretty good quality. You may get nutrients going into the tank to cause algae, you may not.
But with a water distribution system so large, the room for something going wrong, like introduced contaminates, is fairly possible. You wouldn't know it unless it was really bad (I remember Kelowna in 97 had to boil water for a few months) and there was a public announcement. But a mild issue, coming from a broken main near a gas station, could wipe out your whole reef. If' you've got a little nano with 2 corals, maybe you want to take that risk.
For me, I've got thousands of dollars worth of SPS. I'm not going to risk losing it all by using an unknown factor. Our water is really good here too, almost all of the time. But what if?
A RO unit is a couple hundred bucks, tops. Half that for used. I think that's a pretty good insurance policy.
In emergencies, I've used tap water for a water change. Nothing bad happened. No algae. But....what if just once there was a contaminant in the public water that was toxic to corals? That's not something I want to encounter!
Lots of people do it, and I guess it's personal choice based on what your corals are worth and the level of risk you're comfortable taking.
Also, keep in mind that household plumbing does contain copper, and can leech it slowly into your system.

+100

I have only been in the hobby for a year and just in the last few months have aquired Sps. And now that the tank is worth as much as it is I will be getting ro. My worry isn't everyday water but during spring breakup when water quality goes down. I would cry if I lost my reef.

I check my tap water in Langley every once in while, and most times it is near 50. I know here they also use ground water, so maybe our water isn't quite as good as elsewhere in Metro Vancouver.

But what really surprised me just recently, is when I changed my 10 micron sediment filter (1st filter). It is usually brown, but this time (after about 4 months use) it was also covered with a brown/reddish slime. My flow had suddenly slowed, which is the usual clue to change that filter, but I have never seen it this bad.

So my guess is that sometimes the water quality may vary, for some reason, maybe because of construction in the area. But at least my RO/DI filter always does the job, where the final water is 0 or 1 at worst.

I have a before and after TDS meter on my filter system to measure RO output and DI separately. Usually my RO water is 0 or 1, but it does rise to 4 or 5 sometimes (DI still mostly 0). Then I open my RO flush and DI bypass valves for about 10 minutes or so, and the RO goes back to 0 or 1 after that.

What is the benifit of DI. Is RO enough

DI is the final step to get it down to 0 consistently. When it gets used up (resin color changes), the final output may be 1 or higher, and then you have to change it.

I have been looking at different models and I see 5 stage and 7 stage. Is the seven just a longer lasting system. Sorry for my ignoance.

I use the 75 gpd Typhoon III model here, but with a few extra features, incl before/after TDS meters, 2 pressure tanks (so you can get quick flow for about 5 gals or so) and a pressure meter.
http://www.airwaterice.com/category/1/

A couple things I really like about it are; clear canisters to check on filters, flush and bypass valves (prolongs life of RO memebrane), the meters, separate RO line for drinking water, and the pressure tanks for quick flow (great feature). And the filters are just all standard which you can buy anywhere.

I don't think you need a 7 stage system unless you have really bad water.

Thank you. My TDS is 127. But it's coming on spring. So there is dirty runoff

If it's really bad, your sediment filter (1st one) will have to be changed more frequently.

Reef Pilot - thanks for the info on Langley water. I just moved here in December and am amazed at how quickly my RO/DI unit got dirty. I could go over a year on Vancouver Island without giving the unit a second thought. I don't have an inline TDS meter but think I'm going to have to spring for one.

Yes. Never have, never will use RO/DI.

Treat with prime or aqua vitro and thats it.

I am anti-RO.

6 years and counting, no tap water issues. No algae blooms thats everyone swears I should have.

Marketing convinces people that its required.... so do sales people. Lots of hooey.

Tap water is fine.

Here is a link to a poll I posted. More people NOT using RO.

http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=82866

This is something I don't believe.

I have never had issues with spring run off dooming a tank. Who is spreading this crud around????

You wont lose your reef. I never have.

Geez.

Usually my sediment filter lasts 6 - 8 months before I change it, but this time only about 4 months, and it was really dirty. Not sure why, as I never noticed anything different with the tap water.

That's quite the bold statement! :) You're right, spring runoff likely won't cause any issues other than increased tannins in the water. And maybe lots of animal droppings. And the oil hillbilly Bob dumped upstream from the reservoir. But you're probably ok. So far you haven't lost your reef, so the chances it would ever happen to anyone on the planet are pretty slim. almost zip, I'd say. But.....for a little bit more money on top of everything you've spent, you could guarantee nothing bad would come from the water.

:twised:

Just sayin' :razz:

Just tested my tap water, and it is at 67 right now, so a bit on the high side.

Keep saying it. ha ha!

If my tank crashes in the spring due to run off, Ill eat this thread. :drinking:

K thanks.
I'll keep a eye on water. I haven't had issue yet.

Well, you probably won't have to eat any thread. Very unlikely to kill your reef with tap water. And if it did, you could just buy new corals. Sure, way more money than a RO unit, but it's probably not going to be an issue. Probably.
I'm sure that nobody in the history of water has ever tossed anything into a public source. The planet never builds aquifers near veins of copper. Seagulls make sure they don't poop in water (very polite birds). Agricultural run off only goes into non public water (well, except for that Kelowna example I gave). So I'm sure you're fine. I can almost guarantee it. almost. probably.unlikely. Not reassuring words for my coral. So for what, 5% of my total coral stock, I CAN guarantee, to much more comfortable level, that water will not introduce bad things into my tank.
I have enough chemistry going on in the reef I can't control, I'm going to make sure that I control the ones I can.
But your reef is safe. After all, it's never crashed. :razz:

My tap water has been yellow numerous times, I don't think my tank could survive without RO. Not having to treat the water prior and add things like prime, which I find disturbs skimming, is also a bonus. I also enjoy the clean drinking water, drinking tap water has now become a difficult task.

If I lived in ultra low TDS areas I'd probably not worry too much about an RO and stick with a basic sediment filter back.

While I realize beauty is in the eye of the beholder I personally haven't been overly impressed with tanks running tap water long term in areas with high TDS (while I have to admit I have seen one or two). So I think when we speak about success regarding what's needed and what's not it's a very opinionated subject. So to state you don't need something may be true but to state you'll have success depends on how one defines it.

You sure about that? I count 26 to 12 overall in favour of RO and zero "deluxe" systems with tap water....