first reef, is tapwater safe in a starter nano?

midgetwaiter · #1 07-04-2006, 06:04 AM

I'll second Andy's comments, reef central is great but obviously oblivious to local conditions and there is a bit of a tendency to toe the old party line at times.

Tap water has never caused me any obvious issues with my fish only tanks and I've been keeping corals in it for about 2 years now. I've never taken a shot at any really demanding stuff but I know of a few people who have had some success with SPS in tap water as well. I'm not sure if any of that was the really picky stuff though.

kwirky · #2 07-04-2006, 06:58 AM

learn the basics lol. yeah, i had to fight to get the specific gravity right in the tank before I went out to buy the liverock. I think the key thing I had to learn was giving it time to dissolve. Doesn't dissolve quickly like cichlid buffers do. I guess what's why salt hobbyists have powerheads to mix their water.

I've only got the liverock in so far, and already it's pretty exciting. Found 3 crabs, and I moved them into the fuge/sump so I can decide later if I want to keep 'em or not. And I burried a little pump in behind the liverock to prevent deadspots, but I know I'm going to regret it later possibly if the pump's impeller goes or something. You can arrange rockwork just so, and if you have to move a piece, you'll never get it back to how you liked it

what's the kH in your guys' tanks? Mine's at 200ppm, don't know if that's high or not. Increased pH = decreased margin for error. The tank's pH is at 8.3, and I guess I'll find out in a couple days if it'll go up.

danny zubot · #3 07-04-2006, 06:43 PM

Quote:

what's the kH in your guys' tanks? Mine's at 200ppm, don't know if that's high or not. Increased pH = decreased margin for error. The tank's pH is at 8.3, and I guess I'll find out in a couple days if it'll go up

200 ppm is an unfamiliar measurement for me (as most of us). Does your test have a variety of measurement options? We usually use Meq/L, which might equivilate to ppm some how. But the best used measurement is D/Kh, (degrees of Carbonate hardness) which most people range from 8-12 D/Kh I think.

8.3 is fine for PH, I doubt it will go up if your tank is still cycling, watch for a drop once the No3 peaks. Normal ranges are 7.9-8.3.

fortheloveofcrabs · #4 07-04-2006, 09:54 PM

I think the short answer should be 'no - tap water is not okay'. It's only a 33gal, buy water for it at a grocery store. Just my 2 cents though.....

TheReefGeek · #5 07-04-2006, 10:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fortheloveofcrabs

I think the short answer should be 'no - tap water is not okay'. It's only a 33gal, buy water for it at a grocery store. Just my 2 cents though.....

I agree, until you can save up for an RO/DI unit, buy distilled from the grocery store. Why risk it when for your volume of water it is cheap to use non-tap water.

midgetwaiter · #6 07-04-2006, 10:57 PM

Here's a link that converts between the different methods of measuring alk, you're in good shape.

http://ozreef.org/library/tables/alk...onversion.html

crabs and reefgeek, I've lived in both cities and the water in Calgary is much cleaner than Edmonton. It doesn't get as cruddy during run off and such either.

Long term an R/O unit is a requirement but there are a lot of people doing simpler setups with tap.

TheReefGeek · #7 07-04-2006, 11:38 PM

I would think a simpler system, and smaller ones, are more suseptible to problems, so it is more important to use filtered water.

For the cost of distilled water from the grocery store, why not?

Johnny Reefer · #8 07-05-2006, 03:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by danny zubot

200 ppm is an unfamiliar measurement for me (as most of us). Does your test have a variety of measurement options? We usually use Meq/L, which might equivilate to ppm some how. But the best used measurement is D/Kh, (degrees of Carbonate hardness) which most people range from 8-12 D/Kh I think.

200ppm x 0.056 = 11.2˚ dKH
200ppm x 0.02 = 4 meq/L

I agree with Danny's range of 8-12 dKH and your's falls within this.

Cheers

,

kwirky · #9 07-15-2006, 05:48 AM

haha woops. I forgot I posted this...

I've been buying RO water for the past few water changes actually. $2 for 5 gallons. use 4 gallons for the change, stock pile 1 gallon for top-off/future use. This little system is real touchy on it's water quality, as I've learned already.

And I'm in the process of upgrading my lighting from 36W of coralife crappylight minis to 150W of PFO HQI, and phosphates/excess nitrates are a no-no.

10 watts per gallon is enough, right?