Big Mistake?

P

plowro8

In Memoriam
I ran out of RO filtered water and couldn't get to the LFS for a few days, so I topped off a few times with bottled "filtered spring water". The jug doesn't indicate if it's RO filtered or not, but a day or so after using the spring water I noticed a few of my fish hiding and acting very sluggish. My tank is 36 gallons and I would say I've used about a gallon or so of the spring water. Did I screw up?
 
I agree with auburnreefer110, I highly doubt the anything in the water is causing issues. However, the pH and temperature of the water could have been different and that may be causing an issue, but I highly doubt one gallon added to 36 is enough water to cause an issue.
 
I have a 36 gallon reef tank and I use tap water, ( 3-4 gallon WC every week) so I don't think using a gallon of spring water would cause a problem.
 
Check your salinity after you pour your tap water in. also check your chloride level from you tap water. The level of chloride in the tap water may be higher in some area.
 
Temperature shouldn't be a variable here at all for 1G out of 36. Wouldn't even drop it by a degree unless maybe it was ice cold.
 
I doubt it but some spring water can have pretty heavy chemicals so it could be. I would check to be sure if it is ok but I've always been told to use distilled in a pinch.
 
vlangel said:
I have a 36 gallon reef tank and I use tap water, ( 3-4 gallon WC every week) so I don't think using a gallon of spring water would cause a problem.
Click to expand...

Some areas have different TDS. It can be extremely detrimental to your tank if you have high TDS in your tap water and you are using that for top off/water changes. Of course, not all areas have high TDS.

As for the OPs question, bottled water contains all sorts of minerals that are suited for our needs, but not an aquarium. You may end up with some nuisance algae growth if you continue to use bottled water. Distilled water is ok, but adds nothing to the tank since everything is stripped from it. So basically your system gets nothing that it needs to thrive.
 
If you're going to use bottled water, pick a "manufactured" RO brand like Dasani (coke) or Aquafina (pepsi) instead of spring water (for use in an aquarium.. for drinking I'd do the opposite).

I've used Aquafina before. It was fine. I believe I measured the TDS at like 4.
 
I use distilled water. TDS is 0 on the meter. The kids accidentally bought drinking water, TDS was 14. Makes a difference.
 
I decided to purchase a RODI unit... probably the best investment I've made to date with this hobby. Anyone reading this who doesn't have one, you owe it to yourself to spend the $130 or so and get one!
 
You really don't know what is in the water you added. I would invest in an RO/DI unit and for now, add some Amquel Plus to your tank to hopefully counteract what may have been in the water.
 
I have been using distilled water for my top off for a couple of yrs and no issues at all. So try it if you get in a pinch
 
I don't think anyone should use tap water regularly. That being said, a bit of it won't do harm if it's added once or twice over a long period. If you're really concerned about it, the grocery stores usually sell RO water, mind you it's not normally DI, but is still sufficient.
 
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