can i get away with tap water?

[magnum629c]

I use tap water all the time and to top off for 3 years now and things are fine. Im happy using tap water but my nitrates are high the only thing i care about is my nitrates. Now will RO water help with nitrates? I mean how high can mine be? from what i hear there is no nitrate in my water. Thanks for ur help!

 

[wachuko]

Hold on to your seat.... lol

tap water is not the way to go... you want the best quality water without anything the water company adds to make it drinkable...

RO/DI water is the way to go... just get a RO/DI filter and make your own water at home.

I am positive that others will chime in...

 

[Andrew]

I've used tap water for over 4 years without problems. Just have to watch your phosphate levels and ect. close. My tap water isn't too bad it's only around 120 ppm on average but I would invest in one for the future.

 

[6 man reef]

Do you have a refugium with cheato? This was the solution for me. Water changes will get the nitrates out of the aquarium.

 

[Aquarist007]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11686847#post11686847 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Andrew
I've used tap water for over 4 years without problems. Just have to watch your phosphate levels and ect. close. My tap water isn't too bad it's only around 120 ppm on average but I would invest in one for the future.

I'm shocked to hear a vetran here is using tap water instead of ro water
Its been drilled into our heads by many experinced reefers not to use it
what about dissovled metals, chlorine etc etc:eek2:

 

[Aquarist007]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11686872#post11686872 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by 6 man reef
Do you have a refugium with cheato? This was the solution for me. Water changes will get the nitrates out of the aquarium.

actually very little nitrates are removed by water changes----don't take my word for it talk to Dr. Randy Holmes-Farley.:smokin:

 

[cardiffgiant]

The TDS (total dissolved solids) out of my RO/DI are 0. TDS out of my tap are about 140. These include metals, trace minerals, nitrates, etc. Some of this junk stays behind when water evaporates from the tank.

I've seen tremendous improvements ever since I started using a RO/DI. When I was using tap I always had algae and nitrate problems.

 

[rjsilvers]

Even if you know the metals, mineral content and everything else about your tap water... Who says its going to be the same tomorrow? There may be a water main break that will introduce crud into your water supply. The water company may all of the sudden decide to add/remove chemicals to clean the water (which they do frequently).

It's not just about just what's in your water today, it's about delivering your fish clean water consistently over the long term. That's why RO/DI water is necessary.

 

[Sk8r]

Only H20 evaporates. Na, Cl, F, K, Cu, thalium, arsenic, phenols, etc, and many other things in solution don't ever leave. The more H20 that has evaporated, the more of all the rest are in your tank, to the end of time. Given sufficient time, some of these will eventually reach lethal levels.
Ro/di consists of only H20, absolutely nothing else.
Draw your own conclusions.

 

[Andrew]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11686885#post11686885 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by capn_hylinur
I'm shocked to hear a vetran here is using tap water instead of ro water
Its been drilled into our heads by many experinced reefers not to use it
what about dissovled metals, chlorine etc etc:eek2:

I've thought about buying one many of times but never have. My tanks have always been fine and I don't have excessive algae or anything. Tap Water is fine it use as long as your ppm is low.

 

[Aquarist007]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11687064#post11687064 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Andrew
I've thought about buying one many of times but never have. My tanks have always been fine and I don't have excessive algae or anything. Tap Water is fine it use as long as your ppm is low.

what if you are getting readings as high as 150 like cardiffgiant

 

[Aquarist007]

oops posted before I wanted to

or what are the tds of the water you are using

(Andrew, I am being completely open minded about this not beligerant)

 

[Sk8r]

We'd all love to use tap. I'd love to just dump it in and add a chemical and be done instead of tending a ro/di for 12 hours to get a barrel full of water.
A very, very few lucky people have perfectly safe water with no surprises in it.
But I don't recommend it. Surprises happen. If it happens in your tank---it's 100%.
And phosphates and nitrates, accounted 'safe' in drinking water, can make your algae problem really, really bad...not to mention copper, other metals, etc, which will do in all inverts including corals.

 

[atvdave]

Re: can i get away with tap water?

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11686760#post11686760 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by magnum629c
I use tap water all the time and to top off for 3 years now and things are fine. Im happy using tap water but my nitrates are high the only thing i care about is my nitrates. Now will RO water help with nitrates? I mean how high can mine be? from what i hear there is no nitrate in my water. Thanks for ur help!

It really all depends on where you live and what is put in the tap water at the treatment plant. I have read that many people up north have very good and clean tap water, but people who live in the mid-west or south have very bad tap water.

The only way to tell is get your tap water tested. TDS reading are not the only test you need.

Also do you plane on keeping coral? if so what type?

 

[CoralCaps]

as dave said it depends on your water source and treatment. I got away with tap water for years but switchd to ro/di just to be safe. after adding up the price of your corals to the cost of a ro/di unit, the cost of the unit is minimal. never know when that water can go south. last year our nitrates topped out at 60 or so, that's baaad.

 

[magnum629c]

They say where I live is one of the best places for clean tap water in the usa. I just want my nitrates to drop and if the tap water dont have any then its just fine for me. Can i test the tap water with my test kit to look for nitrates? I have had a salt tank 3 years and all i ever used was tap water and the tanks fine.

 

[atvdave]

There may be other ways to lower your nitrate levels.

I at one time had nitrates 80 and above. I logged onto RC and found out that most where coming from my foam filters, bio balls and some sponges I had in there to help colonies my system.

What type of filtration do you have? do you run a bio wheel or bio balls?

Please tell us more about your filter system.

 

[Aquarist007]

I agree with atvdave 100 per cent. Using tap water will only compound your problems esp with phosphates
Phosphates are much more of a concern to reefers then nitrates--they impact on the corals--cause browning and the impact on the reef itself--causing growth in nuisance algae
Many reefers have been successful with high level of nitrates without it bother the fish and corals. but there are ways to bring it down so I hope you honour atvdaves request and give us some of the filtration details

 

[AZDesertRat]

Its very hard to respond to a thread like this.
You can probably "get away" with toilet water but thats not the idea here. You want to provide the best possible environment for your tanks inhabitants so getting away with anything is not wise. You can possibly go for years but what about when that storm hits, the runoff is excessive and the parking lot down the street drains all the oil on its surface into the intake of the treatment plant with no one noticing? Guess whats gonna happen to your tank? It happens all the time.
Look right here in Scottsdale AZ last week where a water system had a failure and TCE entered the distribution system causing a no drink order. It happens all over the country. You never know day to day or hour to hour what you are getting and its not worth the risk when you can spend $150 and eliminate that risk forever with just a few dollars maintenance a year.

Getting away with it is not what you want to do, doing the right thing is much more satisfying. We are the keepers of what may one day become endangered species so lets make sure we do the best job we can.

 

[lwaxman]

what about going to the grocery store and getting ro water or distilled water