help! help! need some water?

S

sadsak

New member
Would anyone know were I could get some water or a substitute like distilled water or something ...All of the shops we know of seem to be closed... And with the new house and start of a new job I have let my water run out and soon the sump/ pump will soon blow those evil little bubles ! Any help or ideas would be greatly appreciated!
 
Wayne: Do you have any 2 litre or gallon sized bottles? Fill with tap water, cap off and place in sump. They will help raise the water level.

I can give you 10gs if you need it, but im a long way from you
 
Honestly, for a one time quick fix, I would just let some tap water sit for a while (overnight is good) to let chlorine evaporate, and then use it. Your tank will likely be fine with a one time topoff of evil tap water.

Then just run to the store on Wednesday.
 
You can always run up to places like WalMart and get Distilled Water. Modern methods of distillation use glass and not copper. Also, I second what both Pauls say :) If you want to do something to get you by, pwhitby has the answer. If you want something done now, captbunzo has the answer. If you run up to WalMart in the pet section they also have a dechlorinator that you can use. FWIW, I've been running my tank on Tap Water for over a year now. I'm still looking forward to getting an RO/DI unit though.
 
Good thought, Travis, I forgot that.

You know, someday I would love to do a secret study on the water sold at different LFS sold in the OKC area. I recently compared values for the Ardmore area. Here are the results from measuring with my TDS meter.

   Ardmore Tap Water = 184
   Ardmore LFS RODI = 29
   Ardmore Walmart = 7

The LFS sells RODI water. The local walmart sells culligen water that is RO, UV, Distilled, whatever. And it is pretty darn good.
 
The RO water I used to get from Walmart was typically 60-70 tds. That should be fine for short term. I can produce about 5 gallons an hour and have 3 - 5 gallon bottles of 0 TDS water if you are still in need.

Tony
 
Tony I think i have it handled ! Thank You very much I'ts nice to see all of my fellow reefers have our backs when we need it thank you everyone .


Interesting about the tds of water locally and Ardmore this could be a huge study that could benifit many many people!
 
That brings up a question. I should know the answer but I don't. What is the big deal against TAP water mixed with Salt mix for tanks?

I am on Well Water and it is typically 160 ppm carbonate hardness. When I make up for lost volume I will use distilled water but for initial mixing I will just use the tap water.
 
Phosphates which feed all kinds of algae blooms is the major problem I have seen using tap water. That may even be more of a problem with well water because you don't usually have anything more than a particle filter in the water.
 
Well if phosphates are the only worry then I wont worry, my water is loaded with phosphates but I have never had an algeal bloom in SW, I do FW but never SW, probably because I am addicted to fuges and believe every SW needs one of 10 gal or more.
 
No, there are many things that come in tap water that are legal, but still not good for your tank. Many heavy metals such as copper and iron (which can be good) and silica, organics such as ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and phosphate, and a bunch of other things such as chlorine and chloramine. Just get a report from your water local water source to see what they carry in the tap water. Your well water will be different, but at least you will know what is in the tap water. Your well water has a chance of being better, but most likely carries a heavier amount of metals in them. A TDS meter will be able to tell how unpure your water is. It won't be able to tell you what is in the water though. Just the "Total Dissolved Solids".
 
If I brought some tap water to the meeting would someone have a TDS meter to measure it.

I did the standard well test kit that measure for unacceptable metals and other polutants and it came back clean.
 
the problem is not the quantity in the tap or well water but the fact that any substance in the water will accumulate with evaporation of that water in the tank.

A good RODI unit is cheap. Its easily one of the best investments you can make on your tank.
 
I will bring my TDS meter to the meeting.

As Paul says,
"A good RODI unit is cheap. Its easily one of the best investments you can make on your tank."

Or you can buy 3 or 4 cheap units and cobble together a decent one and learn lots about ebay at the same time...

Tony
 
I have a quick question. A TDS meter will test everything, right? That mean Chlorine/Chloramine, correct? If so, how much Chlorine could evaporate before you get the water tested? I guess I'm asking how far off could the test be? I'm thinking about bringing many samples to the meeting to see what is happening with my water. I know I'm not having any problems, but I'm just curious.
 
Travis,
The answer to your TDS Meter question:

Total dissolved solids (TDS) are the total weight of all solids (minerals, salts or metals) that are dissolved in a given volume of water expressed in milligrams per liter (mg/L), or in parts per million (PPM).

17 PPM of TDS = 1 grain of hardness.

Some dissolved solids come from organic sources such as leaves, silt, plankton, and industrial waste and sewage. Other sources come from runoff from urban areas, road salts used on street during the winter, and fertilizers and pesticides used on lawns and farms. Dissolved solids also come from inorganic materials such as rocks and air that may contain calcium bicarbonate, nitrogen, iron phosphorous, sulfur, and other minerals. Many of these materials form salts, which are compounds that contain both a metal and a nonmetal. Salts usually dissolve in water forming ions. Ions are particles that have a positive or negative charge. Water may also pick up metals such as lead or copper as they travel through pipes used to distribute water to consumers.

In general, the total dissolved solids concentration is the sum of the cations (positively charged) and anions (negatively charged) ions in the water.


The extent of my knowledge ends here (& my Chemistry book), I'll leave the rest to more capable people.

Ray
 
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