Starting with treated tap water??

M

Mando89

New member
Hello everyone,
If you haven't noticed I'm new to this hobby. Right now i have not bought anything, just trying to get all the info i can just to make my first tank as best as possible. I have been seeing on youtube that their are people using tap water and treating them to add the saltwater to add to the tank. I was thinking about starting with only fish live rock and live sand. Tank size i was looking at getting would probably be 125GAL. I do understand that this will be a long process before i even add live stock to my aquarium. Looking forward to read any advuce you have for me. Thanks in advance
 
Do yourself a favor and invest into an RO system, not just for the tank but also for drinking and cooking water. Under the sink units are to have for less than $200 these days and easy to install yourself. For tank use you may also want to add a DI stage.
With tapwater you are likely to get a lot of unwanted side effects in the tank and all kinds of algae issues are almost guaranteed. And algae are a problem even in a fish only system.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk
 
What the government rates as ok for us to drink isn't always safe for fish to swim in, because in some ways they're more sensitive than we are. Some water is better than others. Remember a 50 gallon tank may evaporate a gallon a day (not a bad thing: it's useful in some regards) but that means that that tank has bad minerals as well as minerals and chemicals you want in there, and evaporation concentrates it. You will put MORE fresh water into your tank to keep that salt balance steady, and that also should be ro/di. When you use ro/di water, your water starts with 0 chemicals in it besides hydrogen and oxygen. When you add salt mix you are getting a balance of minerals in the same amounts seawater would have. If you start your tank with conditioned tap water, even if you never use any more, you've still added stuff that is going to last for months, because solids like minerals just don't ever evaporate---only the h2 and o does.

One way of thinking is that you need to treat that tank as you would a fish---a little delicate, more robust than you think, but definitely, by the time you cycle, a living system---an actually living and healthy creature whose health and resources support absolutely everything else in good health. It digests waste, it dissolves minerals for your fish to absorb, it balances in a way that aids fishy bodies to eat and drink (yep, they do it constantly) something healthy and good for them. Same with the corals.
 
Last edited:
Sk8r said:
What the government rates as ok for us to drink isn't always safe for fish to swim in, because in some ways they're more sensitive than we are. ...
Click to expand...

Sometimes, or possibly even often, it is also not safe for humans to drink, or in extreme cases, not even safe bathe or shower with - see Hinkley, Flint,...
 
ThRoewer said:
Do yourself a favor and invest into an RO system, not just for the tank but also for drinking and cooking water. Under the sink units are to have for less than $200 these days and easy to install yourself. For tank use you may also want to add a DI stage.
With tapwater you are likely to get a lot of unwanted side effects in the tank and all kinds of algae issues are almost guaranteed. And algae are a problem even in a fish only system.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Ok so my next question is, is there an RO/DI system i can just connect to my kitchen faucet and disconnect when i dont use it. Its just installing this system into my kitchen faucet is going to be a headache. I am even considering using distilled water.
 
An alternative is to buy the RO water in canisters from your LFS. But that will cost you quickly just as much as the RO unit and is on top of that a real hassle.
 
Mando89 said:
Ok so my next question is, is there an RO/DI system i can just connect to my kitchen faucet and disconnect when i dont use it. Its just installing this system into my kitchen faucet is going to be a headache. I am even considering using distilled water.
Click to expand...

They do make units that will screw onto your kitchen faucet.

Could you hook it up near your washing machine? I use a "Y" connector with on/off valves so I can keep the water to my washer on at all times and turn the RO/DI on when needed to fill my containers.
 
LoveReefer said:
They do make units that will screw onto your kitchen faucet...
Click to expand...

Yes, my BRS system came with that and several other adaptors. Though it isn't really a practical solution long term and especially not in the kitchen.

The laundry area may be a better place if you just use it for the tank.
 
You can forget using distilled water with a tank of the size you are considering.
I use distilled for my 2 tanks as well as top off BUT both neither tank is over 20g so its a safe cheap alternative that only costs me $5 a week for both in pure water.

RODI will be a must have if you want min hassle, long term low cost & everything at home convenient.
 
If you've never plumbed in your life, it's dead easy to replace the cold water laundry faucet with a Y that has 2 faucets, one to your washing machine, the other to your ro/di. All you need is a couple of rubber washers to be sure of no leaks, and some plumbers tape (wrap it to go WITH the screw-on thread!) to be sure the Y-faucet connection is firmly screwed and leakproof. You can also run your waste-water hose into your washing machine and use that slightly more mineralized discard water (perfectly drinkable, actually) as washwater.

And while no copper connector is safe with your salt water tank, it is ok to use copper/brass with the pre-ro/di fresh water faucet, because a) fresh water isn't an aggressive dissolver of copper and b) your ro/di takes care of dissolved stuff.
 
I got
Mine from Melevsreef. Everything included with options to hook up to waterline or go to kitchen sink. RO/DI system. Best investment I've made so far!
e819fb6a264f1015c0fe1b799b6c9be9.jpg



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