Tap ok for a fish only tank? (w/ live rock)

[iamwrasseman]

i would suggest that you use ro/di water for any saltwater fish or reef tank as the hair algae issue is just so hard to defeat if you use the tap .its good exercise running up and down stairs with 45lb buckets of water anyway .

 

[Steve Canyon]

I remember a thread not too long ago in which we learned that one of the premier Reef Shop (s) in the area doesn't even use ro/di. The quote offered was "I'd rather sell it." I think that statement alone says a lot.

 

[lcs]

I think it depends on the quality of your tap water.

Here's the link to the report on the Monroe County Water Authority's website. You get your water from Shoremont, the first one. TDS is up there (of course) and nitrates are at 10ppm (mg/L). I almost went with tap for my tank, but I wasn't comfortable with the fact there is no level shown for phosphates. I meant to call, but never did.
http://www.mcwa.com/pdf/2009-AWSS-Data-Table.pdf

 

[johno4]

Thanks for all of the feedback so far. I think I'll go with keeping it simple to start out with and just use tap and switch to RO if the need arises.



John, I'm actually avoiding a coral cat as they reportedly bite at the fish more. There are at least three species of Bamboo's that stay on the smaller end that I'm currently keeping an eye out for:
Chiloscyllium griseum = 29" max (located a source online but have LFS looking also)
Chiloscyllium arabicum = 27" max (avg 20-24")
Chiloscyllium hasseltii = 24" max

I definately could not bring myself to get one of the commonly available C. punctatum or C. plagiosum for this tank. A few have tried to talk me into it saying it'd be fine for years but I'd like whatever I get to be fine for life.

If you could get one of those that would be nice. I wanted a C. arabicum but could never find one. Again as far a tap water goes, you will be fine. I have been using it for 8 years on my fowlr tanks. Cant wait to see this get set up and running:thumbsup:

 

[dreaminmel]

Thanks! It may take a few months but I'll be sure to post pics of the progress once there is some.

 

[jag2232]

I ran my first tank on tap water and it was FO. I never really had a problem with algae but i just had standard fluorescent lighting.

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

I think it depends on the quality of your tap water.

Here's the link to the report on the Monroe County Water Authority's website. You get your water from Shoremont, the first one. TDS is up there (of course) and nitrates are at 10ppm (mg/L). I almost went with tap for my tank, but I wasn't comfortable with the fact there is no level shown for phosphates. I meant to call, but never did.
http://www.mcwa.com/pdf/2009-AWSS-Data-Table.pdf

tip: (we've covered this here before in the past)

disregard this report. It's averaged. Tap can and does fluctuate from day to day. We have some of the finest tapwater in the USA right here but (IMO) it's still not good enough for reef aquaria. Great for FO and FOWLR's though.

 

[Steve Canyon]

Here's a pic of my 180 at just about the one year mark. No algae, but I did get a bit of fuzzy whitish on the back glass. The bio load was not at the high point at this point in time, but the conditions were no different then. Only a few leathers (cabbage, palys, zoes,...) and a couple eels, damsels,... were in the tank at this point. I attribute the good circulation, low light and used reef aquarium water changes as the key. As a note, I KNOW the reef water had HIGH phos levels. Probably in excess of 1.0, maybe even 2.5! Low nit, zero ammonia. 520 Cal, 11 Alk, 1500 Mag, 8.0-8.2ph, ....

 

[tmz]

Good luck with the tank Mel. It should be ok with your tap but I would personally use the ro/di. Overcautious, perhaps.