Tap Water in SF

[reefer on a budget]

Alex Jim (bookfish) used to run all his prop systems on EBMUD tap water and his stuff was top shelf

gresham. thats a good one. u can also say that sky vodka and cuervo are on that very same "top shelf" lol i sure can grow some rare macro algaes in a tap water nutrient rich tank.

 

[patrickb]

@reefer on budget--I have not once used RODI. All of my top off and water changes comes straight from the tap with some Prime Dechlorinator added. Here is what my tank looks like:
http://ericdo.com/pictures/BAR/Tank tour_120609/Patrick/D2X_6656.jpg

I do have some algae issues but no more than anyone else. Using SF tapwater is the way to go!

 

[GreshamH]

gresham. thats a good one. u can also say that sky vodka and cuervo are on that very same "top shelf" lol i sure can grow some rare macro algaes in a tap water nutrient rich tank.

I guess you forgot what Jim's corals looked like back then. As some one that knows corals I can assure you his had intense colors and grew gangbusters. As with anything you need to take what people post with a grain of salt, but given you know me and know I know corals, why would you make such a comment?

BTW... I do have to call you a quitter since you gave up on the hobby :lol:

 

[reefer on a budget]

I guess you forgot what Jim's corals looked like back then. As some one that knows corals I can assure you his had intense colors and grew gangbusters. As with anything you need to take what people post with a grain of salt, but given you know me and know I know corals, why would you make such a comment?

BTW... I do have to call you a quitter since you gave up on the hobby :lol:

im amazed on how nice patricks tank is if he truly is using 100% tap water. how long has that tank been running for? colors are awesome but i would be careful to bank on tap water long term as you do not have control over what is going into your tank w/out your own filtration obviously. dechlorinator doesnt take care of the stuff that nukes tanks.

gresh..
not that i dont remember what his corals looked like..its just from the pics nothing really stood out so thats not to say his corals looked great in person as i have never seen his tank ever. all i remember from a few of his pics were a lot of macroalgae so i took your wink as sarcasm hence my comments. u reefers are so sensitive. LOL

i wouldnt call it so much a quiter..i just moved on to other things and have enjoyed the extra time and thicker wallet from not getting consumed in this hobby and believe me, i was as deep into this hobby as the best of them. ill just enjoy reefs from a distance from other ppl's tanks.

 

[650-IS350]

He's not a quiter, he's a lurker...
Just messing with you, how are the cars doing?

 

[patrickb]

Tanks been going for about 2 years now. Everything started out as frags and all the fish are captive bred. I also made my own live rock using the GARF method and the sand is all aragonite mined in Florida. The theme of my tank was to use nothing from the ocean (at least not directly since everything came from the ocean one way or another).

 

[650-IS350]

I've seen Pat's tank a while back when I was picking up some Nudi's. can't tell he's using tap and tank looks good.

 

[reefer on a budget]

He's not a quiter, he's a lurker...
Just messing with you, how are the cars doing?

yeah..im that too. haha
the car is doing good and actually a finished project. here is an O.T pic

 

[chowberg]

resurrecting an ancient post. does anyone use tap?

i'm asking because i recently started a tank and will be been buying RO/DI

 

[EnderTurtle]

Wow you did ressurect an old thread.


I know someone in San Mateo that uses tap water for their mixed reef tank with acros.

They're having good success.


I knew someone in San Francisco who was happily using tap water with no issues but recently switched to RODI because of phosphate/nitrate issues.

I know someone in Fremont who had to add tap water to top off his tank because he didn't have time to get RODI. He's having phosphate/nitrate/hair algae issues.


I'll be sticking with RODI water

 

[chowberg]

Haha - just curious how SF tap might have changed over the years. As the thread stated, the tap water cleanliness varies over time. I was wondering what the tap water reads now.

I'll be sticking to RO/DI too. Just wondering if this was still a practice.

Wow you did ressurect an old thread.


I know someone in San Mateo that uses tap water for their mixed reef tank with acros.

They're having good success.


I knew someone in San Francisco who was happily using tap water with no issues but recently switched to RODI because of phosphate/nitrate issues.

I know someone in Fremont who had to add tap water to top off his tank because he didn't have time to get RODI. He's having phosphate/nitrate/hair algae issues.


I'll be sticking with RODI water

 

[najluni15]

The san Francisco water supply is still primarily if not entirely hetch hetchy water with low overall TDS. However, it is also stored locally in reservoirs such as crystal springs and calavares where the water quality tends to degrade. I'm not on the hetch hetchy system so I don't know specific water quality info but although it is not the best solution, it is better than most tap water supplies (the water is still treated before distribution which adds some TDS and other constituents. Especially if it is distributed through old pipes or coppers pipes which could leach and be harmful to inverts)