tap water user?

baldomero

New member
hey guys my question is ive been using tap since day one on my tank and i can seriously say ive never had a problem. its a fowlr,but within the past month or so i decided to put in a few mushrooms,polyps,suncorals,and some other corals ive bought from my fish guy.anyway since adding those i stopped using tap instead ive been buying ro water from the store or using fresh ocean saltwater for my top offs and waterchanges. more ro than ocean water.and ive been noticing more brown stains on the glass and sand that i clean almost everyday. anyone know why
 
Not sure about the brown appearing on your glass but, you should not use saltwater for topoffs unless you are trying to raise your salinity.
 
I think your culprit is excess nutrients. I had the same problem on my 10 gallon, especially when I increased my bioload and feeding. It especially sucks when you get pieces of food trapped in your liverock and they slowly decay, paving the road for algae blooms.
 
i thought that usually brown on the sand is cyano, however not sure without pics. There is a chance that having bought RO water, you may have inadvertently added some aldae spores that got through the ro machine wherever you bough it.

What sized tank? Would it pay for you to get your own RO for your house?
 
my tank is a 150gallon and it could happen with the bought store water but it comes in gallons already so i doubt it would be bad.
 
Did you change anything with your lights?
Gosh, I would never think of adding real ocean water to a tank...who knows what you night bring in...(just me). Agree with another post, maybe increased bioload is the culprit.
 
The real ocean water is the problem most likely. You've introduced algae and maybe bacteria. Do some water changes, and only use the RO/DI. Running a carbon filter and a phosphate filter right now would help remediate the problem.
 
When you use tap water the H2O (water) evaporates but any chemicals in the water stay in your tank. Even with excellent tap water you can go on for years. but eventually the buildup of other chemicals will overwhelm your tank.

When I hear about people using tap water who say their tank has done well for years but all of a sudden the tank is going down the problem is obvious. Natural saltwater isn't the problem, nor is the RO, using tap water has finally caught up to you.

I would suggest using polyfilter in your system to remove unwanted chemicals.

jmo
 
Get some pictures up if you can, but I highly doubt that this is from an accumulation of chemicals in tap water... Have you changed anything else in your system? Flow? Moved rocks around? Etc...
 
When you use tap water the H2O (water) evaporates but any chemicals in the water stay in your tank. Even with excellent tap water you can go on for years. but eventually the buildup of other chemicals will overwhelm your tank.

When I hear about people using tap water who say their tank has done well for years but all of a sudden the tank is going down the problem is obvious. Natural saltwater isn't the problem, nor is the RO, using tap water has finally caught up to you.

I would suggest using polyfilter in your system to remove unwanted chemicals.

jmo
This man speaks the truth.
 
I have been keeping marine aquaria for over 20 years. I have never used anything but Columbus, Ohio Tap Water. I have never had a problem that I could blame on tap water. Never. I'm not saying it's the best choice, but it has served me well. What you are seeing are most likely diatoms. That is just a normal part of ANY tanks cycle of life. They will come and they will go. Try increasing your circulation. That may help. The algae may very well be from the increase in your bioload. I agree with thoses that have suggested carbon use. GFO in a reactor would not hurt either. Polyfilter can't hurt, but I suspect that the carbon and gfo will take care of the problem.

If you are going to use ro/di water, and it is a good idea, (one that I too will eventually embrace, lol) buy a unit from one of many online vendors (BRS comes to mind) The initial cost will quickly be recovered in savings, not to mention the pia it must be lugging it from the store.

jm.02
 
When you use tap water the H2O (water) evaporates but any chemicals in the water stay in your tank. Even with excellent tap water you can go on for years. but eventually the buildup of other chemicals will overwhelm your tank.

When I hear about people using tap water who say their tank has done well for years but all of a sudden the tank is going down the problem is obvious. Natural saltwater isn't the problem, nor is the RO, using tap water has finally caught up to you.

I would suggest using polyfilter in your system to remove unwanted chemicals.

jmo

How many years can a tank go using tap water before it goes downhill? I would think after a certain amount of time, lucks been thrown out the window, no?

;)
 
i think it has to be from me stocking cause i buy my livestock from my friend who catches what ever he can in the ocean he calls me and i go pick out whatever i want acclimate and in my tank it goes.
 
Just wondering if you dip your corals in anything before you add them to your tank? Maybe Tech D or something ...? Just to try to help to keep from adding any pest or Hitch hikers.. Keep everyone informed.. Good luck
 
I used tap water to top off a new tank and freaked out every time something little went wrong. I then switched to RO just for piece of mind.
 
When I hear about people using tap water who say their tank has done well for years but all of a sudden the tank is going down the problem is obvious. Natural saltwater isn't the problem, nor is the RO, using tap water has finally caught up to you.


jmo
I've been using nothing but tap water for over 30 years and no problems so far. How long does it take to "catch up" with you?
 
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