Tap water

J

jfbhd4

Member
My sinks are leaking when I put on my RO filter, so I had to use tap water to do about a 5 gallon top off to my 90 gal. ( I dechlorinated the water first.)

Am I correct in saying that this small amount wont cause any problems?

If I need to do a 15- 20 gallon change, would It be really bad to use tap water just until I can get a plumber out here?

Besides causing algea bloom, are they any other potential problems?
 
You are correct (maybe) that it will cause no problems. Of course it depends on your tap water but since you can drink it it will be fine. I used it for about 20 years before there was RO's DI's etc.
Paul
 
I would refrain from using tap water. Your aquarium investment is not worth the gamble. Are there any LFS close that sell RO water? If not, I'd use distilled water from Wal-Mart before tap water.
 
Tap water can have high levels of ammonia, nitrates and phosphate. The pH maybe way off too. You should test the water for these at a minimum before you try it. I would go buy RO/DI water at WalMart. It's only about 59 cents per gallon. Read the label and make sure it is RO/DI water and not spring water.
 
It is really annoying, the apartment complex I live in was basically built in 1 week and althought it looks really nice, it falls apart at the seams.
 
Not to mention it might come down copper pipes. I wouldn't do it for all the tea in China.
 
Does anyone know if I can somehow hook my tub faucet to my RO filter?
That would be sweet, wouldnt have to worry about leaks.
 
He stated: "If I need to do a 15- 20 gallon ....."
20 gal of a 90 gal setup is almost a third of his total volume of water which is not "a small amount". I'd play it safe and go buy distilled at Wal-Mart for .59 a gallon.
 
Don't know if you have a clothes washer hookup, but that's where I have mine. I attached a "Y" off of the spigot to the washer with one line going to the washer and the other to my RO/DI. Another slim possibility would be if there were a spigot hookup for water to your fridge for something like an auto ice maker.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8498120#post8498120 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jfbhd4
Does anyone know if I can somehow hook my tub faucet to my RO filter?
That would be sweet, wouldnt have to worry about leaks.
Click to expand...

You might be able to. Most Tube faucets are just a pipe that the faucet screws on to. If you unscrew the faucet you should be able to pick up an attachment(if the RO/DI does not already have it) to hook up the RO/DI. I use my bathroom sink in the basement to hook mine up. I had to buy an adapter from lowes. Also, make sure you are screwing the RO on straight, if it does not it will leak.
 
yeah, there are connectors to do it

search for water general on ebay and buy one of the connectors that goes straight from a hose to the 1/4" tubing


on another note, Im sure that somewhere beteen the water plant and my filter there are copper pipes as well
 
RK's Pet Emporium has RO-DI water, $1/gallon. Please do not use Columbia's tap water to top off your tank, it has VERY high TDS readings and VERY high phosphate readings, not to mention it smells like chemicals right out of the faucet! I would hate to see you lose everything in your tank because of it :(
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8498108#post8498108 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Sk8r
Not to mention it might come down copper pipes. I wouldn't do it for all the tea in China.
Click to expand...

i dunno.. i would do a lot for control of the tea commodity in china...
 
I stand by my original statement that a little tap water will do no harm. RO/DI water is a rather new invention in the aquarium industry and before that we all used tap water.
When I used it (for 20 years) I first ran it slowly through a PVC pipe filled with carbon.
There was one time that almost all of my corals died when the town water company put zinc orthophosphate in the water to control corrosion in the pipes. Even my carbon was not good enough for that. I would not use any of it without the carbon treatment and I would only ues a little of it in an emergency.
But will it kill your fish? Probably not. Is it better not to use any of it? Of course
 
I will never go to RK's.
I would rather get out of the hobby. Dollar a gallon! HA!
I already topped it off earlier today. Everything is fine so far. All my fish are very hardy species. I will look into getting a hookup to my washer, but the washer is in a closet, so I dont know if I can get in there.
When I initially set up my tank, I used tap water because I didnt know any better. My chromis, tang, and anemone lived in that water for probably 2 months before the tank was completely free of the tap water.
Hauling the water from a store is what worries me. I tried to do it when my RO was being shipped. I spilled the water in my car and it smelled of mildew for a month. Even with the tops, i dont feel like hauling all that junk.
I will just wait on the water change until I get my RO fixed.
It has only been around 3-4 weeks, and my levels are fairly stable.
Nitrates are around 10. My fish can handle it.
 
$1 a gallon wow, lfs here 4.24 thats to fill 2 5gallon gas jugs 10 gallons for 4.24 but that is for freshwater ro, saltwater is 65 cents a gallon. this is at nemo's in pontoon beach.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8498794#post8498794 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jfbhd4
I will look into getting a hookup to my washer, but the washer is in a closet, so I dont know if I can get in there.
Click to expand...

Even if it's in a closet, it has to be hooked up to hot and cold water spigots and a drain. Like I said, I got a plastic "Y" with shut off switches on each line to attach to the spigot for my feed and simply ran my waste water line down the same drain the washing machine drains into. Can fill my jugs up while they sit on top of the washing machine and if I happen to let one run a little long, the excess water simply drains around the washer lid and into the tub. No mess. :cool:
 
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