tap water

[icepick5587]

I know this is a noob question... but is it okay to use tap water on FOWLR? I live in the country so I wouldn't be using city water. My water runs through a softener and a filter if that makes a difference.

P.S. My R/O is broken atm.

Thanks!

 

[t5Nitro]

If you were doing that I would get one of those dechlorine/chloramine bottles to get rid of it.

 

[alizarin]

I'd expect you'd have algae issues but that it probably wouldn't hurt your fish. Also, you might want to test for copper for the safety of your invertebrates.

 

[scottwhitson]

I will probably get criticized (sp) for this but all I use is tap and DO NOT have an algea problem or any other problems that are water related that I know of. I have sps, softies, lps and clams along with snails and such and no problems so you may be lucky like me.

 

[alizarin]

That's awesome scottwhitson!

Maybe you could give it a try icepick5587 and see? I don't think I could get away with it in my neck of the woods (Tampa) because we're surrounded by phosphate deposits here.

 

[clevername]

Well not that the confessions are out....i also have been using tap for 4 years. Granted i dont have Hard corals mostly fish.....i have had no problem. I will say this.... my next purchase (1month) i will be buying an RO/DI

 

[cowboyswife]

A person that we buy corals from, with 5 full reef tanks, has used tap water for 10 years without any ill effects. That is actually pretty miraculous since we live in FL.

 

[luke33]

I've used tap for over a yr, but i don't have any sps or clams. But i don't have algae break outs or anything. I also test my tapwater before i add it to make sure there's no trates, amm, trites, or copper in there. All is doing just fine. I do see a rodi in the future when i decide to move on to full sps reef though.

 

[serpentman]

I ran a FOWLR on well water with no treatment for about 10 years without any major algae issues. Its really relative to your water supply.

 

[Shagsbeard]

"tap water" is such an ill defined term that any discussion of it here is really misleading. Some is fine, some is leathal. Some areas the water will be great 360 days out of the year and absolutely toxic to our tanks the other five or six days.

The best rule to live by is not to put anything in your tank that you don't know what is in it. That includes water from a tap.

 

[AZDesertRat]

Its all Luck. It will catch up to you one day and you will wish you had spent the $150 to $200 for an RO/DI unit. Thats normally after you have lost $3000 in corals and fish though.
Seriously though, its a risky proposition using tap water, something you have absolutely no control over. Sure some people are sucessful with softies of fish only and some may even keep SPS but the clock is ticking on a timebomb in most cases. Its not worth the risk when you consider the investment you have in your livestock in both time and money. With RO/DI comes consistency, you get the same quality water each and every time you make it and you control its maintenance and operation.