No,No,No, tap water

ifirefight

ifirefight

Active Member
I have never used tap water....but I have read the horror stories associated with using it.....So,unless your tap water is pure ( I would estimate 95% is not good enough to use...probably higher though
)..use RO/DI and spare yourself the problems that go along with tap water.
 
robdog696

robdog696

Member
I hate to disagree with you. Some people on the boards I can't wait to disagree wit. LMAO! I think me an my purple tang have at least one thing in common. But I've always agreed with your posts... until now.
I started in the hobby using tapwater. Cycled my tank with it, did water changes with it, mixed my own salt with it, and even used it for my top-offs. Never had a problem. In fact, I had better success than I am currently having with LFS bought "ro water".
Problem is, I moved. After I moved I continued to use tapwater. I started having some serious diatom and algae problems. Turns out the water was the culprit. Even now, I will use tap water to do a top-off if I don't have a jug of ro handy. I'll have a two day diatom bloom, but I've never lost any livestock because of tapwater.
In the end, it all depends on where you live. Some places have a great water supply and others cannot be trusted. Obviously, given the choice, RO/DI is better. But when that option isn't available or the finances are tight this, in my opinion, is one corner that CAN be cut.
 
espkh9

espkh9

Member
I use NYC tap its very good tap water.
even though I have a DI filter..under my sink..i use tap water 3 years no algae no problems I test it before I mix the ammonia is 0 Nitrate0 Phosphate 0...and i use strss coat to remove chlorine and cholomineand let it sit for a day and mix...tap water is fine works for me. whatver works.
 
michaeltx

michaeltx

Moderator
There are more things in tap that are goverment OKed to be there low levels of arsenic, lead, copper, mercury, fertilizer, flouride, and now even prescription meds are showing up.
I dont and wont trust any tap water to drink myself let along use it for my fish tank.
i you want to find out what actually in your water and what levels of what are acceptable go to epa.gov and find the latest water tests for your area.
Mike
 
robdog696

robdog696

Member
Originally Posted by MichaelTX
http:///forum/post/2608698
There are more things in tap that are goverment OKed to be there low levels of arsenic, lead, copper, mercury, fertilizer, flouride, and now even prescription meds are showing up.
I dont and wont trust any tap water to drink myself let along use it for my fish tank.
i you want to fins out what actually in your water and what levels of what are acceptable go to epa.gov and find the latest water tests for your area.
Mike
Good point. Never thought of it that way.
 
michaeltx

michaeltx

Moderator
I have heard good things about NYC water but have never looked to see what the actual readngs were on it or what is in their acceptable ranges.
nope never I bought a dual home/reef RO/di unit and its the first thing I hook up when I move into a new place that I run all my water through for cooking and drinking. even my dogs drink RO water LOL
Mike
 
ifirefight

ifirefight

Active Member
Originally Posted by Robdog696
http:///forum/post/2608663
I hate to disagree with you. Some people on the boards I can't wait to disagree wit. LMAO! I think me an my purple tang have at least one thing in common. But I've always agreed with your posts... until now.
I started in the hobby using tapwater. Cycled my tank with it, did water changes with it, mixed my own salt with it, and even used it for my top-offs. Never had a problem. In fact, I had better success than I am currently having with LFS bought "ro water".
Problem is, I moved. After I moved I continued to use tapwater. I started having some serious diatom and algae problems. Turns out the water was the culprit. Even now, I will use tap water to do a top-off if I don't have a jug of ro handy. I'll have a two day diatom bloom, but I've never lost any livestock because of tapwater.
In the end, it all depends on where you live. Some places have a great water supply and others cannot be trusted. Obviously, given the choice, RO/DI is better. But when that option isn't available or the finances are tight this, in my opinion, is one corner that CAN be cut.
I didnt say it couldnt be done..I said "unless your tap water is pure" (meaning without all the impurities MichaelTX stated) then I would go with RO/DI. I wish I was fortunate enough to have nice pure water..but I had to get a RO unit. I know there are people on these boards that have used tap water and never had a problem,they have very high quality water from the tap.
 
espkh9

espkh9

Member
my tap is very high quality in nyc. especially in my area. i just preffer drinking fiji water or poland spring water just because i like it but cooking or using tap for any other things is still the same...the tap here is so good its hard to tell the dif. between spring and tap water..even so in one of our kitchens we have a DI purifier or filter from home depot that was like $250...i use that for the fish tank the readings on it b4 mixing are all good.
even the regular tap is good. personally i dont like water that much so i dont drink it anyways.
 
renogaw

renogaw

Active Member
people also forget that tap water is going to have small, but some, amounts of copper in it. copper = BAD for inverts.
 
espkh9

espkh9

Member
i use di water now but used nyc tap water for 1 year no deaths and i have about 200 inverts in my 125 rt..and they were they since day1 my fancy nas snails i have 6 are about the size of a golf ball a bikt larger acctually they were the size of a marble 2 years ago...also the first year i had about 40 corals...none died unless i made a mistake fragging it which was rare all with nyc tap water. in most of the country i would say dont even drink the tap water..anyways when i got aussie's and expensive inverts and fish and corals just to be safe i bought a very good DI filter...bottom line 2 years 15 fish 100 corals 200-250 inverts..all alive well and thriving check out my 125 rt pic..but your right around the country its not the same and majority of the ppl should not use tap and use ro/di water.. i just happen to have a DI unit we got from home depot.
 
bgbdwlf2500

bgbdwlf2500

Member
Originally Posted by renogaw
http:///forum/post/2609224
people also forget that tap water is going to have small, but some, amounts of copper in it. copper = BAD for inverts.
this is my first post...and i disagree. ive got 2 different copper tests and all show 0 readings for copper in all my tanks AND straight from the tap...
for the record for the original post, i only use tap water in my tanks and havent had any problems, inverts or otherwise.
 
sepulatian

sepulatian

Moderator
I think that the real point, that may be missed, is that the tiny amounts of "whatever" build up over time. I also have to say that I am not completely against tap water, depending on the quality.
 
johnny&sin

johnny&sin

Member
Originally Posted by ifirefight
http:///forum/post/2608635
I have never used tap water....but I have read the horror stories associated with using it.....So,unless your tap water is pure ( I would estimate 95% is not good enough to use...probably higher though
)..use RO/DI and spare yourself the problems that go along with tap water.
WOW! I wish I had found this forum before I started my 110!!!I live in south FL and we have AWFUL water!!! I went to this LFS ( which I now NEVER go to) and they said I could start with tap water and just dechlorinate it... LOL So i opened the window and dragged my hose in and filled it up... IT WAS A NIGHTMARE BEGINING FOR ME!!! My tank has finally recovered , I lost a ton of fish and coral but now my tank is GREAT! Thanks to some VERY great people and this site!
 
tomato clown

tomato clown

Member
I'll vouge for the fact South Florida's tap water is nasty and will cause weeks worth of red algea blooms. To further this fact, after I struggled with a constant red algea bloom that lasted for months, I stopped tap water and went with gallon jugs from the store of RO. This stopped the problems after a month. I came to find out that our tap water is "filtered" after it is used in conjunction with some of the trash yards. Basically they use tap water at some of the garbage dumps as to break down the garbage. Then they filter it back into the system.
Needless to say I've not drank from the tap myself in years..lol
One way to tell is when you drive by a garbage dump, if you see a building that is letting out some kind of smoke, this is a small clue that the tap water is not pure. I'm not allowed to say how I know this, but it is a fact.
To the locals: The dump on Powerline Rd. and Green rd. is using this method of trash breakdown.
 
bang guy

bang guy

Moderator
I just reviewed the 2005 Tap Water survey for New York City. Copper levels were found as high as 0.32ppm. The acceptable EPA limit is 1.3ppm so this makes for excellent tap water. The acceptable level for a reef aquarium is 0.06ppm so this make it terrible water to use for reefs.
 
kjr_trig

kjr_trig

Active Member
I use aged, treated tap water and have for the 6 years I have been doing this (AZ and S. Carolina). If I had the book with me (i'm at work now) I would quote the page, but Bob Fenner claims tap water to be completely acceptable as long as it is aged and treated...I have said it before, I will say it again...If it's good enough for Bob, it's good enough for me.
 
pjlovesbaskets

pjlovesbaskets

Member
I have well water. I won't drink it. It has rusty color to it. This is a bacteria that grows so much that we lost our well pump after a short time. We built our house so the pump was brand new to us. In order to fight the bacteria, we have to chorinate our well. THat means dump tons of bleach in the well to kill the bacteria. Let me tell ya, I buy RO. You might ask, why not buy a RO system. Well I did. The water pressure was so bad that the RO system wouldn't work.
My neighbor had low water pressure and found out that it was because she wasn't killing the bacteria enough! It killed her pump and had to redrill her well! You might ask, why live there! I respond with a pool in the backyard, hot tub, 3 acres and custom build house that I love! Can't get that in the city! I just have the greatest biceps for lugging six 6 gallon jugs to and from the LFS and to the tank for water changes! The things we do for our tanks. (Should this be in the reef addict thread!
)
 
tomato clown

tomato clown

Member
There is a rather large animal hospital down here that uses well water, but the owner went out and bought one of these top-of-the-line filtration units, when testing the water after the filtration everything is at 0ppm. No traces of anything at all and that makes for some awesome well water. I think he shelled out something like $30,000 for the unit
 
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