Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Tap Water Filter

[mdmacolyte]

Hi Everyone,
We have this tap water filter (as referenced) and I wanted to know if anyone else has put money out for this and has stayed happy with it? Im ready to toss the thing in the trash personally... We have cloudy water in our tank (just did yet another water change lastnight) and everything tests fine and yet stays cloudy now. I have a 90 gallon tank, 180lbs+ of live rock and base rock (mixed), I have an XP3 filter with ChemiPure in the media basket among the mechanical filters and the ceramic rings, Ive got two Rio 2100 powerheads, a prizm protein skimmer, coral life power compacts (lunar lights 8pm to 8am, actnics 8am to 8pm, 10k's 10am to 6pm)... And I still cannot figure out why my water is still cloudy, other than its probably the filtered water we have been using... We even age the water in a 20H tank for no less than two days (usually five days) before we use it for water changes - we mix the salt in it and circulate everything with a 300gph powerhead, and I just cannot figure out what on earth we are doing wrong here. Ive got a butt ton of red algae too. We tried to cure it with chemi clean but to no avail... So, Im figuring its the tap water filter that's supposed to filter everything out... Has anyone else had this problem?? Thanks in Advance... You guys rock. =)

 

[darknes]

I use the Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Tap Water Filter, and I love it. I've never had a problem, and my water is crystal clear.
What kind of salt do you use?
How long has it been since you replaced the filter on it?
How long has your tank been setup?
What rate do you run your water through the system? I run mine to fill about 1 cup every 30-45 seconds.
Do you run the water from the bottom of the filter to the top?

 

[ophiura]

To my knowledge, it does not filter water as well as something like an RO, and so I imagine if you have sketchy tap water you will still have somewhat sketchy water once used. What works for one person may not for another based on the quality of the water going in...and you have a large tank. Just looked up that the filter is only good for something like 50 to 150 gallons!!! I am pretty shocked by that. An RO unit would be a better investment for a larger system.
That being said, is the water in your mix tank cloudy?
What are your values for things like alkalinity and calcium? Do you add any additives?
IMO, start by switching to RO water.

 

[dragonfli]

take you raw tap water to your LFS and get it tested. then test your "filtered" water, then compare it to ro water. you will see that your "filter" does almost noting. it will gross you out to see that the filter doesnt do as mch as you want and you will end up buying an ro just to drink.

 

[puffer32]

I bought one from the auction site, and tried to filter my water from my kitchen sink by attaching the hose to my fauchet, it only trickled out and when i turned on the fauchet alittle more it kept popping off, and soaking me, it immediately got tossed in the trash can. I have heard since them they filter only slightly quality water thn your tap, so not worth the effort.

 

[greatfullreefer]

It is a DI filter and will make a decent quality of water but at the rate of usage and changing of cartridges it is an extremely expensive option. Spend a little more now on an R/O unit and you will save huge amounts over a year.

 

[mdmacolyte]

Thanks Everyone =)
I tested everything tonight and here is where I am at:
pH is 8.0
Nitrite is between 0 and 0.25
Ammonia is between 0 and 0.25
Nitrate is approximately 10 ppm
Calcium is 400 ppm
Alkalinity is 14 dkh (as per DH's calculations)
Phosphate is at 0 to 5ppm
I am using an Aquarium Pharmcueticals test kits... Another thing that doesnt seem to make sense is that my tank temperature is about 80 to 82... Mind you, I have disconnected my heater and its still setting about the same... Im am going to be looking into getting a chiller (payday is next Monday) and see if that will help (ideally I think I want everything to be at 76 degrees)... Any more help or advice is more than welcome. =)

 

[mdmacolyte]

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention... I am using Instant Ocean salt(although that isnt what I started out with - but in the last two changes that have been about 15 gallons each we have been using the Instant Ocean), and we have been changing our tap water filter cartridges out every 50 gallons or so... So, if its not the tap water filter, what else could it be? Lastly, I should add that we have tested the tap water (straight with and without salt) and there wasnt anything that seemed off-key about them, and the water that we have premixed in the 20H is clear as a summer day... So I dont know where to go next... Thanks for all your help - please keep it coming! Its SO MUCH APPRECIATED!!

 

[darknes]

The Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Tap Water Filter IS a DI filter. DI water is IMO just as good for your tank as RO water. GreatfullReefer is right in that an RO system will save you much more money than using this filter since the cartridges are pretty expensive and have to be changed often.
I only change my water about once every month (3 gallons), so I don't go through filters as often.
If your water is crystal clear before it's in the tank, I think you have another problem.
Could it be micro bubbles coming from your filter or skimmer?
I doubt that, but it's a possibility.
The other thing is what substrate do you have? And do you have anything in your tank that sifts your substrate or digs in it? That can cause your water to get cloudy.
Also, I'd like to add that you should not disconnect your heater. Just set it at a lower temp (78 degrees), in case for some reason your water gets too cold.
IMO, 80 to 82 degrees is just right for your tank; that's what I keep mine at; I don't think you really need to invest in a chiller unless it gets much higher than that.

 

[mdmacolyte]

Hi again... =)
I have sand as my substrate - as to whether it is live or not is beyond me because we put 60 lbs of carribean pink sand (I cant remember the exact name) and then 40 lbs of aragonite. This got us thinking lastnight though - our LFS guy told us to rinse our sand outside before we put it in the tank... so we did (because we had a trust thing going on at that time) and we used the water hose outside and a straight clean bucket. Could this be part of the problem? The tank is now set up officially for a month as of today. The only thing moving the sand around right now is a powerhead that I have decided Im re-adjusting tonight... Maybe that is my culprit? Man am I gonna feel stupid if that's my problem... Well, really stupid and really happy that its THAT SIMPLE... LOL I want to thank everyone for their help and assistance. You guys rock! =)

 

[ophiura]

Can you test the water coming out of the filter? Not with salt added, just out of the filter.
Why do you want the tank at that temperature? There is not problem, IMO, with 80-82 degrees...certainly not that I would run out and get a chiller! At least try fans blowing on the surface of the water if you haven't tried those yet.

 

[mdmacolyte]

Yeah,
We tested the water straight out of the filter and it was fine - there was a little bit of resin from the filter that came out - but we just swapped out the cartidge and the next filter didnt spit anything out (the first filter spit out about 1/4 teaspoon of resin after like 35 gallons, and it seemed rather harmless so we sucked it out with a turkey baster and called it a day since everything still tested fine).
My concern about the heater being 80 to 82 is summer isnt here yet and I dont want to overheat the tank since DH isnt real big on running the a/c like people live in the house... I did end up disconnecting the heater yesterday afternoon and the tank was still at 82 this morning, so Im wondering in that respect if my powerheads and lights are keeping the tank temperature there... I had messed around with setting the temperature on the heater (titanium) for about a week before I gave in and added more of my drama to this board... =) I was thinking I should get it down to 76 because that seemed like an average goal between my Robert Fenner book and yet another LFS guy 9he was like "do you think they live in water that warm in the wild?")... But Im really at the point now where I dont trust anyone but you folks =) Since the general verdict here is 80 is good, Im going to quit worrying about that... If anything, it will give me a good excuse to keep the a/c a notch higher "to protect our investments" - but Im really probably more paranoid about things than I should be...

 

[kdfrosty]

I have been having the same issue recently. My tanks temperature was reaching 81, so I have been keeping the blinds throught the house closed, raised my light up 3 or 4 inches, and turned my heater down. I noticed temperature fluctuations of 76-82. I just set my heater at 79, and hope it doesnt get too hot.
I live in the desert, and it's 82 degrees in mid-April. When the summer months roll around, and it's 105 degrees outside, then I might have problems with the temp on my tank and will consider getting a chiller.....they're darn expensive.

 

[mdmacolyte]

KDFrosty,
I know what yer saying - I lived in Albequerque for a short time and have lots of family we used to visit throughout the state. =) Its always nice to hear from people in the Land of Enchantment. =)

 

[ophiura]

The answer to your LFS guys is "yes, they sure do darn do" live at temperatures that high. Ron Shimek, an invertebrate zoologist, did a nice article on it several years ago showing natural reef temperatures and salinity. But it is, excuse the pun, a "hot" topic.
The lower temperature limit for the most cold-tolerant reef organisms appears to be about 68 degrees Fahrenheit (20 degrees Celsius). This is about the water temperature of Midway Atoll, which has the northernmost coral reef. Although a few reef animals can live in colder water, most cannot. The average annual temperature of most coral reefs is around 82 to 84 degrees Fahrenheit (27 to 28 degrees Celsius)(see Table I and Figure 1), which seems to be the optimum for coral growth (Barnes et al. 1995, Clausen and Roth 1975, Weber and White 1976, Coles and Jokiel 1977 and 1978, Highsmith 1979). The commonly advised mini-reef temperatures of 74 to 77 degrees Fahrenheit (22 to 25 degrees Celsius) are stressing most of the animals unnecessarily and, in some cases, severely.

 

[mdmacolyte]

Ophiura,
I feel so much better now! Thank you for your insight! =) :cheer:

 

[ophiura]

I wouldn't worry too much about low eighties...now if you are in a hot zone then indeed the summer could be a worry.

 

[fish_guy5]

I also have the AP tapwater filter and think the water quality is great. The only problem with it(like has already been stated), is the cost. It says that one filter should be good for 25-125 G, which will get very costly if it needs to be changed every 25G.....or in my case, after about 18 GALLONS!!! Its not bad now since I've only got a 30G, but when I upgrade next month to my 150G, I'll definitely be buying an RO unit. The DI unit will cost me about $150 in filters just to fill the tank and sump at this rate!! Nevermind the water changes. Overall I think a good R.O. unit is well worth it.

 

[mdmacolyte]

I agree with you - when we got started a month ago we hadnt really thought about that, and since we were getting the filters "cheap" through an online vendor we figured we were doing good money-wise, but after more thought with the size of our tank and how often we are looking to doing water changes (10% every two weeks at minimum) I have been talking to DH about getting an RO/DI unit "for his birthday." LOL