Can you fill up a new tank with tap water.

[jugger]

well if they live in a place like fort collins colorado were the water is pristine then its ok.... i know alot of people here that have been using tap for years and never had a problem.....tell your fiend to get a free report from the water treating plant....you can find it on the net for you county

 

[007]

man is there some bad information in this thread!
STRESS COAT, STRESS COAT, STRESS COAT AND MORE STRESS COAT!!!!!!!!!
I cannot even begin to tell you how bad of an idea this is . . . as soon as you turn on the skimmer, you will have nothing but bubbles and foam in your tank for days possible even weeks. I would never use stress coat or any similar product in a marine tank.
Most salt mixes will make tap water safe so you should be fine.
Wanna expand on this a little more? I don't think that salt mixes will neutralize/eliminate chlorine and chloramines . . . could be wrong though. It will stabilize pH though.
dump the salt directly into the tank, then add water. put a couple power head in and your on your way.
This isnt all that bad of an idea however doing so can cause beneficial elements to precipitate out such as Ca ions. Its better to add the water first and then dump in the salt. An even better way is to put the water in and slowly add the salt. I know that Ca and Alk are not of high importance in a cycling marine tank however, why create unstable conditions from the start.
To answer the original question, you could use tap water to fill the tank for the first time, however I would strongly recommend checking with the utility company first and then make your decision based on what they tell you. I did start my tank with tap and then use RO for WC's and top offs, however should I start another tank I will probably not take this route again. Using tap water can lead to massive algae blooms that can last a very long time. Granted that using RO will not eliminate this possibility, it will greatly reduce the severity.
Here is my solution . . . buy an RO filter. With a 210 gallon or whatever tank, the amount of money that will be spent on buying RO water for top offs and water changes will outweigh the purchase price of an RO filter in no time. Do it right from the start . . . buy the filter now and use RO to fill the tank, it may take a couple days to fill, but if you dont have the patience then you are in the wrong hobby.

 

[hirock]

Just a little FYI,
I agree that a water evaluation chart supplied by your local/district DWP will help in making your determination, but the DWP only tests for a little over 200 different chemicals and elements. Since WWII, the US has made over 50,000 different chemicals. Most of which are never tested for, unless severe health problems occur/arise from the use of local tap water. What you need to do is ask yourself, "Where does my water come from?" In addition, do some research on the subject. Supply and quality will dictate to you if it is worthy of usage. I live in an area of high population growth and water quality changes seasonally with the need/demand. We receive our water from 3 sources within the region. Ground wells, the Sierra Mt. range & the Colorado River. All of which have there own drawbacks when dealing with certain elements and minerals leeched into the supply.
A better question is, "Do you drink your tap water?" This may be your deciding factor when dealing with this type of problem.
Personally, IMHO, I would never use tap water from my area, for my system. Why take the risk? You never know what's in the stuff.
Good Luck

 

[bridge man]

I would recommend against the tap water unless you know its perfect. I initially filled my tank with tap, before I realized there is about 60ppm nitrate, some silicate, and hardness out the ying-yang. The nitrate and silicate is a perfect recipe for algae. Moral of the story, check your tap water first.

 

[saltfin]

Are we havin fun yet. My water co. actually sent out a flyer saying "If you have pond fish or fish tank do not use their water". I discovered this after my fish were dying from to much metal. After I bought 33cent/gal water from Wal-mart I cleaned up the problem and quit killing and loosing $$$$$$. At first I wondered this and that and felt it was me. It was the WATER!!!
Don't use tap water unless it's perfect.

 

[reefnut]

http://www.epa.gov/safewater/dwinfo.htm

 

[stillfrodo]

I have said this before IMO with the money we spend on our tanks lighting equiptment LR coral and livestock the cost of a decent RO/DI is almost insighificant. I truly believe using RO/DI for my initial fill and top offs as well as water changes has saved me numerous headaches. I haven't had the nightmare of hair algae blooms etc. If you do some homeowrk you can probably get a good deal on a RO/DI unit. Again just my opinion.

 

[gweezpie]

you will regret ever using tap water....RO/DI only. Take from someone who made that rookie mistake 5 years ago. Unless you have good well water....even then I would filter it.

 

[calvindo]

Originally posted by Bridge Man
I would recommend against the tap water unless you know its perfect. I initially filled my tank with tap, before I realized there is about 60ppm nitrate, some silicate, and hardness out the ying-yang. The nitrate and silicate is a perfect recipe for algae. Moral of the story, check your tap water first.

whoa.... 60? guess my tap water is pretty decent. mine barely register.

 

[gatorcsm]

As many have said, if your water isn't aweful, it shouldn't be a problem. In fact, even if it is aweful, if you only use it for the initial fill, it shouldn't be a problem.
Run some carbon and/or a polyfilter after the cycle/during the cycle or whenever and that should be able to get any metals and or other excess bad stuff. Not necessary though... It will all be processed in due time and then as long as future water changes are done with ro/di you shouldn't have a problem in the long run.

 

[gixxer1000]

Well i just did a test on my tap water just on the nitrates. They register 0 so guess the nitrates are good in my tap

 

[reefnut]

Originally posted by gixxer1000
Well i just did a test on my tap water just on the nitrates. They register 0 so guess the nitrates are good in my tap
I would also test for Phosphates & copper. Those are the bigger conserns but tap water can contain all types of impurities. Did you find your local water report?

 

[rhomer]

Man oh man oh man. There is some awful advice here (stated for the second time). I'm just going to bullet list them.
First, copper, there is almost always copper in tap water, undetectible amounts of copper will kill all inverts. It turns them to soup in a matter of days, stinks like he77 and copper cannot be removed from a tank. So if you fill a tank up iniitially with tap water that has copper in it, then cycle the tank, all of the seals in the tank now have copper in them. You could remove all the water and guess what the seals still have the copper in them.
Second, alge blooms are only the first part of the potential problem. You will get cyno or hair algea in the tank it will take over the tank, and you will spend all kinds of money replacing rock and sand to get rid of these things.
Of course you wont be able to keep any inverts alive because of the copper problem.
Just buy the RO water or if thats too much of a pain get distilled water at the grocery in the 2 1/2 gallon containers.
Why not start right???
Consider yourself warned.
Rob