Ive Been Using Tap Water For Six Months And............

[philgmiami]

EVERTHING IS DOING FINE..IVE HAD LOTS OF CORILINE GROWTH. IN THE PAST 6 MONTHS.MY WATER READINGS ARE PERFECT.I EVEN HAVE A BUBBLE CORAL THAT WAS DYING IN MY OLD 55G COMN BACK TO LIFE IN MY 180..ALL MY FISH THAT IVE HAD FOR ABOUT A YEAR ALL LOOK GREAT.FULL BELLYS, NO FIN ROT. ANDD KNOCK ON WOOD, I HAVENT HAD ICK IN MY TANK FOR OVER 6 MONTHS :thinking: MY CARPET ANEMONE HAS GOTTN HUGE!!!! IN THE PAST FEW MONTHS.I JUST STARTED FEEDING IT SILVERSIDES..ACTAULY MY SADDLE BACK CLOWN GRABS THE SILVERSIDE OUT OF MY HAND AND BRINGS IT TO THE CARPET TO FEED IT.. ITS SOOO COOL.. COULD IT BE THAT THE AREA OF FLORIDA IM IN HAS GOOD TAP WATER?
TEMP WITH MH 82.. WHEN OFF 80..
AMMONIA O
NITRITE O
PH 8.2
NITRITE 0 TO 5.0
LIVE STOCK IN 180G
2-PERC CLOWNS 2 INCH
1-NIGAR TRIGGER 4INCH
1-KOREAN ANGEL 4 INCH
1-YELLOW TANG 5 INCH
2.BLUE DEMSALS 1 1/2 AND 2 INCHES
1.SADDLE BACK CLOWN 4 TO 5 INCHES
1.DUSKY JAW FISH 3 INCH
1- BLACK GOBY 4 INCH
1- CORAL BEAUTY 3 INCH
FROGSPAWN CORAL
CONDI ANEMONE
BUBBLE TIP ANEMONE(GREEN)
GREEN CARPET
BUBBLE CORAL
BRIGHT GREEN POLYPS GROWING ON OVERFLOW COVERS

MUSHROOMS
40 SNAILS. ALL KINDS..AT LEAST 10 OF THE GOLF BALL SIZE
20-30 HERMIT.. ASSORTED KINDS

 

[alyssia]

I used to think my tap water did fine because the city I live in has the cleanest water in the state. My readings were fine for about 6 months then I started battling a nitrate problem and couldn't get rid of it till I switched to RO.

 

[hsanchez]

Yea i used tap and everything was fine for awhile then I got a real bad cyano break out. Just because you can't see any problems don't mean there not there.

 

[talath]

Bear in mind that most municipalities suffer from seasonal changes in their water supply. What works this winter, may not work this summer.

 

[mr_bill]

Originally Posted by talath
Bear in mind that most municipalities suffer from seasonal changes in their water supply. What works this winter, may not work this summer.
EXACTLY , and you'll have to keep a very close eye on your water company because they don't make big headlines when they make changes to how they are treating the water.

 

[fishychick]

What about well water from a rural area. I have been using it for three years plus, but I am guessing there could be a down side?

 

[dea_mt]

well water is actually more mineral rich than tap water.

 

[talath]

Well water typically suffers less variation than surface sources such as large lakes, reservoirs, or rivers. Surface water suffers all sorts of fun changes throughout the year. Low DO in the summer, excess nutrients in the spring, and boosts of suspended solids after every rain. Wells usually exist on top of bedrock and below substantial layers of water holding sands. It's like a great big sand filter. Agricultural chemicals remain the chief contamination of well water. Also, residential drain fields can pose issues to some wells. Still, if it works, go with it. I think too often water quality is the ambiguous scapegoat of aquarium maladies.

 

[ecoman]

Yes, if you have well water, do not fertilize your lawn! someday it will get down there. ro is the way to go, removes pesticides, chemicals, dissolved metals, and other tiny micro-organisms that can help lead to bad algae growth (i did a little reading into ro myself). In any case, I wouldnt recommend drinking any tap water! Why make your fish live in it?

 

[littlebuck]

ALso with your reading is that all you are testing? With using tap water over time you will end up with alot of other things to test for with tap water. Since you really dont know what else is in the tap water. Most city water has lead in it or other bad ones. Just keep it it mind you might be good for a while then it will turn the other way and will have problems turning it back to normal.
The tank i got, the guy used tap water and im still battaling the red slime problem a little bit since its in the LR But good luck if you look at getting an ro unit it will save you alot of trouble.

 

[murph]

All municipal or well water is not created equal.
If your source water is municipal try to get a run down on its quality. Its a matter of public record and you should be able to get it over the net.
Mine for example seems to be quite good. My TDS into my RO system is 6 this is outstanding. My reported tap water nitrate levels are under 1; also great.
Now lets consider other common "ingredients" in municipal water supplies.
Barium, cyanide, nickel, copper, thallium, sodium, trihalomethanes, phosphate, halocetic acids, fluoride, lead, nitrate, radium etc.
It is doubtful that run of the mill aquarium filtration is capable of removing most if not all of these so every time you do a water change you increase the concentrations of these "ingredients". May never be a problem (doubtful) or could be a problem for your tank tomorrow.
At the vary least I would use store bought or machine vended RO water. Only problem here is you have no control over the quality of that water either. An RO/DI system is really not that expensive when compared to other things in this hobby and with a DI bypass you can also provide yourself with suitable drinking water for your family.
Try washing your hair with RO purified water as opposed to tap water. The difference will be unmistakable and most likely make a believer of you.

 

[mopar9012]

i use tap water....what is RO? should i use that?

 

[murph]

RO stands for Reverse osmosis.
Google; RO/DI; for plenty of brands and info.
Its basically just a tap water filtration method. With some units you can get lab grade water.
Units run from 100 to 500 bucks.
Bottled water is filtered in a like manner and filtration methods should be listed on the bottle and available for 30 to 60 cents a gallon at the local wally world or vending machine.
IMO in the end even if you buy your own unit you will pay nearly the same price per gallon due to the waste/reject water factor, media replacement etc. But the convenience and control over the quality makes the purchase very much worth it especially if a DI cartridge is used along side the RO.

 

[mrdc]

The ones I know in my area that uses tap water have all experienced cyano outbreak. The TDS reading on my tap is rather high. I prefer to use the RO/DI for peace of mind.

 

[ecoman]

i would go with a low gallon per day unit, unless u plan to sell it or shower in it!

 

[scarr105]

Could you use a tap water filter like PUR or BRITA. I know the RO unit would be best but would one of these filters help at all.

 

[ecoman]

of course it will help some.. will remove solid debris but read the specs on brita as i do not believe it will even touch a dissolved metal particle.

 

[scarr105]

Here is what the PUR filters say, i have no idea what half of these things are:
MTBE (methyl tertiary butyl ether) X
TTHM (total trihalomethanes) X
Alachlor X
Atrazine (herbicide) X X
Benzene X X
Carbofuran X X
Carbon Tetrachloride X
Chlordane X
Endrin X
Ethylbenzene X
Heptachlor X
Lindane (insecticide) X X
Methoxychlor X X
Monochlorobenzene X
O-Dichlorobenzene X
Simazine X
Styrene X
Tetrachloroethene X
Toluene X
Toxaphene (insecticide) X X
Trichloroethene X
2,4-D (herbicide) X X
2,4,5-TP (Silvex) X X
Abestos X X
Cycts (cryptoporidium, giardia) X X
Turbidity X X
Lead X X
Mercury X X
Chlorine, Taste, Odor X X
Particulate X X

 

[fishychick]

Originally Posted by Murph
RO stands for Reverse osmosis.
Google; RO/DI; for plenty of brands and info.
Its basically just a tap water filtration method. With some units you can get lab grade water.
Units run from 100 to 500 bucks.
Bottled water is filtered in a like manner and filtration methods should be listed on the bottle and available for 30 to 60 cents a gallon at the local wally world or vending machine.
IMO in the end even if you buy your own unit you will pay nearly the same price per gallon due to the waste/reject water factor, media replacement etc. But the convenience and control over the quality makes the purchase very much worth it especially if a DI cartridge is used along side the RO.
Can anyone recommend a reasonably priced unit that doesn't require lots of space and one that doesn't take a long time to process the water?

 

[tizzo]

Originally Posted by philgmiami
COULD IT BE THAT THE AREA OF FLORIDA IM IN HAS GOOD TAP WATER?
Could very well be... But trust me, both my folks work for the Charlotte water dept, and most cities are not so clean!!
On a sidenote, you can adjust heater setting to 82 so it's 82 degrees round the clock. The halides will keep it there all day and the heater all night and avoid the fluctuations. Your tank seems healthy from what you have posted, but it's just a fluctuation that wouldn't hurt to eliminate.