stupid question

[lancewg]

I am wanting to start a FOWLR tank this summer and it will be the first thing i have ever done with tropical fish. I was wondering what water i should use because the tap water here is crappy and where to get the salt to put in it. So when you are done laughing at my question, please give me some info.

 

[gregvabch]

do you have any local pet stores that sell saltwater fish? i would recommend getting a reverse osmosis deionization unit, (RO/DI), they sell them on this site, and lots of other places as well. I use Instant Ocean salt in my tank, do a search and you'll find somewhere that sells it, not sure if this site does or not.

 

[mightyoxjuice]

one of the most commonly used salts is Instant Ocean
You should not use tap water, reverse osomosis/deionized water is much better for your fish. Most of the impurities have been removed from it.

 

[innsmouth]

stupid question
No such thing here.
Keep in mind tap water can lead to really bad algae growth that can be a pain in the butt to get rid of. Go RO/DI. It'll save you a big headache later.

 

[belothsurf]

I agree 100% with using ro/di water. I use distilled water myself,which is actually better, until I get my own RO/DI unit. But, tapwater is not the kill all some would potray it as. It of course has chlorine and chloramines in it, bad stuff, but you can use a water conditioner for that. Tap water, depending on where you live, can have nitrates, phosphates, and silicates in it, which contribute to different types of algae, among many other factors. Use ro/di, or distilled if you can, but don't think tap is unacceptable, just make sure you neutralize the chlorine and chloramines, which is toxic to fish....:happyfish

 

[gregvabch]

distilled is better than tapwater, but not better than RO/DI.

 

[belothsurf]

Originally posted by gregvabch
distilled is better than tapwater, but not better than RO/DI.
....uh......eh..ehhh.......ro/di is the most affordable, effecient way......if you wanted the "most" efficient, and purest water, it would be distilled. For what we do, ro/di is great....but who can afford a distiller? If I could, I'd be making "Jack Daniels".....:jumping:

 

[shawnhardy]

While RO/DI water is better, it is not entirely neccessary for a fish only tank. If you plan on having a reef tank, then I agree 100% that you need to use distilled or RO/DI. Properly aged and conditioned tap water is not that bad if you are not planning on having corals or other invertibrates. Just my opinion.