Success With Tapwater in a REEF!!!!!!

[tomato clown]

I had been very skeptical of this product made by Tetra Aqua called "AquaSafe", but after 3 months of using this in city tapwater, and using it to top off my tanks, it has proven that it actually works!
It does everything it says on the bottle, plus I have noticed a significant decrease in my nitrates. not alot, but enough to notice.
Every piece of livestock in my tanks are thriving, and have shown no signs of deterioration(sp?) what so ever.
I still do my normal water changes, and keep up on the testing bi-weekly, and all the other necasary tasks, but just realized how long it has been, i have used this stuff.
here is some info on it:
AquaSafe® makes tap water safe for fish by eliminating chlorine and heavy metals present in municipal water supplies. AquaSafe® also neutralizes chloramine by breaking down the bond between chlorine and ammonia while reducing both fish-toxic chlorine and ammonia components. In addition, AquaSafe® provides slime coating to help wounds heal and protect fish from abrasions

 

[ebeckels]

i use a similar product in my tanks...it works fine... i believe it is called amquel...it's the same basic thing though.

 

[broomer5]

Sounds very similar to most tap water dechlorinators on the market like Amquel ...etc.
A must when using municipal tap water.
Glad to hear you're tank is doing well.
See ya

 

[mlm]

What it does not do is remove phosphates from tap water and that is what causes algea blooms.

 

[tomato clown]

Hmmm?...well the alge i can handle. I'm just happy to save on some water right now

 

[beecher]

I agree with mlm. Getting rid of the chlorine is the easy part. It's the phosphates in most municipal water supplies that causes all the problems. I used to use Aquasafe until I bought my skimmer. If I add the stuff now, my skimmer goes nuts and starts producing "wet" foam and fills up the collection cup until it has skimmed all the stuff out of the tank. I still use it in my QT/Hospital tank though.

 

[lettheirberock]

i had the same problem with my skimmer going crazy,when using this product.i wouldnt reccomend it.my2 cents

 

[bigeyedfish]

I use this stuff occaisionally as well. It seems to work fine. However, i have always had a trace amount of ammonia when i test the water. my LFS told me this product has been known to do that. Anyone else heard this story?? So far it hasnt hurt any fish or LR.

 

[tomato clown]

Well thats another story, I don't use a skimmer in my tank. I know I know I should be running one, everyone has told me this, even my LFS guys, but for well over a year now my FOWLR has been great without one, and for 5 months, my reef has been fine. I do get trace ammounts of nitates and nitrites, but that is due to either feeding too much or a death of a snail or crab.
I did however go out and buy a skimmer as to try, but it never pulled anything out(never got any foam or moisture in the collection part)
If any time I do need it because my levels get out of control or whatever, at least i'll have it handy.
Dan

 

[keitho]

well, keep us up to date. i would like to see how everything is going several months from now.

 

[gabbys125reef]

I use tapwater to top off and do water changes. I use the tap water purifier and put in no extra chemicals to get rid of anything. Everything is ok and growing.
<a href="http://www.geocities.com/reefatnk125" target="_blank">www.geocities.com/reefatnk125</a>

 

[blj1234]

I am planning on useing water-from-the-sink when I get enough info on saltwater tanks. You mean I can take this water (that comes strait from the ground), and just add this stuff to make it clean! Will it work? I was trying to save $$, someone said water from wally world (I hate walmart, The only freshwater fish they have either are dead, or about to die) or spend major $$ on a water filteration system to get all that junk out of the water. So, please tell me what I have to do to get rid of the junk in my water (from the sink) to fill up the tank when I start. <img src="graemlins//eek.gif" border="0" alt="[eek]" /> <img src="graemlins//eek.gif" border="0" alt="[eek]" /> <img src="graemlins//eek.gif" border="0" alt="[eek]" />

 

[ubeturwrasse]

they also put flouide (or flourine sp.) into the water, which can build up over time and reach toxic levels.

 

[sinner's girl]

blj1234 - when I said water from wal-mart i did not mean their fish water! (eww! never) I meant water in gallon jugs. the water we use to fill-up comes from a filter thingie in the front of the store (it is not saltwater or freshwater from there fish tanks). (you can get this same water anywhere, i'm sure other stores have simplar fill-your-own-container water stands.

 

[blj1234]

I'm not that dumb. I know that you don't get their water from their tanks. I would just feel stupid buying that water for fish. It's embarassing enouph having 3 tanks of the smelly creatures, but it's a hobby. That brings me to my 2nd question. Do saltwater tanks smell as much as freshwater tanks????

 

[kris walker]

Hi Rookie,
I agree with the Sinner. If it is RO water, the walmart water should be better than your tap water. I thought it was silly at first, but then I ran into the phosphate problem I was getting with my city water (I was using britta filter, which took care of metals and other stuff, but not phosphates). The algae problem forced me to reconsider my water source (for the record, I didn't have a phosphate test kit when I was using tap ).
sam

 

[chrismilano]

I have a question. Instant ocean brags on the bucket that it instantly removes chlorine, so then why use additives? Unless you're topping off with just non-salted (for lack of a better term) tap water, why would additive be necessary? What type of damage do phosphates do?

 

[kris walker]

Hi Chris,
I'm not sure if I understand your question correctly, but I'll give it a shot.
If you top off with plain H2O (pH 7.0) with absolutely no additives, all you are doing is replacing the evaporated water.
If you top off with plain H2O mixed with a salt mix, you are adding perfect water with trace elements into your tank (in case of replacing evaporated water, you're increasing salinity).
If you add H2O from tap, you are not necessarily adding those important trace elements (depends on your tap), and you could be adding bad stuff like phosphate.
Why is phosphate bad? It is the principal nutrient IMO that causes algae blooms. The other would be nitrates. Another reason: high phosphates are not tolerated by many corals, especially corals that grow in nutrient-poor conditions (e.g. SPS corals).
sam