Tap water question- please help!

[sietedos]

Ok I used tap water to set up my aquarium like 3 or 4 weeks ago. I'm going to used RO water from now on for my water changes and topoffs, but will the initial use of tap water hurt anything or will it be ok now? Thanks!

 

[nigerbang]

Eventually through water changes and evap. all the tap water will be gone..

 

[sietedos]

Ok, but until then is the water safe for livestock? I am going to do a 20% change with RO water.

 

[nigerbang]

Unless you have terrible water where you live, Tap water isnt really harmful to fish (depends on your area) just seems to cause Algae blooms alot of times..

 

[sietedos]

I think our water is good enough...I drink it anyway. Appreciate the help.

 

[nigerbang]

N/p

 

[trippkid]

Like said about causing algae blooms, PO4,Nitrate, Heavy metals, could be present. Hard to say at this point. Just keep using the RO from now on, and you should do OK.

 

[srfisher17]

This is a never ending debate. But, IMO, de-chlorinated or aged tap water can be just fine. It just depends on your water source. If you have a municipal water supply, the local water dept will give you a fairly detailed report on what is in their water. I'm not saying everyone should; but I've used tap water since I got into the hobby--with no problems that I could blame on the water. Based on the cost and effort of using either RO or distilled water; I think at least checking out your tap water is worth it. This is always a personal decision and I respect everyone's opinion.