Water for tank changes.

[reefwreak]

I'm in college, and I just purchased a 24g JBJ. To do water changes, I do not feel comfortable adding the seachem Prime solution to the dorm water and letting it sit. I don't trust the piping. I looked for RO water, and the only water I could find was Aquafina bottles (12oz) at the supermarket. Everything else was distilled or de-ionized, but nothing marked RO. I want this tank to last, so the chemical composition of the water is very important. Any suggestions on water brands or labels to look for for tank water.
And before anyone asks or says something, yes, I will add salt to the water, and have a hydrometer to measure it out.
Thank you!

 

[carshark]

first i know you are in college so cash flow may be limited, but if you can this site sells refractometers pretty cheap, there are other sites out there including a popular auction site that sells them as well if this site is out of them. throw away your hydrometer!!!! they arent accurate, second at your local grocery store, dont they have a refill station for water?? that is RO water, im sure you know RO stands for "reverse osmosis" so look on lables for that if they dont have a water change station...or you may have to go out a little farther to find a grocery that has one. "Prime" is the best conditioner out there IMO, but yeah using that water in your dorms could cause trouble down the road. my only advice is call all of the closest grocery stores and find out if they have water stations, if they do 99.9% are RO water stations...good luck

oh and dont fill your new tank with the dorm water either.. just in case you havent yet..

 

[reefwreak]

Thanks!
I would never fill the tank with dorm water. I bought the tank, along with fish and LR and everything from a guy off of a popular auction site, and transported it all 3 hours away and then set it up. I'm just trying to get this all settled down. I want to change the water out to get some of the crap out that settled on top of the CC bed. The stuff all came from the tank but 6 months into establishment. Thanks for your help!

 

[bluelagoon]

i've lucked out enormously as far as my new lfs... lots of cool stuff to check out and all...
anyways, my mom and i have decided that i should change my water w/ actual sea water, since it's hard to keep small tanks (mine's 5 gal).

 

[marco333]

use distilled water it works great

 

[nanoreef]

R/O's good to