Water

H

hlp

Guest
I have been reading the Conscientious Marine Aquarist and teh author recommends using tap water that has been aged about 7 days. I have city water and the area has a lot of limestone deposits. What are the ideas of other hobbyists?
 
phishy

phishy

Member
I am willing to bet that most will tell you to use RO water (it is better and causes less problems). However, I don't. Instead, I let my water sit in buckets with a small powerhead and heater for 24 hours.
HTH...
 
H

hlp

Guest
I plan to do the same. Powerhead is on order. I will keep a bucket for makeup and one premixed for water changes. Plan a 10% every 2 weeks or so.
 
H

hlp

Guest
A lot of people recommended this book. How do you feel about this recomendation?
 
H

hlp

Guest
I have a water quality report for my local utility. It is all greek to me. What do I need to look for in the report? Even then, I don't know if I can decipher the results. I am looking fro experience based opinions.
 
reefnut

reefnut

Active Member

Originally posted by HLP
I have a water quality report for my local utility. It is all greek to me. What do I need to look for in the report? Even then, I don't know if I can decipher the results. I am looking fro experience based opinions.
Chances are your tap water would be a bad way to go. A ro/di unit is pretty cheap and well worth the effort.
 
H

hlp

Guest
How cheap? I am considering doing something but initial cost is not my concern. Filter cartridges can cost big $$. What type do you have and what is your annual cost?
 
bang guy

bang guy

Moderator

Originally posted by HLP
A lot of people recommended this book. How do you feel about this recomendation?
I encourage reading this book. It covers a lot of ground and introduces most of the terms & ideas.
The author is not recommending tap water, the author is recommending aging the tap water if you use it.
RO/DI is the way to go unless you want to rish going through the terrible situations of dying fish & corals that Beaslbob has been experiencing.
Bang
 
reefnut

reefnut

Active Member

Originally posted by HLP
How cheap? I am considering doing something but initial cost is not my concern. Filter cartridges can cost big $$. What type do you have and what is your annual cost?
I have a Typhoon III. It's one of the more expensive ones (but I highly recommend it) at around $220 but I will be spending $50 a year on new filters... they make cheaper units that seem to be pretty good for around $100. Look on ----.
Taking the typhoon III as an example... it's a 5 stage unit so...
1. Sediment Filter... lasts 6-12 months... 2.95 each
2. Carbon Block Filter... lasts 6-12 months... 9.95 each
3. Carbon Block Filter... lasts 9-12 months... 9.95 each
4. DI cartridge... 700 to 1000 gallons... 24.95
5. RO membrane... lasts 2- years... 45.00
I'm not sure on the prices of the replacement filters for the auction unit.
The life of each filter depends on the starting quality of the tap water.
 
H

hlp

Guest
Being a newbie, how do I choose a reliable RO/DI?At what point is it a must have? Who manufactures the Typhoon? Do I need an additional pump to run the unit?or will tap pressure drive the unit?
 
nm reef

nm reef

Active Member
I most definitely would not suggest anybody use tap water...a quality water source is vital and the comments from some members here that claim tap water is a better choice are simply stating their opinion and not acknowledging that the vast majority of experienced hobbyists prefer a better quality water source than tap.I have the "Conscientious Marine Aquarist" and I believe the actual information is to use ro or ro/di water but if tap must be used(as a final choice) then insure it is allow to sit for a period of time to allow items to disapate out of the contaminated water.
It is my personal opinion backed up by authors on the subject and the experiences of numerous successful hobbyists that tap water is basically a poor choice for a marine aquarium and the majority of experienced hobbyists will support that position...at least I believe they will.
I'd also point out that macro algaes are a good addition to the over all filtration of a stable and mature system...but without caution they can and will become problematic and invasive...most sane and rational hobbyists use macro algaes in a controlled manner and do not allow they to over run a system.
Algaes do serve a good purpose but any advice to encourage their growth in a dsiplay to improve tap water is in my opinion reckless and careless and simply not accepted as the norm ... and again I can savely state that I do not believe the majority of experienced and successful hobbyists would support the suggestions of our friend ...but as a wise man once said....
your reef~your choice
 
slappy

slappy

Member
i use ro water in my tanks, i always wanted to try a water change or two with tap water. then after replacing some old pipes in the bathroom and taking a glance at the crap that had built up in there i changed my mind pretty fast. i dont know what the stuff was or if its that i have well water but id rather not have any of that in the tank.....just my .02
 
bang guy

bang guy

Moderator
Distilled water should be better than RO and similar to RO/DI.
RO = Filtered through a Reverse Osmosis membrane that removes most of the impurities. Some Phosphates & Silicates will pass through. Nearly all toxic metals are removed so this water is considered safe for most SW aquariums.
DI - Filtered using deionizer beads that remove almost all impurities including Phosphate & Silicates. This is pure water and is safe for Reef Aquariums.
 
H

hlp

Guest
Bang,
What type of RO/DI do you use? I started a thread in the eq/diy but have gotten limited response.
 
bang guy

bang guy

Moderator
I have a Kent Maxxima I use for water changes. I chemically purify my topoff water with Calcium hydroxide. After studying my system in depth it does work but there are situations where unfiltered well water could flow into my system so I believe I'm going to re-think my system. I will probably abandon my well water and start using RO for everything.
 
H

hlp

Guest
Are you happy with the performance? How have you set up a Lagoon?
 
bang guy

bang guy

Moderator

Originally posted by HLP
Are you happy with the performance? How have you set up a Lagoon?
It's more than I need. Very happy with performance.
this thread should answer your questions about the lagoon ---> Lagoon Thread
 
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