cincyreefer
Active Member
Bang- Most may not have been the best word... I mainly meant that there are more than most people think.
Why you should never use tap water
- Thread starter clint_reno
- Start date
cincyreefer
Active Member
There are so many factors that play a role in whether or not an RO unit can effectively remove parasites and bacteria. Membrane size, amount the membranes are changed, how much iron is in the source water, whether or not DI is being used, cyst size, etc... It is hard to really get in much depth about this without including so many different variables. I would be more than willing to explain my opinions, but it is difficult without getting extremely in depth and taking a good amount of time. I have a real good link to many good discussions of these topics, however I think it is against board policy.
jeepboy
Member
I've been using RO water from the start based on advice here. A guy here at work who has been in the fish buisness/hobby for a long time said he just used the city tap water here since it was good water. I have no intentions of changing to tap water without hard numbers of what determines "good" water.
So does anyone know what the numbers are for good or bad water?
I agree with most that ro/di is the safe way, but if someone lives in an area with "good" tap water why not use it.
So does anyone know what the numbers are for good or bad water?
I agree with most that ro/di is the safe way, but if someone lives in an area with "good" tap water why not use it.
jc74
Member
I live on the outskirts of town and have horrible water. It tastes like chlorine, and when we come back from vacation it has a brownish tint during the first minute or so of running.
Maybe this isn't the wisest choice, but tap water is all I have ever used in my tank. Yep, this bleachy, rusty water. You know what? I haven't had one single fish die due to water conditions. They've always been extremely healthy and long-lived (except for a couple major cases of ick due to infected fish from the LFS), and I've raised a juvenile Emperor Angel to adulthood which can be difficult under the best conditions. It took about three years but he finally made it.
What I do when adding water is let it run for a minute or two, add a few pumps of Stress Coat conditioner, and dump it in. Any toxic metals that aren't taken care of by the Stress Coat dissipate shortly, so from my experience I don't see where tap water is a problem.
Maybe this isn't the wisest choice, but tap water is all I have ever used in my tank. Yep, this bleachy, rusty water. You know what? I haven't had one single fish die due to water conditions. They've always been extremely healthy and long-lived (except for a couple major cases of ick due to infected fish from the LFS), and I've raised a juvenile Emperor Angel to adulthood which can be difficult under the best conditions. It took about three years but he finally made it.
What I do when adding water is let it run for a minute or two, add a few pumps of Stress Coat conditioner, and dump it in. Any toxic metals that aren't taken care of by the Stress Coat dissipate shortly, so from my experience I don't see where tap water is a problem.
bang guy
Moderator
Originally posted by Jeepboy
So does anyone know what the numbers are for good or bad water?
You should be able to get an an analysis of your tap water. Your Water Authority is required to test & required to make the results public. Call them.
Things to look for in my opinion -
Copper below 0.0003ppm
Aluminum below 0.0003ppm
Tin = 0.0ppm (any Tin can be really bad IMO)
zinc below 0.0004ppm
Silicates below 10ppm
If you have mechanisms for the removal of Nitrate and Phosphate like an Algae refugium or Deep sand bed then those levels should just be fairly low so as not to overwhelm your system but if you do not have this type of filtration then Nitrate & phosphate need to be really low.
oceanminded
Member
My vote goes to Tap.
