Why You Shouldnt Use Tap Water (Part 2)

[veni vidi vici]

Originally Posted by TruPerc
http:///forum/post/3061058
Guess it just depends on where you live.
BTW look at some of the chemicals used to purify the water in the system you have shown"polyphosphates"Not something you would like to have in a reef tank.

 

[bmorefisher9]

I bought the TAP WATER filter thought I give it a shot! As said above you would not realize what's in tap water! I had a few problems with the tank and thought I give it a shot. I test tap water and wow not so great at all then tested the water after using the filter and took everything out of the tap water I didnt think it would work but it works! For 50 bucks great deal down side filters are 20 bucks and will last about 200-300 gals.

 

[jp30338]

What are you testing for? What types of problems were you having in your tank? Did the tap water miraculously cure these problems?
A tap water filter is not the same as an ro/di system by the way...

 

[veni vidi vici]

Find out what your tap water pollutants are for your city here.
http://www.ewg.org/tapwater/yourwate...wsid=IL0316000
Suprise!!!!! Tap water is nasty stuff.I dont know how Chicagos population isnt dead yet.

 

[oceansidefish]

Another thing all you "my well water is pure as the driven snow" people should think about....Water stores change dramatically from season to season, particularly between wet and dry months. During dry periods water tends to pull minerals out of the surrounding bedrock. I have always advocated using a "Watercheck" from NTL labs in MI to check well water or tap water.

 

[oceansidefish]

one more thing, while tap water can be used for long periods with no issues...It makes things all the easier to rule out when you do have problems. An RO/DI however is certainly no substitute for frequent water changes and responsible reefkeeping.

 

[briand7878]

My tank was doing ok on r/o water but a friend of mine suggested that I try tap because his was doing really good. We live in the same side of town. When i got off the r/o water my tank started doing great. The algae went away and the corals started looking great. I have no idea what the issue was, I regularly changed the filters and tested the tds. I think some things just work better for some people.

 

[truperc]

FWIW, I was not arguing against the use of RO/DI water, but pointing out that there is a difference between straight well water and municipality water in many places around the country.
I actually agree that it is probably not worth the risk to use tap water, since it takes the control of the water content out of your hands.
My tap water for example has 10 ppm of Nitrates in it, which would put me behind the eight ball as soon as I added the water. Not to mention, the obvious fluctuation that will occur throughout the year.
I think it is important to know the real picture as it relates to your own individual locations, rather than make sweeping generalizations.
In short, we all decide the methods that work best for us, and deal with the natural consequences of those decisions as they come.