Prime?

[Travis55]

Hey all. I am slowly getting tired of driving to my lfs to get ro water... lol the lady i got my tank from used tap water treated with prime and used it for top offs and water changes. She did it for like 2 years. Could i get away with this? I want an ro/di filter but its gonna be a little while... thanks!

 

[Hinds04]

You can but your gonna have problems with "bad algae" and other things. You can get a decent brand new ro/di unit for roughly $60. If you figure gas and money for water I would say you've already spent way more than that.

 

[AquaRick]

It's going to be cheaper in the long run to get a rodi unit and make your own water. I personally wouldn't touch tap water in a SW tank.

 

[Convict2161]

There's a nice one on eBay for 65.00 shipped. I just picked one up. I'm starting my first SW tank. So this is all new to me.

 

[Travis55]

You can but your gonna have problems with "bad algae" and other things. You can get a decent brand new ro/di unit for roughly $60. If you figure gas and money for water I would say you've already spent way more than that.

So could i off and on but not 100% of the time?

 

[Zakwhite]

Through experience I would never ever ever go back to using tap in my marine because of the algae issues I have
Only just swapped to rodi from my lfs because it's only 50p a gallon bargain £2.50 for 25 litres and I am leafy seeing algae improvements still got some algae as there is tap water in the system got my second water change today with the rodi I also find it help the coralline algae grow hope this helps

 

[Dano.]

So could i off and on but not 100% of the time?

Something else you want to remember us you never know what is in that tap water, or what is has come in contact with in the pipes on the way to your house. While it has never happened to me I have heard of people doing a PWC with tap water and losing fish shortly after.

 

[Zakwhite]

So could i off and on but not 100% of the time?

Yes if you want I mean I have only had algae issues but it could be a factor of me losing fish though when I was doing out that way

 

[Keeler]

I would use LFS water or make your own. A lot of people have bad luck with tap water. Now on the other hand, I've been using it for years. I have a water jug I fill up 5 gallons at a time and treat with Prime and leave the cap off to allow for chemical vapors (chlorine) to evaporate. I haven't had any issues with algae or dead fish. I think it depends on the condition of your water as well.

 

[Badfishofbabylon]

It's possible to keep a healthy reef tank using only tap but it can be more work and thing can go down hill fast. My little brother has only used tap with dechlorinator for almost 2 years. He still gets random algea out breaks but along as he stays on top of his water chages, the tanks has little problems. If you use tap then you should keep your bio-load (amount of fish) smaller, as the water will already be dirtier compaired to RO/DI.

I would suggest taking a sample of your tap water to your LFS and ask if they will test your levels, Copper and Phosphates cause the biggest problem causers in tap.

If you are going reef then get an RO/DI asap your corals will thank you.

Here is picture of my my brothes healthy reef tank; using only a canfilter and 100% tap water.

 

[Travis55]

What about tap water with a uv sterilizer? Doesnt a uv sterilizer kill alge and stuff?

 

[AquaRick]

It's the ammonia, nitrates, and phosphates in tap that make is subpar to rodi water. A UV sterilizer won't take care of that.

 

[Travis55]

It's the ammonia, nitrates, and phosphates in tap that make is subpar to rodi water. A UV sterilizer won't take care of that.

Doesnt prime take care of that?

 

[joy13]

No prime doesn't take care of all the bad stuff in tap water. I was reading some reports of city water in various areas around the state and found they vary widely. Is there a walmart with one of those water machines in your area? You cold also you distilled water to top off.