R/O water

[sully08]

Just got my new 220g circulating and testing for leaks in the plumbing. I filled it up with regular city water. I heard that I should be useing R/O water as much as possible. Is it totally necessary to use R/O when having a salt water aquarium, I did fresh for years and was not aware of the importance of R/O water in salt. Could you run without it (just use regular tap water) or should I buy a R/O system? Feed back would be appreciated.

 

[cmor1701d]

The initial fill on my 125 was tap. I didn't have a rodi yet. Tap water contains many things you don't want in a reef tank. You can get a copy of the latest test results from the water company. It may contain phosphates, nitrates, etc. Which may be fine for human consumption but lead to algae problems in the tank.

Your tank is going to be a major investment in TIME and money. Even the best RODI system is only a couple of hundred dollars. You'll want to use it for top off and pwc so I would suggest getting the 150gpd membrane (airwaterice, one of our sponsors carry it in the Typhoon line of filters).