Tap water conditioner
- Thread starter schmilnik
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Jarred Darque
Aquarium Advice FINatic
- Joined
- Mar 24, 2006
- Messages
- 682
as in a dechlorinator?
lando
Aquarium Advice Addict
It should not be a problem to add it now. I would strongly suggest switching to RO/DI water from here on out. Most city tap water and well water is full of heavy metals, chemicals, NO3 and PO4. All of which will bring challenges to you down the road. I can not over-emphisize the importance of quality source water as it pertains to the long-term success of your tank.
Ziggy953
Aquarium Advice Addict
I totally agree! With all the money that IS GOING to be put into your tank, why not start off the right way and spend a little bit more usually only about $100 for a RO/DI filter of your own and then you will have one less thing to worry about.
lando
Aquarium Advice Addict
Quality source water is often overlooked in the begining. While not very "glamerous", an RO/DI is the best purchse you can make for your tank.
www.thefilterguys.biz
several of our sponsors for this site sell them as well.
www.ebay.com
www.thefilterguys.biz
several of our sponsors for this site sell them as well.
Yes. High levels of NO3 and PO4 are often present in tap water. Both of which feed unwanted algae.
I would not start over. But I would look into getting RO/DI water either from buying an RO/DI unit or getting your water from your LFS. Some places like Walmart have RO water that is fairly cheap. I just dont know if they are dilligent in replacing filters and membranes.
weemanpow3
Aquarium Advice Freak
- Joined
- Jul 26, 2006
- Messages
- 224
I did the same thing as you schmilnik. When I switched over to RO/DI water I noticed a change in water quality.
I dont understand what you are saying? Are you saying that is algea all I have to worry about if I just stay with tap water? If that is what you are saying then my answer would be that you dont know how many people want to break their tank down or are just plain discouraged because algea has over run their tank. I`m having a hard time understanding the meaning of your word "just". Hopefully I have misunderstood your question but just algea is a big problem.
lando
Aquarium Advice Addict
No. As mentioned above, these filters remove heavy mentals and other chemicals used to treat tap water. Algae is just a visable problem to poor water conditions. Using low quality source water is a huge contributor.
Personally, I would check and see what other reefers and the stores in your area are doing.
Some cities like here in London, where we use Great Lakes water and have excellent treatment facilities with chlorine used instead of chloramine, have no dire need to use RO or RO/DI.
I have switched back and forth several times in my earlier years in the hobby and found no difference in my case, so now, I age my tap water in 55g olive barrels to let the chlorine dissipate, and then use it for my tanks.
However, there ARE London hobbyists using RO and RO/DI water and still have all sorts of problems including algae problems.
That tells me that the root of the problem many times has nothing to do with the use of tap water but tap water gets the blame automatically.
Many areas have poor water quality, and most wells produce unsuitable water so purified water would obviously be the answer in those cases.
Probably your city has requirements placed on them by higher up governments, to do a COMPLETE water analysis at least twice a year and you should be able to access this information either by submitting a request for it, or maybe your city provides this information online.
Some cities like here in London, where we use Great Lakes water and have excellent treatment facilities with chlorine used instead of chloramine, have no dire need to use RO or RO/DI.
I have switched back and forth several times in my earlier years in the hobby and found no difference in my case, so now, I age my tap water in 55g olive barrels to let the chlorine dissipate, and then use it for my tanks.
However, there ARE London hobbyists using RO and RO/DI water and still have all sorts of problems including algae problems.
That tells me that the root of the problem many times has nothing to do with the use of tap water but tap water gets the blame automatically.
Many areas have poor water quality, and most wells produce unsuitable water so purified water would obviously be the answer in those cases.
Probably your city has requirements placed on them by higher up governments, to do a COMPLETE water analysis at least twice a year and you should be able to access this information either by submitting a request for it, or maybe your city provides this information online.
Kurt_Nelson
Aquarium Advice Addict
I agree with rayjay that water gets the brunt of the blame often for algae, but just because your water is pristine doesn't mean it's going to stay that way forever. I'll just pass on a little story I've lived the last couple months.
I live near Seattle, WA where we have exceptionally great tap water. My city water is treated with chlorine. Last summer, when planning what to do about water for the tank, I tested and retested my tap water. Except for the chlorine, it was fantastic - no nitrates, no ammonia, no phosphates, no nuthin. So I go out and buy a Kold-Steril filtration unit as I don't really like the idea of wasting a bunch of water, and I like the idea of water "on demand." (For those that don't know what a Kold-Steril unit does, it's not RO/DI... but a series of polyfilters in various porosities, coupled with a carbon block, that will take out heavy metals and chlorine.)
I install the Kold Steril and everything's great for several months. In my 10g quarantine tank, I start to realize that I just can't get my nitrates down below 10ppm. Even with massive water changes, I still can't get it below 10ppm. I check my stored saltwater and find IT has 10ppm nitrates! I check my tap water out of the Kold-Steril... yup, 10ppm nitrates. OK... it's not the end of the world, but I really don't want my "perfect" water change water to start me out at 10ppm of nitrates.
I scrambled to figure out what to do, and decided to bite the bullet and just hook up a double canister DI unit to the output of my Kold Steril, and restrict my flow with an industrial flow meter. (Hats off to the folks at thefilterguys.biz for all their help!) I ended up with pure water, running at about 40 gallons/hour.
Eventually, I got a hold of the water company to find out why the nitrates were so high. Federal standards limit them to 10ppm. They said their yearly testing showed only 1.5ppm nitrates in my water, but they'd send someone out to draw a sample and test. I have to hand it to them... they got on it pretty quick and came out to my house and got a sample, as well as a sample from the storage reservoir near our house. After a couple days, they got back the lab results and it was 1.5ppm nitrates. I went home and tested with my API test kit, and ended up with 10ppm nitrates yet again. When I tested my pure DI water, as expected, I got 0ppm nitrates.
Sooo... what's going on? I'm not sure. I've asked API via email for an explanation and haven't heard boo from them. I'm guessing there's something in my water that is triggering a false reading for nitrates because I trust the water department's lab results way more than I trust my little "compare the colors" test.
I guess my long-winded point is that I thought I had pristine water. And I did... in August of 2006. But come November 2006, something is different and testing shows it as nitrates, even though I'm sure it isn't. Rather than scratch my head and wonder, I'm playing it safe and going with water that I KNOW is pure.
I live near Seattle, WA where we have exceptionally great tap water. My city water is treated with chlorine. Last summer, when planning what to do about water for the tank, I tested and retested my tap water. Except for the chlorine, it was fantastic - no nitrates, no ammonia, no phosphates, no nuthin. So I go out and buy a Kold-Steril filtration unit as I don't really like the idea of wasting a bunch of water, and I like the idea of water "on demand." (For those that don't know what a Kold-Steril unit does, it's not RO/DI... but a series of polyfilters in various porosities, coupled with a carbon block, that will take out heavy metals and chlorine.)
I install the Kold Steril and everything's great for several months. In my 10g quarantine tank, I start to realize that I just can't get my nitrates down below 10ppm. Even with massive water changes, I still can't get it below 10ppm. I check my stored saltwater and find IT has 10ppm nitrates! I check my tap water out of the Kold-Steril... yup, 10ppm nitrates. OK... it's not the end of the world, but I really don't want my "perfect" water change water to start me out at 10ppm of nitrates.
I scrambled to figure out what to do, and decided to bite the bullet and just hook up a double canister DI unit to the output of my Kold Steril, and restrict my flow with an industrial flow meter. (Hats off to the folks at thefilterguys.biz for all their help!) I ended up with pure water, running at about 40 gallons/hour.
Eventually, I got a hold of the water company to find out why the nitrates were so high. Federal standards limit them to 10ppm. They said their yearly testing showed only 1.5ppm nitrates in my water, but they'd send someone out to draw a sample and test. I have to hand it to them... they got on it pretty quick and came out to my house and got a sample, as well as a sample from the storage reservoir near our house. After a couple days, they got back the lab results and it was 1.5ppm nitrates. I went home and tested with my API test kit, and ended up with 10ppm nitrates yet again. When I tested my pure DI water, as expected, I got 0ppm nitrates.
Sooo... what's going on? I'm not sure. I've asked API via email for an explanation and haven't heard boo from them. I'm guessing there's something in my water that is triggering a false reading for nitrates because I trust the water department's lab results way more than I trust my little "compare the colors" test.
I guess my long-winded point is that I thought I had pristine water. And I did... in August of 2006. But come November 2006, something is different and testing shows it as nitrates, even though I'm sure it isn't. Rather than scratch my head and wonder, I'm playing it safe and going with water that I KNOW is pure.
MorayMadness
Aquarium Advice Regular
the only problem i have switching to ro/di is the cost of water and the waste. 1 gallon for every 5 gallons are good. so in my 60 gallon tank, i do about 15 gallons weekly pwc
so thats 75 waste gallons of water each week not to mention top offs. i use tap water with conditioner and my tank has been up for 5 years with a fuge to remove po4 my no3 is down to 0. 0 i would love to go to ro/ di water but its too much waste to deal with not to mention my water bill and if i get it at the lfs premade water its 15 gallons transported each week at roughly 39 cents a gallon. wondering if you could plum the waste water back into a tank that feeds the intake to recycle the system?
so thats 75 waste gallons of water each week not to mention top offs. i use tap water with conditioner and my tank has been up for 5 years with a fuge to remove po4 my no3 is down to 0. 0 i would love to go to ro/ di water but its too much waste to deal with not to mention my water bill and if i get it at the lfs premade water its 15 gallons transported each week at roughly 39 cents a gallon. wondering if you could plum the waste water back into a tank that feeds the intake to recycle the system?
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