ro/di or distilled water ?'s

[tyler]

is it necessary to use ro water in a saltwater setup? i don't really have the money for a unit and going to the grocery store to get water sounds like a too much work to me.

[reefrunner69]

The less pure the water used, the more potential algae problem in the future. If your gonna have a FO with standard lighting, then no, you don't have to use RO/DI, you will need to treat the water for chlorine and chloramines before using it. All the nutrients in tap water will more than likely cause some extra clean up time each week scraping the algae. If your gonna do a reef....I wouldn't recommend doing without RO/DI, unless you have tested your water andd know it to be free of nitrate, silicate, phosphate et...Some tap waters are very good, and do not require any filtration, this is the exception though, not the rule.

[tyler]

would tap water be detrimental to live rock in a fowlr setup?

[reefrunner69]

Originally Posted by tyler

would tap water be detrimental to live rock in a fowlr setup?

Possibly, it would really depend on what was in the tap water and how much light was gonna be on the tank.

[tyler]

thank you kevin.

could you give me situations where it would and would not be? i'm really itching to set up the 29, but this water thing is holding me back.