ok to use tap water once?

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scottayy

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My RO/DI plumbing broke and Lowe's doesn't have the part I need so I had to order it off of the internet. 3-5 business days shipping.

My nitrates are around 100, should I use tap water (with prime) just this once to get the nitrates down until my part gets here?
 
I usually do about a 15 gallon pwc

I should do more though. Maybe a couple 15 gallon changes a couple days apart. Although I suppose I could do just one and then wait for the plumbing adapter part to get here.
 
all i have in the tank though is 2 green chromis and a small clean up crew
i don't want them to suffer though
 
all my WC are with tap- i have great tap water, and i use api stress coat and a ph buffer.. but if your water isnt great than i'd think about going on and buyin some water-- you can buy a gallon for $0.60 at walmart.. it might be worth buying some or all of you WC that way.
 
Actually I have a water purifier for drinking water (RO, but not RO/DI). This should remove a lot of the contaminants, right?
 
yes, as long it is not adding anything to your water.. but i would still condition it and test everything before you put it in.
 
Tap water tested at 256 TDS and "purified" water using my water filter at 250 TDS, so not much of a difference. I probably need to replace the filter in that but we never use it.

I guess I'll lug some water in tomorrow. I really hate to do that but since I'm wanting to turn this into a reef tank I don't want all of those contaminants in there.
 
If your only talking about nitrates, it's just a math thing. Test the nitrate of the tap water. If it's also 100, there will be no change. If you do a 25% water change with water that has a 20ppm nitrate reading, doing some math (100x3) + 20 = 320 / 4 = 80 as your new lowered nitrate reading.
 
Are you on a well or city water? If you are on city water, your nitrates should read no more 10ppm out of the tap as per EPA regulations. If they do read higher, you should notify your water authority.

FYI, consumption of water with over 10ppm of nitrates is considered potentially lethal to children under 6 months.
 
I just filled up my tank with tap water, its a 75 gallon havent added salt or fish yet but all things are on it like PS and filter. I didnt even know you werent supposed to use tap :0 should i take all of it out?
 
I just filled up my tank with tap water, its a 75 gallon havent added salt or fish yet but all things are on it like PS and filter. I didnt even know you werent supposed to use tap :0 should i take all of it out?

nah, just let it sit for a week or so
 
@AddictiveAdam, tap water has a lot of nutrients and contaminants in it. My tap water read 256 ppm total dissolved solids where as my RO/DI water reads 0 ppm. The extra stuff in the water can lead to algae outbreaks and be harmful or irritative to your tank inhabitants.

With that being said, I just mixed up 18 gallons of tap water with salt to do my water change tomorrow. It's necessary. I've had >1 ppm ammonia along with high nitrates after my huge cyano die off. I just didn't want to mention it publicly ;p
 
Im new to it, so i just didnt know. I got this thing that is supposed to make tap water into fish water its a long cylinder shape with 2 tubes on the end.
 
It's okay, I didn't know either when I first started. Then I bought an RO/DI unit that hooks up under my sink. Unfortunately the plumbing to it is broken right now.

What do you have, exactly? Have a picture?
 
Aquarium Pharmaceuticals 175 Tap Water Filter, Filtration System for Fresh or Salt Water Aquariums type that into amazon or google and th eproduct will come up!
 
That looks like it's just DI water. You really should be using RO/DI. Get a cheap TDS meter and check how much stuff is in the water you're putting in your aquarium.

It really is a good thing to invest in (only like $15) to check how pure your water is in the future!
 
Okay, so now my ammonia is .5, nitrites are .25 and nitrates are 40
I'd hate to do another PWC with tap water.
You think these levels are safe to leave for a week?
 
Well I got my plumbing parts today and hooked it up and it works.

However, it makes water way slower than it used to. This is how I broke the plumbing in the first place.. investigating why it wasn't making water as much as it used to.

What does it mean when my RO/DI unit is making water a lot slower than it used to? My pressure is good. And it's still reading 0ppm TDS, so I don't think the cartridges are bad or gunked up.
 
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