Questions about my Water source

[tony1021]

when i filled my tank with water the first time, i just used regular tap water and poured in the required salt.

Been reading about all this ro/di systems but i just buy my water at the lfs for my pwc.

might seem stupid but again, i don't know nothing about sw aquariums.

my lfs receives its water from the ocean and they don't make their own mix is this ok? should i look for an lfs that uses a ro/di system?

thanks

 

[thatmagicguy]

It depends on what they are doing to the seawater they are collecting. If you go to the beach and collect seawater there are two things to worry about among others. First is pollutants. Petrolium products and waste from vessels in the water along with any industrial waste that happens to be near the collection site. The other problem is organics like plankton and all. When you collect water from the ocean it is usually very "alive" and when you contain it and transport it these plankton start to die and the ammonia levels go up in the collected water. And I suppose thirdly you might worry about introducing pests of the planktonic size, or pathogens that might instigate disease. So you should ask your local store what they are doing to address these concerns.

The reason people use R.O. water for marine tanks is that you usually do not have to worry about things like phosphates and other things that promote algae and such.

I would use R.O. water mixed with a quality salt mix to use for your water changes.

Bill

 

[mgamer20o0]

how big of tank is it? i was able to get a 5 stage ro unit with tdi meeter and hose connection for $170 shipped. might be worth peace of mind but again i know nothing about sw.

 

[melosu58]

I would never use the sea water unless my LFS could prove that it was filtered and clean. I`m not saying it`s wrong to use it but I`ll take my chances on my own RO/DI water and salt mix. JMO