Where does your water come from??

[Krish]

When it comes to putting water in our tanks, people use all sorts of different methods. Where does your water come from or should I say, what purification method do you use? I use strickly ro/di water which I buy from a local water plant here.

 

[Scooterman]

RO/DI, figured why not have one less thing to worry about!

 

[gothunder3022]

RO/DI...been using at least RO since 1994. Doesn't take long for the convenience and purity to outweigh the costs (which are really reasonable IMO).

Here's a link to my "over the top" water management system: http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/f12/water-management-system-52510/

 

[CarlaW]

RO/DI all the way, between 50-60 gallons a week.

 

[Krish]

So who's the smarty pants that voted plain tap water??? :nono:

Love to hear more about it as in if you've had the water tested to see if it was suitable for aquarium use or just use and not worry about all that stuff??

 

[ReefLogic]

That would be me. I no longer do this as I have sharks now, but for the entire 3+ years I had my Reef tank I used nothing but tap. Well, minus the first year when I was using actual ocean water....which gave phenomenal results by the way. I haven't found a salt that produced those kinds of results since. But yes....I was nothing but tap. I did use a product called TLC to remove any amonia that might be in the water, but I never dosed anything in my tank. What is funniest about all of this is that there were several debates and conversations regarding why I had such tremendous growth in my tank....and when I was asked what kind of salt I used I would tell them, then they asked about the water and I would tell them and EVERYONE thought I was lying. Serious business dude....tap is what I used and got great growth from my zoa's, sps, and lps.

Would I recommend it to others.....no. would I do it differently in my next reef tank....probably not. I was told long ago....the more equipment and chemicals you add to your system the more potential problems you are adding as well. So I stayed with the Keep it simple approach and loved it. The one thing that my experiences in this hobby have led me to believe is that the only thing your corals actually depend on is consistency. What ever you do, just be consistent about it and all will be fine. I ran a higher temp than I am sure anyone on here does, as stated NEVER dosed a thing, and used TAP.

 

[Krish]

That would be me. I no longer do this as I have sharks now, but for the entire 3+ years I had my Reef tank I used nothing but tap. Well, minus the first year when I was using actual ocean water....which gave phenomenal results by the way. I haven't found a salt that produced those kinds of results since. But yes....I was nothing but tap. I did use a product called TLC to remove any amonia that might be in the water, but I never dosed anything in my tank. What is funniest about all of this is that there were several debates and conversations regarding why I had such tremendous growth in my tank....and when I was asked what kind of salt I used I would tell them, then they asked about the water and I would tell them and EVERYONE thought I was lying. Serious business dude....tap is what I used and got great growth from my zoa's, sps, and lps.

One infration for you!! :lol: J/K! That's pretty cool man...Have you ever tested that water as I have heard of some places that actally have tap water good enough for use in aquariums! Also, thanks for the other option...Totally forgot about NSW!

 

[ReefLogic]

I edited my previous post.

Yeah I had it tested once we moved to Portland. See before we moved it was nothing but NSW. But ever since it has been tap. We live in Beaverton and the water here has been exceptionally clean. I must admit when the first rain of the season hits I either don't do a tank change or purchase water. When it rains super heavy same thing. I don't know if they do the same here as in so cal but down there on these 2 events they pump extra crap in the water to assist in cleaning it.

 

[Skimmy]

thats right, I voted plain tap water!!
BUT!!! my tds is 20-22 out of the faucet(which is extremely rare),
and I use a "zero water" filter(a pitcher filter better than britta that comes w/ TDS meter)
that then takes it down to 000 tds for top off,
but use dechlorinated tap for changes.

normally I would never do this, but since I tested the water I feel pretty comfortable.
I also run GAC 24/7 so any residual heavy metals/pollution are prolly picked up in that...
I have been doing this for almost a year and no major algae issues at all.
although I do have an insane skimmer and run biopellets as well as the GAC...

 

[Krish]

thats right, i voted plain tap water!!
BUT!!! my tds is 20-22 out of the faucet(which is extremely rare),
and i use a "zero water" filter(a pitcher filter better than britta that comes w/ TDS meter)
that then takes it down to 000 tds for top off,
but use dechlorinated tap for changes.

normally I would never do this, but since I tested the water I feel pretty comfortable.
I also run GAC 24/7 so any residual heavy metals/pollution are prolly picked up in that...

Look who got a new name! Was coming in here to welcome you :rofl:

 

[Skimmy]

yes.. needed to abreviate

 

[NC2WA]

since my tap water is fine, I removed the DI that was in the 3rd chamber and used it for an extra sediment filter, hence why I voted for RO only..

 

[IPisces]

RO/DI unit was the first piece of equipment I got when I decided to get into this hobby. It was highly recommended. Actually I was told by a member that I had to have one before I got started. The first best piece of advise I got.

 

[thatguy559]

i get 90ppm from tap so i use an rodi unit until it reads 10ppm then i change the filters

 

[Lbrewer34]

I was getting purified natural seawater for water changes, but switched to ro/di after the store upset my wife. I either get my water from a lfs or Safeway (via water purification machine). Am I missing out on any benefits not using the natural sea water?

 

[Krish]

I wouldn't say you are missing out not using natural sea water. The salt mixes out there on the market like Instant Ocean etc have all of the trace elements you'd need in it that's found in NSW so no real biggie on not using NSW. What's missing or should I say is on the low side, you can always dose for. Probably 90% of the people with saltwater aquariums if not more, don't use NSW and you can see all the success they have with their setups so NSW isn't something that you need. Yes, it is good because you are getting the real deal in a sense, but even with NSW you can have issues and the water you get can be inconsistent with each batch depending on where it was collected from etc. Alot to factor in...

Here is a poll to show just how popular NSW is http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/f36/salt-mix-do-you-use-57735/ .

 

[ReefLogic]

I would have to agree with Krish here....again. I will say that when I was using NSW I would have pieces of actual kelp amongst other things in the water. I had very good results....but I have had pretty good results from Tropic Marin salts as well. I can't say the same results but good none the less. One perk of using NSW is no need for measuring your mix before doing changes....but that is probably about it.

 

[Krish]

One perk of using NSW is no need for measuring your mix before doing changes....but that is probably about it.

A downside to that though is you have to test the NSW to see where the salinity is at etc as sometimes, if the water is collected where there was some sort of drain off from rain, the salinty could be on the lower side so you would have to adjust for it. This is why I like my salt mixes. Usually consistent everytime...Atleast with IO

 

[Lbrewer34]

Ya, I probably should have tested the salinity instead of just pouring it in and assuming the salinity was right. Live and learn, I learned the hard way what phosphates were; when I set the tank up filled it with the hose from outside. Needless to say about three weeks later I had a decent algae issue. Barrier Reef hooked me up with an awesome phosphate remover which made a huge difference in algae growth.

 

[DonW]

I was getting purified natural seawater for water changes, but switched to ro/di after the store upset my wife. I either get my water from a lfs or Safeway (via water purification machine). Am I missing out on any benefits not using the natural sea water?

Safeway RODI??? If its drinking water its not DI just RO or just particle and carbon filtered, more likely the later. The purity drastly depends on the supply.

Don