Does anyone here NOT use RO water for their reef tank? Am I treading into vastly bad areas by considering NOT using my RO unit in my apartment (it is an apartment...so it's a pain in the butt.) Attach to sink, set up the bucket, stay home all day to make sure no spills, take everything apart.. So it isn't TOO much work, but I just wondered people's experiences with aged city water v. purified water (whether distilled or RO).
Thanks,
Jeepjon
distilled water is another alternative.
so is looking for a local water store. (you maybe surprised to see how many there are, i have 3 by my house) you can go to these places with a few 5 gallon buckets and get water for 30-50 cents a gallon. also, some LFS will sell RO water too, just compare pricing.
tap water is usually a bad idea. while some people are really lucky and can do it without issues, its overall NOT recommended at all. unless you know what in it, which means reading your local water dept reports and lab tests.
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i dont use ro water for my reef tank but that is highly recomended. depending on the area you live the water can have lots of unwanted chemicals in it. ex clorine, high phospahes. lucky for me the water in hawaii is ok, but im sure nothing beats ro water.
I live in an apartment as well. I used to use tap water for top off and for mixing some salt for water changes. I had a bloom of algae (which I'm still dealing with months later, granted it's not even close to as bad as it was) which could have been a combination of the upgrade in lights I did...and using tap water for months after that.
I bought some 5gal buckets and have been purchasing RO water from LFS for around 80 cents/gal for the past month and a half. I get freshwater from them for topoffs, and I have them mix up saltwater for me for water changes...then I do the final adjustment to the saltwater to match the tank.
For a time i would buy some water at the grocery store, usually DI....but I did make the mistake of getting "spring water" once. I've heard, maybe it was here, you do not want to use spring water.
I've read that city tap water may contain a lot of elements that you do not want to introduce into your tank....such as phosphate, copper, etc.
When I do a water change I have two 5 gal buckets....one being empty that I start a siphon to. Then I put a powerhead into the saltwater bucket with some tubing and let that pump the new water into the tank. Then it's just dump the old water into the tub or usually the toilet.
__________________ Tank setup 8-5-05
26 gal bowfront
I got away with tap water for about a year- then it was a hair algae mess!! Only RODI for me. I hook it up to the sink and it's a PITA sometimes... Matt will fuss at me about it, but tough, my fish need it!! He will get over it.
i got a nice unit that is connected into my plumbing and has a water storage container. that container goes out to a spicket on my sink.. so it doubles as drinking water...
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My tap water reads at about 230 PPM total dissolved solids. Not only do I NOT use it for my aquariums, but I don't drink it.
Furthermore, our system has now been using chloramine instead of chlorine. What a pain in the butt.
I've even experimented with rain water (TDS too high) and melted snow (what a pain in the butt.... 1 inch of rain = like 10 inches snow with typical New England temperatures for January. That's a LOT of snow, for little water and the TDS again was too high).
Just do a simple inquiry of your water source (most providers send this by law) or, if you are on well water, send a sample for testing, and you'll be using that RO/DI for a LOT more than your tanks
Gwen, did you have to pickup any special connectors to hook your up to your faucet?
Rob, with the one you have...and that storage tank that came with it....does it fill the tank and then stop?
I'm curious about maybe picking up an RO unit, but I do live in an apartment so I'd have to try and do something in the kitchen under the sink. But wouldn't want anything too major that the landlord would have problems with.
__________________ Tank setup 8-5-05
26 gal bowfront
Most online vendors have accessories available. I have a connector for my faucet. It is a simple threaded fitting, much like the commercial drinking water filters, that has a connection for the quick connect lines. I used this when I was just running nanos and needed just a few gallons a week.
I also bought a unit with an Auto Shut Off (ASO) valve. The valve is pretty cheap and easy to plumb into the system. You can then buy a float that will create the required back pressure needed to shut off the ASO. I'll put a picture of my 20 gallon Brute Barrel and float valve below.
I'm not going to list vendors here (That's Rob's Job ), but MOST, if not all, have these options available for a few bucks.
Finally, you can buy a standard "Saddle Tap" at Home Depot or another home improvement store. They are the same plumbing connections used for ice and water machines in refridgerators. They can be 'hard plumbed' to an exposed pipe for a continuous feed. You can get additional shut off valves for the quick connect hoses and isolate the system when needed. For what it's worth, I bought an entire ROLL of the tubing at a home improvement store and saved a bundle -vs- the "water company" prices.
Some folks even buy two saddle valves and bridge both hot and cold water together (you get variable output at differing temperature ranges). That's a whole other level of thought and/or effort not worth going into just yet.
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He will get over it.
