hmmm...
 

I'm trying to get this straight: I need an extra bucket of warm salty water to do water changes made up in advance. I need an extra bucket of warm tap water prepared in advance to top up because of evaporation. I need a quarantine tank to acclimate and check health of specimens. I need another source of income! Is it necessary to add water conditioners to everything? To make sure there is no chlorine?
thanks,
marc

Don't use tap water unless you have a RO/DI unit.

Since I have only a 10g tank I just have two Culligan RO water bottles that I get refilled. I always have salt water on hand with a powerhead and heater keeping it just right. I do daily top offs, but to get the water to the proper temp I just put a little bit in the microwave and mix in with the top off amount to get the right tank temp.

Greg

It is most definitely appropriate to condition any tap water being used. Use PRIME by SeaChem , seems to be the better one . But yeah, use RO/DI if you have a unit already.

If you're already complaining about the cost of 2 buckets and some water, you'd better stop right now! As we all know, it gets MUCH worse.... :lol:

I agree. It does get much worse.

I wasn't necessarily refering to the cost of water or of buckets but rather the overall cost of this operation. I was whining and whinging ;-)
I just can't wait for my fish to get big enough to eat :exclaim:
OK OK, just joking...
peace
thank-yous to all of you!
marc

Does this statement make sense?
The way I read it, it says that if a person has a RO/DI unit they should use tap water. :confused:

I think he means tapwater that has been filtered through a RO/DI unit. Otherwise, one could go with bottled water, or something.

Cheers,

What does not make sense about that? :question: I'm basically saying don't use water directly out of the faucet for top offs.

Why would you say that :question: I have never used anything but tapwater, and am very happy with the results. :eek:

:lol:

Well, to each their own opinion I guess.

I won't even drink Calgary tap water, so I won't even put it in my fresh water tank. :cool:

Greg

do you use the water conditioners? like aqua+? that's what I'm using right now, and from what I understand, I don't have to wait to use the water right out of the tap. I just add the correct amount and I add the tap water directly to my tank.

I know of some people who use the water conditioners. I myself don't, however, My topoff water sits around long enough for the Chlorine to evaporate.

You wont drink it, now thats just stupid. Calgary has some of the cleanest water. Ive heard its better water then aquafina.

That's a little harsh eh... as stated.. to each their own.

Sure is a friendly bunch around here eh? :eek:

No kidding!

You know, I have seen a couple of SPECTACULAR tanks with people using tap water... but I personally can't recommend it. My algae issues were instantly cut in half with the implementation of an RO/DI unit into my system, and I have solved all of my other water chemistry issues by using perfect RO/DI water as the base for all my additives to my tank.

When it comes to the expense of this hobby, don't even get me started. You can keep a 5 gallon nano with a few snails, crabs, rock & mushrooms, and maintain it for real cheap... so it all depends on what you want to keep. My system is probably close to $75 a month in maintenance and upkeep ALONE, never mind whatever I decide to buy to add to it... Even with cutting corners and doing lots of DYI, this is not a hobby for those faint of wallet. :mrgreen:

Wasn't it aquafina that was "outed" for bottling dechlorinated calgary city water?

Calgary's got great water for reefing, RO/DI is only really necessary for some of the more difficult to keep SPS.

Andy

Most appalling
 

It is appalling that an experienced reefer will imply to newbies that its ok to use tap water with good results. When such a statement is made that contradicts the vast majority of the rest of the reefing community, one should really qualify the positive experience with details such as:
1) the type of livestock that you keep
2) length of time you have been using the particular method
3) a comparsion of your livestock with any other times that you may have used RO/DI water

I'm sure there are many other things that should be noted but at the very least the types of livestock that one is keeping should be provided; there are various levels of resistance to water quality of which also varies by different species of animals. To imply positive results on a practice that is generally unacceptable is irresponsible to the animals that any new hobbyists may injure or kill in the process of following that advice. Although it is noted and acknowledged that you did not blatantly advise anybody to use tapwater, the implication is definitely there based on your positive experience and the length of time that you have been with this bulletin board with an excess of 4300 posts.
In other words, if I was starting out and I saw Bob I with 4300 posts on Canreef and he uses tapwater with good results, I would be inclined to follow that same method. And maybe after losing several colonies of acroporas, do I realize that the phosphates in my tapwater caused the major algae bloom that suffocated my acroporas. Of course, I have only myself to blame for not doing my homework however I would definitely be quite upset for even reading your post when I was starting out in this hobby.
Just my thoughts but I felt it is necessary for those who are starting out to realize that your practice is the exception to the rule and should not be considered the norm.
Sorry for the long winded vent.

Good point Chin and I agree. I think there are always exceptions out there - like no water changes - no skimming - clams that grow under NO lighting - etc. etc. etc. I think that all of us want to have our home reefs and aquariums flourish and grow and keep our livestock healthy. I know that I have tried some of those (usually cheaper) routes and have met with nothing but failure. If there is one thing that I have learned it is to research for myself and ask lots of questions and really try to balance the answers I get with what makes sense to me. I am glad that there is the odd maverick out there that is willing to go against the norm - that is what keeps our hobby growing and learning but to suggest to someone just starting out that something as basic as water should be experimented with is just not fair. It sets them up to fail and we all know that it can be frustrating enough.
I have 2 large (230g and 190g) and 3 small (12, 24 and 44g) tanks set up. I don't have an RO unit because with the high TDS in my well water and being on a lagoon system it is not feasible. I buy all of my RODI water and haul it by hand. I wouldn't dream of using tap or even untreated town water.
These are just my opinions based on my own experience.

Very well put Chin :cool:

I'm with Andy and Bob. As long as you don't try anything too difficult to keep you should be fine. To take it a step further, I don't believe someone new to the hobby should even be attempting something that requires the barely attainable conditions and care descibed by some in this thread. Stick to the easy stuff until you get bored, or feel you really aren't spending as much as the Reefer Jones. I don't find Bob's comment off at all, let alone appalling.

Also, Calgary water is great, you can check out the test results online through some government website that I can't direct you to. If you believe in the free ion pollution theory of water stored in plastic containers, than it is even more safe than bottled water.

As far as why I won't drink Calgary water... I've just had bad experiences in my life with tap and well water, and would rather drink bottled. :redface: -- they need a beaver fever emoticon :eek:

Sure maybe the bottled stuff is not the best either, and I agree that plastic does break down and will leech trace elements into the water but for my peace of mind and to keep my physchosis under control I won't drink any water that is not factory sealed. :mrgreen:

WOW this kinda turned to a flame war in a hurry :eek:


Not to stir the pot or anything, But I'm with Bob. Tap seems to work fine for "ME" not saying it will work for you, BUT being a newbie I started out with easier stuff and learned the ins and outs, I hope newbies wouldn't start out with very expensive corals that require high mantainece. I would hope they start out with easy stuff and find their niche and find out how much time to invest into it 1st, new cool thing can be easily boring (like that new christmas toy)
Some people say that vehicles run better on premium do we all run premium in our vehicles?, I don't, good ol regular doesn't seem to make a difference to me, but to a mechanic on a formula 1 car would think that I'm crazy and probably tell me why premium is better(sounds familiar huh)

Good Luck with everything sharelove don't be discouraged by the flaming have fun and find your niche make wise decisions and purchases

Ok I'm done lock it :razz:

My Turn! :biggrin:

I use tap water too ever since my RO unit die and I never had any problem with it. All I can say about people being concern about the quality of their tank water is to stop sticking your hand inside you tank too much. :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

What I continually find amazing is the sheer amount of different approaches in this hobby and the fact that there is no ONE right way.

Everyone has opinions based on their own experiences but we mustn't lose sight of the fact that there are some very rudimentary husbandry practices that are common amongst those that have acheived high quality results for extended periods of time. That being said, I cannot recall a single instance of a "Tank of the Month" or comparable system that did not start with absolutely pure water.

My own experience started out with some LPS and a lot of softies using tapwater. I almost quit after a year and a half because of my chronic cyano, but then someone suggested I buy a cheap DI unit and keep trying. Needless to say 2 1/2 years later I am here and better than ever, my system flourishing, my corals growing like weeds. Before discovering "pure" water, I was losing stuff like nobody's business.

We must also remember that all of our systems are unique, the biological and chemical compositions of our captive biospheres are all affected by every little thing we do to our tanks, from what we use as top-off water to how long our photoperiod is. Though I haved never seen Chin's system in person, I respect what he has to say as he has carefully thought out his approach, and grows some spectacular stuff in a fairly large system. Now if I could just get my hands on a few of his frags... :mrgreen:

When considering advice from others on this topic, try to compare it to your own needs, look at their galleries and examine their pictures. Please don't let us discourage you, this is a neat and fascinating hobby with many rewards. :biggrin:

RO
 

If anyone is in doubt about the benifit of consistant pure stock water (RO or RO/DI), go to the search button and type in algea, or algea from hell , hair algea, cyano........you get the idea