Holy crap! I have been using 170ppm TDS water!

[Aquattro]

Originally Posted by mrhasan

RODI is "highly recommended" rather than a "necessity".

Right. Only thing you absolutely need is salt. Everything else just makes it easier

[deepRED]

I feel the same way about the waste water with an ro unit. I ran ro/di for years but when I moved I got lazy and didn't set it back up and used conditioned tap water.

Mind you my tds out the tap is around 8, but like Brad mentioned, it's an insurance policy.

I know a lot of people in BC with small to medium tanks use the aquarium pharmaceuticals tap water filters. For many out here this is enough to get their tds down to zero.

Not really cost effective if you are running larger systems though as the cartridges can get pricey.

[daniella3d]

yike! This is bad and a good reason to use RODI water. I know someone who lost about 30 large discus fish to some chimical in tap water many years ago. It does happen.

I tested my tap water and the TDS is 120, but there is no trace of nitrates or phosphates in it so I am guessing that it would not fuel algae, but I still use RO water.

Originally Posted by Aquattro

Usually when I talk about water contamination, I'm referring to a year I lived in Kelowna and the entire drinking water distribution circuit was shut down due to toxins in the water. If someone had done a water change that day before the emergency was declared, I'd guess they'd lose their whole tank. It doesn't happen often, but it does happen. The Kelowna sewage treatment plant discharges directly into the lake, and while the water coming out is top quality, if there were an accident, the lake would be contaminated. The cost of RO is small compared to replacing everything in the tank

[H2o2]

That is why i am adding the ro at least i will have a bench mark like you said because i hope as we all know this hobby is great and the last thing anyone wants to do is hurt livestock if maybe we could have done something just a bit different :-)

[Aquattro]

What people need to understand is that TDS doesn't equal bad. It's just a measure of total dissolved solids. Of course those DS's could be bad, we have no (easy) way to tell. Calgary for example, has very high TDS. But much of that is mineral content from the water source. Not a bad thing at all. Areas near agricultural areas might be a bit more concerned, as run off also measures as TDS, which can be N or P compounds, and/or toxic compounds. Again, risk is low, but cost of RO to offset that risk seems negligible, at least for medium to larger tanks.

[kien]

I've used tap water with saltwater tanks that were just fine. However, in my current reef I like to have a little bit more control over what actually goes into the tank because I'm a control freak like that. Using RO/DI helps to give me that control. Again, tap water is fine if you don't really care what goes into your tank. TDS of anything above 0 means there's stuff in there. What that "stuff" happens to be is anybody's guess. Will that stuff hurt your tank? Probably not, but it's a variable that is unknown. A lot of people use tap water with their reefs, this isn't anything revolutionary or revealing :-)

[Proteus]

If you really want to know call public works and get a copy of the analytical.

[mrhasan]

Originally Posted by Titus99

If you really want to know call public works and get a copy of the analytical.

I did check their online report. No trace of copper or silicate (I always look for those two components in particular). But since luck isn't favoring me much recently, I was thinking of starting RODI water but don't want to purchase the unit and don't really know where I can get reliable RODI.

[Proteus]

Consider all the money you spent on livestock. And equip. Another 200 bucks is money well spent. Once you purchase the unit filters are cheap and myself at most replace 2x a year and that's water with 120 ppm. Usually at spring when runoff and maybe fall with heavy rains

[mrhasan]

Originally Posted by Titus99

Consider all the money you spent on livestock. And equip. Another 200 bucks is money well spent. Once you purchase the unit filters are cheap and myself at most replace 2x a year and that's water with 120 ppm. Usually at spring when runoff and maybe fall with heavy rains

Its not about the money. Its about the waste water. Landlord have it written in the contract that "no water wastage is allowed". He complains about 10 gallon water change, think what he will do with 50gallon water expense per water change :P That's why I was thinking of commercial water.