TAP WATER

[reeffreak]

Ok so Ive read through lots of post on the forums and noticed something , how many poeple are using tap water and ro water , also seen a post about how someone thinks sarnias tap water is super clean and I just wanted to bring this to poeples attentions that if you use tap water and have issues with algea , I mean and type of algea you problem is probably 99.5% frok usinf TAP WATER !!! I know I have seen lots of posts on poeple having algea issues only to find out there using tap water , I mean do yourself a favour if your going to be in this hobby for awhile and you really want to enjoy the total expereince of being in the hobby then buy and RO/DI unit the amount of cash thats being thrown around on your equipment and setup another 2 bills really shouldnt keeep you back from getting one as it is something thagt will need to be used if you want a sucessful reef tank or I can gaurentee 200% you will be having phophate , nitrate , copper , iron issues .

Just for those poeple who dont know the difference of rodi and tap water which you should if you have a tank set up heres a link of justa little bit of info

http://saltaquarium.about.com/cs/dirosetup/a/aa011003.htm

 

[Jenn]

So you know that I use tap i water right? Just wondered cause of your post.

 

[reeffreak]

ya i kno im just saying the amount of times poeple have algea problems is most likely the tap water causing these issues .

 

[iantower]

Lol... oh this again... I'll say it again, I use tap water, I live in Sarnia, Ive tested the tap water... only thing in it that I wish wasnt is silicates, which is why I do a quick magnet scrape in the morning because diatoms love it.
Other then that Im good...
Prices are coming down on RO systems and will be picking one up soon enough but there is no reason why someone cant get into the hobby without one, just have a bit more maintenance then the rest of us.
I only say this for sarnia folks because as we all know water is different at different parts of the grid, further south you go worst it is... water flows naturally from North to South picking up field run offs and polution alone the way. If you live in Northern Canada I'd say go out to your back yard, dig yourself a well to the grid and take the water right from there... clean.
Thats all I got on this once again.
LOL

 

[Dr BlueThumb]

If rodi was the only remedy for all algae problem's I would not be here.



Dilution is the solution to pollution. And the extra phophate/nitrate and added algae scrapings feed coral,fish,snails,worms,copepods etc also coral themselves have a filtering capability.

not the preferred way but work's.

The longer your in this hobby the more you look at lighting,over stocking,over feeding,limited flow,limited L.R,limited water changes,limited sand depth,limited clean up crew that doesn't eat other smaller clean up crew etc as being partly to blame  in the algae struggle.

It's all about balance.

 

[iantower]

Well said my friend.

 

[Dr BlueThumb]

With a rodi system mean's is you can add that extra fish.

same goes with a protein skimmer and a refuge.

If you slow down and go one step at a time, you can have a very successful tank, that you can find appealing with out adding all this equipment.

Not the greatest. But will get you started without breaking the bank.

I started with tap water,2G,L.R,discoma,airstone and a hermit crab.

 

[Dr BlueThumb]

Well said my friend.

thanks.

I'm glad I'm not the only one.


reeffreak you do have a good point and it does make it simple for most people. If I would suggest how to run a tank it would be rodi all the way, just not practical for all people.

 

[reeffreak]

Listen I didn't say u can't have a reef tank if u use tap water the point of the thread is to know what's the difference between them and what te negatives and also didn't it was the only problem to algea its one of the main issues. Now other issues of algea could be light , overgrazing , not skimming enough , lights on to much many reason

 

[shayneh]

LOL by your rationalle Iant and Dr. Blue you merely suggest someone can sustain a reef tank, albeit nasty and full of varous undesireable algae/diatoms. The picture most people starting in the hobby want to see is a reef tank with crystal clear water and crisp white sandbeds and healthy livestock. Stop defending the ability to keep a proper reef tank with tap water when people on this forum are looking for the most successful means to display their investments. To continue defending a practice which you both agree creates immediate problems as well as contributes to the likelyhood of full crashes further down the road is irresponsible of you.

No offense but any monkey can keep discoma and hermits successfully and if a $200 ro/di breaks the bank you either need to consider putting things off while you save the money or not get into the hobby. Iantower you of all people as a waste water engineer can surely understand that tap water is chock full of dead bacteria and contributes to the overall mass of decaying material in a closed system (our tanks) along with all the silicates, heavy metals, and synthetic medications that don't break down. How is dilution a solution when your adding more decaying material/toxins to a system?

The goal of a forum is to provide sound advice to help others be as successful as possible.... not to give misinformation that may lead to others getting frustrated and leaving the hobby!

We all understand that this works if we want a stank ass diatom filled softy tank but to most this is not a goal.

 

[shayneh]

Sorry for being a total asshole and beating you both down.....but until you can refute my findings with information (even remotely) comparable to something of a scientific nature... YOUR WRONG!

 

[Blob-79]

Sorry for being a total asshole and beating you both down.....but until you can refute my findings with information (even remotely) comparable to something of a scientific nature... YOUR WRONG!

bwahaha gotta say it


QFT

 

[shayneh]

lol.... is that the Quit F'in Talking acronym again?

 

[shayneh]

I know for damn sure this time it's not Quantum Field Theory cause this ain't rocket science! LMAO....

 

[fishit]

i fully agree i personally would not drink water out off any Buddy's tap i don't care where you live i if the truth is known non of you probably do either you all probably have a case of bottled water sitting in your house right now soooo don't put your fish in it just think of how this shit get to your taps ya through dirty old grungy pipes full of built up dirty crap and then right into your tanks good stuff 1000$ worth of fish take that lol

 

[reeffreak]

LOL by your rationalle Iant and Dr. Blue you merely suggest someone can sustain a reef tank, albeit nasty and full of varous undesireable algae/diatoms. The picture most people starting in the hobby want to see is a reef tank with crystal clear water and crisp white sandbeds and healthy livestock. Stop defending the ability to keep a proper reef tank with tap water when people on this forum are looking for the most successful means to display their investments. To continue defending a practice which you both agree creates immediate problems as well as contributes to the likelyhood of full crashes further down the road is irresponsible of you.

No offense but any monkey can keep discoma and hermits successfully and if a $200 ro/di breaks the bank you either need to consider putting things off while you save the money or not get into the hobby. Iantower you of all people as a waste water engineer can surely understand that tap water is chock full of dead bacteria and contributes to the overall mass of decaying material in a closed system (our tanks) along with all the silicates, heavy metals, and synthetic medications that don't break down. How is dilution a solution when your adding more decaying material/toxins to a system?

The goal of a forum is to provide sound advice to help others be as successful as possible.... not to give misinformation that may lead to others getting frustrated and leaving the hobby!

We all understand that this works if we want a stank ass diatom filled softy tank but to most this is not a goal.

Well said my freind ... glad im not the only one ... this wasnt a thread to make a debate it obvious which way to go hands down .  Also if 200 buck or cheaper is expensive for an ro-di unit thats should be nothing compaired to whats been spent on a reef tank anyway ...

 

[reeffreak]

If rodi was the only remedy for all algae problem's I would not be here.


who said rodi is the only remedy to algea issues , first of all if rodi water was used probably wouldnt have that build up of crap that triggered the algea problems in your tank the first time , or the second or however many times you have had the same issue , its obvious if youve had the issue before and are only here becasue thats what your trying to solve , why dont you try RODI water and I bet that helps you out lots lol .

 

[Blob-79]

true true. I would just like to add one point as well. This is not a remedy..this is investing alot of money in a hobby that we all love, that is why we are all here.

Why would we as responsible reef keepers, have a responsibility...especially those of us that own ocean acquired livestock, to properly house and maintain said livestock. Why would we as responsible reef keepers take the chance of introducing copper to our systems in the form of tap water? Unless you really dont like your invertibrates there is no reason to take that chance other than lazyness (not wanting to take a drive to the water store) or too cheep...if your cheep you shouldnt have a saltwater tank..but none the less the point stands.

There are alot of people out there..ive chewed out people i know..because they dont grasp the concept that the beautiful eco systems we keep in our house all originate from the ocean, for the corals and fish, its not good enouph to just survive..by taking it on ourselves and purchasing our livestock(thereby increasing more demand to take more from the ocean), we are obligated to ensure they THRIVE.

So really why cheep out on water..sure it works..but all it takes is something stupid like not enouph chorine added to the water to cause a bacterial infection, as mentioned before there is always the ongoing concern of copper, like shayneh mentioned the buildup of non biodegradable contaminants and pharmicuticals...the list goes on, so why argue. If your intent on risking your investment and even moreso the lives and wellbeing of the livestock you own, you really need to keep it to yourself, because all your doing is losing respect from us reefkeepers that love our hobby and love the ocean at the same time.


wow that was a long point...sorry for the rant, lets just all get along

 

[reeffreak]

I agree that's it's not a remedy , this is the first step to keeping healthy livestock alive and well to the max . I just really wonder from this post turning into a debate if any of the 80 poeple who viewed this really took the right thing away from it .

 

[Cal_stir]

no debate here, i run a 9 stage rodi unit, got no nuisance algae here just the good stuff we scrape off the glass every few days, our yellow tang loves it.