LFS Advice - RO Water

[wink1906]

Staring up a reef tank soon. 55 with sump close to being figured out (I made a dual 18 gallon rubbermaid sump but not sure if I'm going to go through with it).

Asked the LFS that said they could supply RO/DI saltwater at around $0.85/gallon. Problem will be carting it back and forth in 5 gallon drums in a CRV.

He then mentioned I could just use tap and Prime then worry about using RO/DI water for the water changes.

I know that the theory behind using RO/DI to start from everything I've read. How bad could it be either using tap with prime or just an Aquarium Pharmaceuticals DI kit. Is RO really neccesary in practice? Has anyone not used RO and had successful/unsuccessful results?

Only reason I ask is that this store has some unbeliveable looking large reef tanks - for a LFS owner to suggest this has me questioning the $300 investment in a RO filter now...Thanks again for the great help everyone!

[BurntOutReefer]

no water stores closer to you?....and youre only looking at 5.5 gallons per water change anyways......(10% weekly).....

[marduc]

I guarantee those unbelievable looking tanks are NOT topped off using tap water, especially since the LFS has a plentiful and readily available source of pure water there on site.

You can get a water purifying unit for a lot less than $300 i am sure. Tap water varies from area to area, some a lot worse than others.. there is a thread in the reef chemistry forum right now that is comparing water qualities from across the country, it varies from 56 ppm to over 600 ppm of dissolved solids.. which for the most part are impurities we don't want in the tank.

Using tap water is just playing russian roulette with your investment.

[wink1906]

Sorry - may not have been 100% clear. Once started I will definitely be using RO/DI water for the changes.

My dilema is how to get 55-75 gallons of RO/DI from the LFS to my house in a CRV for the initial set-up.

This dilema combined with the suggestion from the LFS and the investment in a $300 RO/DI filter has me wondering if using tap water with the DI filter to start wouldnt be too bad.

Tx again! Going to check the local water tables to see if anything is close in the other forum.

[highflight]

I started off a 90 gallon tank using saltwater made from tap water. Since then I found a LFS with saltwater made from RO/DI water and have been doing 20% water changes once or twice a week. In theory, wouldn't this dilute and eliminate any high concentration of dissolved solids that may have been present in the tap water? Aslo, could this have been the culprit behind what looks like red hair algae?

[BurntOutReefer]

OHhhhhh.....
then do what highflight said....OR....buy per made water if you can.....by the timeyou are ready to add fish, do a 50% change.....you'll be ok....

[marduc]

Rent a uhaul, or borrow a friends pick-up truck

The LFS has the 5 gallon containers already I presume?

with 20% water changes it will take 10 water changes to get rid of 90% of the impurities. this could be ok, possibly not, depending on how bad the water quality is to begin with, and whether it runs through copper pipes as well. If there are copper pipes in the mix there is no way I would even consider using tap water.

And yes the tap water could be part of the reason behind the red algea.. there will be impurities in the water, including nitrates, nitrites and phosphates.. using tap water will mean a longer more pronounced cycle (meaning more demand for water changes, meaning more trips to the LFS) and a recipe for niusance algea to form, and to establish a solid foothold in an already delicatly balanced new system.

[FZ1Rider]

FWIW and I expect to be getting some adverse comments back. I bought a <$100 dollar RO/DI off ebay with replacement media (except the RO). I don't have a TDS meter but I have had minimal algae outbreaks and my tank has been thriving.

YMMV of course but I do not regret my choice to go with this model rather than a much more expensive one.

Peter

[tunerX]

If you are going to be curing your own live rock then you should plan on maybe 4x 50% changes maybe more (depends on your tests). You can look into a low rate ro/di cheap on ebay like 15GPD.

I went with 100% total volume per day for my 95 gallon. I only need to leave it running for less than 1/4 day to fill up my 32 gallon rubbermaid trashcan on wheels, so I can now do my weekly water change when I get home from work.

[wink1906]

Found the water quality report - local water contains chloramine and from what I hear this stuff doesnt just go away. I'm going with LFS water.

Hopefully the LFS will have a larger tank that I can use!

Thanks for all the help, it's great to have experienced folk to bounce some ideas off of!

[drummereef]

It's much more cost effective for you to buy an RO/DI unit. When I first started I used tap. What a mistake. But, back then it was common practice. Look into www.thefilterguys.biz You can get a great 5-stage RO/DI for $160. The Aquarium Pharm tap conditioner is worthless. Yes, owned that too back in the day. Put you money towards something that will give you satifaction, not headaches. ;)

[highflight]

I never thought about the copper pipe issue but fortunately it is all iron outside and PVC inside. The fish have been thriving for 4 months now and the algae, though still present, seems to be less prolific. From now on, I throw the cans in the back any time I am just passing by the LFS to peek in and do a 20% change, at least until I can get set-up to do my own RO/DI.

[Amphiprion]

Do not start using tap. It seems reasonable to use it initially, then "eliminate" it using subsequent water changes. The problem there is the various substances in the tap, such as phosphate, which will bind to rock and sand. When you change your water with RO, you will drop the concentration in the water and cause phosphate to be re-released from anything calcareous. It is best to start off with RO/DI. You will thank yourself later.