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Unread 01/19/2020, 12:59 PM   #1
pitmindi
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Tap Water Anyone?

Hi, do some people on this site use tapwater? I use RODI but it sure is a waste of water. The amount going down the drain is much greater than the amount going into the container. My tap water TDS meter shows over 300 going into the RODI system. However, I recently saw someone's 17 year old tank that is about 50 gallons and he uses tap water and does a 20% waterchange every 2-3 weeks. His tank has trumpet corals that have almost taken over, huge brain favia and a lobo and about 5 fish. No algae. His light is T5HO with 4 bulbs. It makes me consider trying tap water at least for the daily top off.


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Unread 01/19/2020, 02:14 PM   #2
Oldreeferman
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Would be interesting to see what his tap tests at if you have that option, mine tests at 40ppm so i use distilled water for my top offs, its cheap & pure @ .99 a gal. No tap water use here.


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Unread 01/19/2020, 02:47 PM   #3
billdogg
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I used tap water for over 20 years. I kept everything except Acropora sp., and that was because my lights (T12VHO)weren't up to it and availability was not great, not the water. I also had seasonal algae blooms, especially after hard summer rains due to the increase of nitrates from farm runoff. I don't know what TDS was then, it's about 250 now. I also allowed it to naturally de-chlorinate itself by keeping a 55g barrel full all the time.

You certainly can use tap water, but there are certain drawbacks that can easily be avoided with the addition of a ro/di unit. In the summer my waste water goes to the garden so as to not be "wasted"


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Unread 01/19/2020, 06:32 PM   #4
HumbleFish
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I personally wouldn't use tap water with a TDS of 300. Too many headaches.


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Unread 01/19/2020, 07:44 PM   #5
Sk8r
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Route the waste line into your washing machine or into a barrel to use in the garden.


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Salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3 on KH scale; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp 78-80, nitrate .2. Ammonia 0. No filters: lps tank. Alk and cal won't rise if mg is low.

Current Tank Info: 105g AquaVim wedge, yellow tang, sailfin blenny,royal gramma, ocellaris clown pair, yellow watchman, 100 microceriths, 25 tiny hermits, a 4" conch, 1" nassarius, recovering from 2 year hiatus with daily water change of 10%.
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Unread 01/19/2020, 07:51 PM   #6
mcgyvr
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Some have usable tap water.. Some don't..
300tds isn't typically a good starting point or indication your water may be usable without issue.

There are ways to reduce or reuse waste water that may be of interest to you.. Dual membranes, routing waste to washing machine or rain barrels and more..


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Unread 01/20/2020, 02:43 PM   #7
hkgar
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Generally speaking the issue of water quality is more for the fish than for the corals. It also depends what the TDS represents. Copper and certain heavy metals would not be acceptable. Magnesium would be good. Not knowing what is in our water is the reason RO/DI is used. Not knowing is why my drinking water comes from an RO system. I am on a well on a lot on a golf course. Who knows what pesticides, insecticides plus fertilizer elements are seeping into the ground water table.


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Unread 01/20/2020, 07:58 PM   #8
Eugenious
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I have had much better luck with 40 cent per gallon grocery store water and 3 & 5 gallon reusable containers.

I had quite a few algae farms using lightly filterrd tap water in the past

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Unread 01/21/2020, 05:55 AM   #9
64Ivy
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I know a service tech who's been using tap water for decades. Granted, he doesn't maintain much in the way of "SPS", mostly just fish short term for customers, but he does keep a 40g tank of his own and uses tap water for that one too. I don't know what his tds is but I live the next town over and mine is around 311ppm. Bottom line is that he doesn't seem to have any more casualties than most of us so I guess it's working for him. Nevertheless, after seeing what my RO/DI pulls out, I wouldn't be without one.


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Unread 01/23/2020, 07:27 PM   #10
Timfish
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Yup, been doing it for awhile. It's been years since I tested TDS but historicly they have been 300-400.

90 Gallon Mixed Reef
https://youtu.be/4t8IjelZwUk

Mixed Reef started in 1997, 10-07-19
https://youtu.be/dh_nLhj1QXc


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Unread 01/24/2020, 07:05 AM   #11
Dmorty217
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If you use a water conditioner all the time I don't see a issue with it. There is a lot of waste water with RO systems but its much cheaper than paying .50-$1 per gallon for other store bought options.


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Unread 01/24/2020, 09:17 AM   #12
mcgyvr
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Timfish View Post
Yup, been doing it for awhile. It's been years since I tested TDS but historically they have been 300-400.
@Timfish Well water? City Water?
Any pretreatment for Chlorine/Chloramines (if used), settling tank, waiting period while mixing salt would likely remove most if not all Chlorine, etc prior to use?
Just curious..


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Unread 01/24/2020, 11:58 AM   #13
five.five-six
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@loc01 uses tap water and is wildly successful. I lived near him and the TDS in that area is quite high.


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Unread 01/24/2020, 04:34 PM   #14
loc01
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Quote:
Originally Posted by five.five-six View Post
@loc01 uses tap water and is wildly successful. I lived near him and the TDS in that area is quite high.

Here is my tank using tap water(tds reading around 400ppm) in the city of Orange.


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Unread 01/24/2020, 05:06 PM   #15
loc01
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Here is my tank using tap water(tds reading around 400ppm) in the city of Orange.
A short video too: https://streamable.com/dvpkz


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Unread 01/24/2020, 05:26 PM   #16
miralami
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Don’t listen to Loc, he has a magic recipe not telling anyone lol


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Unread 01/24/2020, 10:35 PM   #17
five.five-six
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Quote:
Originally Posted by loc01 View Post
A short video too: https://streamable.com/dvpkz
Great video!

Quote:
Originally Posted by miralami View Post
Don’t listen to Loc, he has a magic recipe not telling anyone lol


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It’s insane, the guy literally does everything wrong. Everything wrong and he has been successful for what? 15 years that I know of? More?


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Originally posted by yellowslayer13:

"I hate that hole"

Current Tank Info: SCMAS Member 225 peninsula euroreef RS180 Apex 400W X 3 20k radiums / Spectra mixed SPS
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Unread 01/25/2020, 08:43 AM   #18
Timfish
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mcgyvr View Post
@Timfish Well water? City Water?
Any pretreatment for Chlorine/Chloramines (if used), settling tank, waiting period while mixing salt would likely remove most if not all Chlorine, etc prior to use?
Just curious..
City water drawn from a local reservoir. The 90 gallon the water is mixed, dosed with ammo detox and sits about 20 - 30 minutes, the amount of time it takes to wipe algae off the glass and siphon out the amount for the water change minus evaporation. I've posted Triton ICP results for the 90 gallon tapwater and system water on the local forum here.

For the 210 started in '97, water goes through a carbon filter then sits in a 55 gallon barrel with a dash of ammo detox for a few days before being mixed for the water change.


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