glowa8

Hello guys

I know that tap water is not good to use but RO/di units are very expensive.Sameone told me to use tetra marine aqua safe.What u guys think?

Steve113

any tap water treatment solution that removes toxins and harmful traces from the water is fine.

I use API tap water conditioner but Tap Safe, Aqua safe etc...

all of these other brands are ok.

If you don't have any, you can leave your water to stand overnight in <Clean> buckets, this will also have a similar effect.

pinkfloydpuffer

That is, provided there is no chloramine in the water, which will not evaporate from the water.

au01st

I use Prime for my tap water. I know the API if you read the bottle, it will tell you how much is needed to "break the chloramine bond", which, on my bottle is 4x a regular dose, though no matter what you do, it will not be the same as RO/DI water, which removes silicates and impurities giving you the most pure water possible. You are also likely to have high phosphates in tap water which will help algae grow in the tank, so you need to put some kind of phosphate absorbing material in your filter. I opted not to use ro/di water because I didn't have the unit, but I may get one come spring if I decide to continue with the hobby (thinking of another tank next summer ) at the pace I'm going. Where I'm at with my current setup, the cost of a smaller (maybe 25gpd) ro/di unit would have been insignificant. I am, however, using a phosphate reactor and have not seen any unusual algae blooms, though they are still a possibility.

Angela_96

I have to say I was using tap water and had a huge problem w/ my chem levels (phosphate, etc) and huge algae problem. When I started using distilled water from the grocery store for water changes and top offs thats when I my tank has really turned around for the better. I got rid of the diatoms that were growing in the tank, the coraline algae is really taking hold, everything is much better. Not to mention my pH is stable at 8.2 now, where it was 7.8 before w/ tap.
With it being a nano reef, using distilled water is a cheap way to have better water (than tap) for me. Now I do plan on getting a R/O unit soon, since I am going to change my 36g into a salty as well.

nemo addict

wasnt that a good sugestion by me for you there

Hypnox

RO units don't have to be spendy. I just picked up a 10 GPD unit off ebay for $30. This size is more than enough for me to be able to do my weekly water changes for my tanks.

au01st

Yes it was, and in the grand scheme of things, the cost of the reactor is minimal. Plus it will allow me a place to run carbon if I need/want to.

I'm also looking to eBay for my ro/di unit. Where is the one you got for $30? Cheapest one I could find is $80.

Hypnox

The one I got is being shipped out of arkansas or something. You just have to keep an eye out as the super cheap ones only pop up once or twice a month from what i've seen. Still, if you can nab a 3 stage 50gpd for less than $100 you're doing pretty good.

au01st

3 stage, I was looking at a 5 stage 50 gpd unit for $120 shipped.