bad water in new tank?

[pussycat]

>Hi,
Hi Pussycat, Marina here.
>Yesterday I used "natural spring water" in my NEW tank.
>>(Wondering what's being planned..) In any event, spring water simply means that it comes from a spring, that means it's water that has been under the earth, and both filtered by and affected through dissolution by that earth through which it percolated and is now held. In other words, spring water, I would suspect, could be some of the hardest water, and may have the potential to have the most unwanted elements/components one could use.
>The guy at the store said it had absolutely nothing in it.
>>Just add water, eh?
>I told him I was using it for an aquarium.
>>I wouldn't expect "the guy at the store" (no matter if was an aquarium shop or not) to know the difference.
>I bought, came home and added it to my tank. Mixed in appropriate amount of salt (75 gal) and waited. Turned on Ecosystem w/mud system and waited. SG too high.
>>Tested with what? Big difference in reliability/accuracy depending on method/tool used.
>I began exchanging saltwater for spring water. This morning i
added sand base. SG still too high. continued exchanging. I finally gave up, went back to water store and found someone else.
>>Specific gravity = ratio of dissolved minerals and such. My suspicions may be true?
>She gave me a readout of the trace elements in the water. Just to name a few: Copper; Iron; Mercury;
>>CRIPES!! NO MORE!! Egads, there's *more*!
>Nitrogen; Nitrate; <<groan>> >Arsenic. So do I dump all water and sand, dump water only and clean the sand, (how and with what water?), or treat the water with.....?? Many thanks, Pussycat
>>Oh my goodness...well, DEFINITELY all the water, but man, dumping all the sand, the mud. That's gotta hurt. However, you're now starting out with "tainted" substrate. To be most safe, yes, dump it all. I think you MIGHT (can't stress enough it's only might) be able to save the sand by rinsing it COPIOUSLY in fresh water, and running it in a container with a Polyfilter (impregnated pad that pulls many bad substances, including copper...EGADS! out. I would also use a great deal of carbon. However, I'm hesitant to actually recommend this, as we don't know what will want to bond with what. You cannot leave the mud out of this equation, either. I'm sorry you have gone through this, I hope that the many others reading this will learn from your innocent mistake. Marina


what does anyone out there think?

pussycat

[Triggerman]

You sort of had the right idea not using tap water.Spring water is a no no.
You would have to use alot of carbon and poly pads.Then do some diligent testing.
Last resort,swapping the water for r/o or distilled.
It is hard to believe that some aquarists use tap water.Major mistake.

[liquafaction]

I just recently bought and moved to a nice little spread of land. In order for me to have water, I had a well drilled 280 feet into what is called sparta sand. Sparta sand is like an underground sand filter/river that transports water from the Carrizo or Wilcox aquifers in my area. This is not the same as surface or spring water, but I hope this does not cause a problem with me using it for an aquarium. kinda sucks if it does cause a problem.

[pussycat]

triggerman,

but what will it test for? the normal saltwater tests or do i need to get additional tests? i should have my polyfilters by the morning. im not sure how to use them, but i can look it up in my books. also, i have a refugium and there are carbon rocks.....will that work?

thanks a bunch,

pussycat

[Triggerman]

Phosphates,copper,iron,etc.
You bring up a good point.The test kits are quite expensive.
If you run carbon for three weeks it should eliminate more than 95% of the impurities.
That is why it is so very important to use r/o or distilled water.
The impurities can imbed into the substrate and rock.
I would start with a fifty percent water change and then run your pads and carbon.
You should be fine.

[pussycat]

hi,

i sought advice in this forum and in one more. in the other, i listed all of the traces found in the water. someone did a comparison of the traces found in the salt mix, IO. my water traces were all much lower but 5. a couple of them were listed at the smallest amount able to be tested for and the others didnt matter they said. so i am going forward with the polyfilters and cycling of my tank. this also meets with the advice given to me by the LFS marine biologist. here are my current levels as of this morning:

Amm: 0.50
Ni2 0.25
Bu3 0.50?
pH 8.2

how does this sound?

thanks,

pussycat

[Triggerman]

Sounds good.
Just remember to use only purified water.
Great hobby ,have fun.

[latazyo]

try a TDS test too if you have one

[pussycat]

thanks,

whats a TDS test?

and about a protein skimmer....i have been reading and asking.....if i am going to go Aqua C brand (which seems to be the concensus....my tank, reef and fish, 75 gallons, EV 120? then there are more choices: Rio 2100, Mag 5, and DP 560. I don't even understand all of this. could you guys advise?

thanks,

pussycat

[BrianH]

As far as protein skimmers go, I would suggest either Aqua C or Euroreef. They are both great skimmers. I would recommend staying away from the RIO pumps, they have a history of failure. Any of the other pumps should be fine.

Brian