Use of Bottled Water during Water Change

[Haz]

Hi Everybody,
Hope u can help. The gowth of algae in my reef tank is much greater than one would expect for it's set up. I have been told this is due to high phosphate levels. I tested the water in the tank, and indeed they were high, but i then tested the water out of the tap and this was higher still!!! I then tested the phosphate level in bottled water and it was 0. Are there any complications in using bottled water when i do water changes? The water is dirt cheap and i worked out i can do water changes for 6yrs for the price of the filter i would need to buy to reduce the phosphate levels.
Thanks in advance
Haz

[OrionGirl]

Depending on what kind of bottled water you're talking about, it might be fine, it might not work.

Do not use distilled water. This water will wreak havoc in your tank, and cause serious problems. Water safe for drinking but filtered with RO is fine, but you will need to make sure you are supplementing the good minerals, such as calcium.

[Haz]

Hiya thanks for the reply.
Just wondering what does RO stand for?
Haz

[OrionGirl]

Reverse Osmosis. It's the filtration process used to remove pretty much everything but H2O. It's actually too close to pure to be used exclusively. Fish need some of the stuff that's dissolved in water, just not all of it. The units usualy run about $100-200 a piece, and end up wasting a lot of water as the impurities are removed.

[shez15]

Haz
Have you tried to use a chemical media to control your phosphates? I know we should be as natural as possible when talking about filtration, but I swear by PhosGuard by Seachem. I use tap water (my tap water too is on the high side for phosphates) for water changes but never have any algae problems (knock on wood). This probably would be an even cheaper solution than bottled water.

[Pisces]

OrionGirl or anyone, what exactly is wrong with using distilled water? I KNOW that I've read in the past that it's supposed to be safe to use, has that opinion changed and I missed it? Dang, that could be what's gone wrong with our tank! We live in Florida and we're on well-water. We spent the money on an RO/DI unit but the water is so dirty and full of silicate and phosphate that we still can't use it, what a waste. So we've been using distilled water for the past 3 1/2 years.

Does this mean I have to drain the tank now?:(

[OrionGirl]

Distilled water will mess with the ions...I am not an expert, I just know that it's not recommended for use, or for drinking. I wouldn't do anything drastic, I'd just start buying the RO drinking water instead. Locally, the cost is the same for the 2.

In SW, the effects probably aren't as bad as they are in FW, since you use a salt mix that provides some buffering etc.

[fishfreek]

Most water is distilled in a machine that uses copper pipes. Since copper is deadly to inverts most are not willing to take the risk of possibley having some copper leach into the water itself.

You can get real good deals on RO systems on ebay. Your bottled water would have to be VERY cheap (pennies on the gal) to have the break even point at 6 years. Either that our your pricing out a water filter that is vastly over priced.

OrionGirl, I have someone who did some research on the clame that RO water is to pure. The link is here if anyone wants to look at it.

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=1291

Yes in saltwater one reason you want to have as pure water as possible is because the salt mix adds in all of the trace elements and buffers that are needed in the saltwater. Having water that already contains minerals and such can cause these levels to be to high or cause some elements to precip out of the solution.

[mhmh]

This article on water changes from nano-reef.com discusses RO and distilled water:
http://www.nano-reef.com/articles/waterchanges.php

[slipknottin]

Glass distilled water is actually ideal for tanks.

Its not commonly used by hobbyists because of the cost and time it takes to make.

RO/DI water is 99% pure where distilled is about 100% pure.

Distilled water is used internationally by biologists, chemists, and other people doing very sensitive tests.

The most important thing to do if you want to use distilled water is to check the water first for copper. The water is commonly stored in copper vats.

[OrionGirl]

Ahh...Learn something every day. Guess I can take off for a few dyas now.

Thanks!

[Pisces]

Thanks for all the info everyone, though I'm still not sure what my best course of action is. I guess I'll test the tank for copper, since that's one test we've never done yet. Then I'll buy a jug of distilled water and jugs of different drinking waters and run tests on them to decide which one we should use from now on.

I really miss the days of using plain old tap water back in AR for our freshwater tank, we had excellent city water there, even the pH was perfect for a fresh community tank. We only added Start Right and that was it, never had any water quality problems there.
The water here in southern Florida is just terrible. The first place we rented had city water and it reeked so badly of chemicals that I wouldn't dare drink it. We still had to buy bottled water. That's why we've stayed on the well at our house, because at least we're not paying for unusable city water and the outrageous sewer costs too. I just wish we had a cleaner, deeper well to use, maybe someday we'll get that done.

[musicsmaker]

If there are any inverts in your tank, then I assure you there is no copper. That is, if you have been using that water for any lengthy amount of time. Copper kills inverts, even in small quantities.

The idea that water can be too pure for a reef tank is absurd. Trace elements and calcium are added in the salt mix. The calcium in our everyday drinking water is bad (food grade). The calcium that we add with products such as kalkwasser and turbo calcium is good (medical grade).

[Haz]

Hi,

Thanks to everyone for advice.

I've had a look at a RO pump - they are £150 ($230), I don't know why everything is so expensive over here!

I'll carry on with the bottled water for now and let you know what the results are

Best wishes,

Haz