Well Water

[JON]

We have well water. The ph is 8.2, the nitrates are 5 ppm, the gh is 12 and the kh is 11. No chlorine. Is this water okay for saltwater tanks? Should I run it through a deionizer first?

[ChilDawg]

I would run it through a DI filter and then reconstitute it to seawater with commercial ocean salt mix, but that's just me.

[JON]

Thats what I was thinking but wanted to make sure. Thanks alot!!!

[ChilDawg]

No problem...it's what I'm here for!!! Best of luck with the tank!

~Matthew

[OrionGirl]

I would only worry about addressing the nitrates. pH, and hardness are fine for SW systems.

[ChilDawg]

OG, I was under the impression that you had to know the makeup of the hardness elements in the water in order to say that. Feel free to flame me if I am wrong, but correcting me would be better for all if that's the route which you choose...

[OrionGirl]

The problem with using the FW values for hardness is that they aren't going to be the same once the salt mixture has been added. All commercially available mixes contains buffers, calcium, will change the alkalinity, ect. Once the SW has been prepared, you can determine what specific minerals/trace elements might be deficient, and possible change to a complete filtration system if needed, but to change before, without knowing if it's needed in combination with the salt mix, seems a waste to me. What if you use the filtered water, and then have to increase the hardness back to the same value? His tests don't show anything abnormal, other than the nitrates, so why alter chemistry when all you really want is cleaner?

[ChilDawg]

Thank you--that is exactly the type of response I was looking for. It makes sense, and I now know what to do with a potential reef tank at my house.

[OrionGirl]

;)

[BrianH]

The only thing is that he has not mentioned what levels of phosphates, or silicates the water contains. We also don't know the levels of metals. If your planning on making this tank a reef, I would go with a RO/DI filter.

Brian

[VoodooChild]

Brian's got a good point. If he lives near a farm, he'll have an algae bloom that'll my current one to shame. When people come into work and complain about algal water without having nitrates or lights, it seems to always be the ones that live near some form of cropland. I'd get that tested too. Not to detrimental to your tanks health, but could really hinder your enjoyment.

[JON]

You guys blew me away! I never even thought about all that stuff. I'll have to check the water after I add salt mix. About the farm land thing I do live in the country but, here in Southeast Ohio it is pretty hilly. I just happen to live on one (hill). There are a few horse farms about a mile away, down hill! I do have an algae problem in all my tanks. Thats why I thought it would be better to filter the water first. The only way I have controled the algae in my freshwater tanks is to add live plants and I still have to scrub about once a month. Also, my nitrates were at 20 ppm in my SW tank. I couldn't get them to go down, so I thought filtering!! It helped alot yesterday. I was going to check the Gh and Kh and such but got lazy! I'll make a new batch and check it out. If the levels are too low can I just add supplements?

[karlas]

i have to say i use well water also. i get it from my moms and luckily havent had any trouble with it. the ph goes up when i add the salt but i tested it for nitrates and phosphates it comes up 0 and ive had luck with it for 2 years now with no alge problems. maby i just got lucky with it

[VoodooChild]

Just a quick word Jon. Don't bother testing for GH. It doesn't matter in saltwater. And I don't know whether or not the farm correlation is true. It just seems to me that way. I'm wrong often:)