Do you successfully keep any corals in your tank using only tapwater?
- Thread starter -Nemo-
- Start date
Well its for this http://www.cpapsupplyusa.com/CPAP-P...Breathe-and-H4i-Heated-Humidifier__33062.aspx
Without one you would wake up to one bad case of cotton mouth and raw throat.
We wake up to sweating (due to low evaporative cooling) and a lungful of mold spores 
. At least that's how it would be without good air filters...
. At least that's how it would be without good air filters...
I have never used RO water....
I use tap water treated with prime....
but I also add Reef ferts...
I use tap water treated with prime....
but I also add Reef ferts...
Sorry, long time getting back to this but.....no...I don't add anything to my tanks except the salt I put in the change water....Instant Ocean.
I actually probably could use tap water at this point. We get our water straight from lake Tahoe, one of the cleanest freshwater lakes in the US. Our water is considered top notch and on top of it the eco-nuts stopped the city from putting flouride in the water so none of that either.
Still, I have the filter, so I use it.
Still, I have the filter, so I use it.
Most basic test you can do on your tap water is go to Wal-Mart in the Automotive/RV section and pick up a TDS meter for $12 to test your water. If it is below 100 it is probably good for fish only, if it is below 20 it is probably good for reef. I have never seen water from the tap ever have numbers that low though.. think the lowest tap water TDS I have personally seen was around 190.
Personally I wouldn't risk tap water on my tank, but to each their own. Heck, I even tried what is considered "good" natural sea water that is pulled in from out in the ocean thinking "it came out of the ocean, from a pipe about a mile out it has to be good" Nope, it still had phosphate levels through the roof, alk was low, and there was almost zero buffering capability of the water (B-Ionic dosing didn't do much at all for Alk, it would raise the pH to dangerous levels and still not get a DKH any higher than 7). All I got out of using water out of the ocean was bad cyano outbreaks and hair algae explosions, similar to what happens when you use bad tap water.
Personally I wouldn't risk tap water on my tank, but to each their own. Heck, I even tried what is considered "good" natural sea water that is pulled in from out in the ocean thinking "it came out of the ocean, from a pipe about a mile out it has to be good" Nope, it still had phosphate levels through the roof, alk was low, and there was almost zero buffering capability of the water (B-Ionic dosing didn't do much at all for Alk, it would raise the pH to dangerous levels and still not get a DKH any higher than 7). All I got out of using water out of the ocean was bad cyano outbreaks and hair algae explosions, similar to what happens when you use bad tap water.
