Bad Stuff in Tap H20

Bredfan

Reefing newb
Hi -

Knowing tap water has some bad things in it, does the water improve with time - with the cycle and with water changes - or can starting the tank with tap water cause persistent problems with water chemistry?

I struggled to get my parameters settled down and correct - could the tap water have been the problem?

What do you think?

Harry
 
tap will always be bad, and as you do water changes you will just be introducing all those bad things back into the tank. It is best to use RO/DI or distilled water.
 
My tank is completely run off of tap water. Has been since day one and I have never had any issues. However I am very fortunate to have good water. Only 15 or so miles down the road my mother cant even think about putting tap in her 150 because it is so bad. If I could afford it I would get a Ro/Di system, however until that time I will continue to test regularly and stay the course.
 
I started my tank with tap water also, with no issues. I use RO water now that I buy from the LFS, but I did'nt have any problems cycling or keeping my perams in check. Just lucky I guess.
 
I wasn't clear in my initial post... I started the tank with Tap, but I am doing water changes with RO from the LFS.

What I'm wondering is if there WAS bad stuff in the tap water when I started, will it be a cause for persistent problems, or will it work itself out after a few months?
 
I wasn't clear in my initial post... I started the tank with Tap, but I am doing water changes with RO from the LFS.

What I'm wondering is if there WAS bad stuff in the tap water when I started, will it be a cause for persistent problems, or will it work itself out after a few months?


No, I think with your filtration you will be fine. As long as you arent constantly adding tap to your tank the evaporation that naturally occurs in your tank and water changes will take out enough water that in no time your whole set up will be running on RO.
 
My tank is completely run off of tap water. Has been since day one and I have never had any issues. However I am very fortunate to have good water. Only 15 or so miles down the road my mother cant even think about putting tap in her 150 because it is so bad. If I could afford it I would get a Ro/Di system, however until that time I will continue to test regularly and stay the course.

Tap water in Vancouver Canada is consistently around 10 to 20 TDS but most places you cannot use tap.

TDS meters do not detect chlorine!
 
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