Tap water to setup

[erok90]

We all no tap water is a no no but what if I have no where to put a ro for the initial setup on a 180 fowlr? Water changes will be done with ro/di water but to get the tank cycled can I use tap water? What kind of conditioners can I use just to get it set up? I know you guys are gonna ask why isn't there anywhere to put it.the answer for that is that it's in a brand new condo with fancy faucets and no easy access to plumbing.what risk do I take using tap just to get things up and running?

 

[Smitty]

It isn't the end of the world using tap...I used it for years before I really got deep into the hobby, and there are a few hobbyist here that still use it. If you're gonna use it, I'd suggest treating the tank with "prime" to help get rid of a lot of the stuff in the water.

 

[fwadiver]

main downsides are nitrate, phos and silicates, as well as any heavy metals, prime is a good conditioner or chlor-am-ex

 

[erok90]

So doing a large wc with ro/di won't help any after the initial setup?

 

[MrDemonicAngel]

I used tap water to initially set up my 90 gallon no problem. Of course for all the water change I used RO.

 

[Pufferpunk]

If you're looking for some cheap salt for set up, I've got 2 boxes of IO for$40 each. 1 box makes 200g.

 

[marty]

I used tap water to set up my 130 gallons no issues. , but the tap off and all the water change are RO water.

 

[KeishaKornbread]

I used tap water to set up my 130 gallons no issues. , but the tap off and all the water change are RO water.

I did the same thing. Tap to setup both times and then I drained it completely and used RO/DI based Saltwater before putting in fish and corals.

 

[tinman]

Thing is once rock is in tap water chances are rock would adsorb silicates and phosphates in the water ... Even though later changes are Rodi water it takes a while and many water changes to completely rid of those and heavy metals from the rock.

 

[KeishaKornbread]

Thing is once rock is in tap water chances are rock would adsorb silicates and phosphates in the water ... Even though later changes are Rodi water it takes a while and many water changes to completely rid of those and heavy metals from the rock.

The amount of impurities from tap water from any municipality would not contaminate the rock within the time frame it would take to cure rock or cycle a tank. The reason we use RO/DI is to minimize impurities, mainly phosphates, and an entire tank of fresh RO/DI based saltwater would dilute any tiny bit of impurities that theoretically could be absorbed by the rock, which is extremely minimal. We are talking about a month of cycling, not a year in copper-water.

 

[erok90]

So after several water changes will it delude the impurities till there's none left over time? Of course the goal with water changes after cycling is 0 nitrates and phos but what about the heavy metals? Do those go away?

 

[bryman]

You can do it, as I started up several tanks waaay back without RO. However you might have some more issues initially with problem algae until your tank matures and you do enough changes with the RO. Water quality is pretty good if you have lake water, but usually worse if you are on a well.

The most important thing is to neutralize the chlorine like others suggested. Also use GFO and run carbon.

 

[KeishaKornbread]

So after several water changes will it delude the impurities till there's none left over time? Of course the goal with water changes after cycling is 0 nitrates and phos but what about the heavy metals? Do those go away?

There are tests that you can buy for metal detection like copper. Also, you can call your municipality for your areas water report which is free. If you're in need of more info on disolved solids and metals, you can send in a sample of the water that you would use for your tank to companies that provide the service of providing detail water analysis.

Small amounts of disolved metals will not kill your tank and are in all natural bodies of water including the ocean. Despite all the panic spread by other noobs, dropping a penny in your tank will not wipe out your entire system. Dropping an entire bottle of copper based medication will though.

 

[KeishaKornbread]

So after several water changes will it delude the impurities till there's none left over time? Of course the goal with water changes after cycling is 0 nitrates and phos but what about the heavy metals? Do those go away?

Correct. The purpose of water changes is to dilute the amount of wastes to non-lethal levels and to replenish trace elements. If you're diligent about weekly water changes of 10-20% of your total tank volume, the levels of any nasties from using tap water would be minimal.

 

[Sawdonkey]

I did fowlr for over ten years using only tap water (city of Chicago). I never had any algae issues and my tank was stocked with some messy fish. I just treated all water with prime. Honestly, if I were to go back to fowlr, I'd also go back to tap water. It worked fine for me for a long time. I still have many of the fish that grew up in that tap water.

 

[foxriverat]

Don't know much about this stuff. Here is the water report from Geneva Il where I live. Good or Bad? (I use RO water from local fish store)

http://www.geneva.il.us/Departments/PublicWorks/PDF/CCRPrimary.pdf Hope its ok to post the link

 

[LemontReefer]

Whats the TDS reading on your tap water? I would start with that, if its low your probably fine, if higher, your just going to spend a ton of money on gfo later to get rid of hair algae.
My house in lemont, tds is 4 out of the tap (lots of lime in the well guess) it is fine to use, when I lived in Naperville it was about 240 out of the tap and no way would i put that in my reef.

 

[Tgunz127]

Why even risk any possibility of a problem ? Not saying there will or won't be one ... But with how maticulase everyone here is with everything else, I'm surprised to see how many people set up with tap water ...

 

[icedearth15324]

Whats the TDS reading on your tap water? I would start with that, if its low your probably fine, if higher, your just going to spend a ton of money on gfo later to get rid of hair algae.
My house in lemont, tds is 4 out of the tap (lots of lime in the well guess) it is fine to use, when I lived in Naperville it was about 240 out of the tap and no way would i put that in my reef.

So you're saying Lemont water is actually pretty darn good for using in tanks? I've never tested it personally.

 

[KeishaKornbread]

Why even risk any possibility of a problem ? Not saying there will or won't be one ... But with how maticulase everyone here is with everything else, I'm surprised to see how many people set up with tap water ...

It's aways better to keep and maintain best practices.