RO versus tap water

[mling]

After reading all about RO, I just bought a RO/DI system. But after discussing RO with a friend, I am now having doubts about using it for my tank. In short my friend tells me that he does not like RO because it strips the water of everything and then you have to buy supplements to bring up the PH, etc.
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It is true that If your county water system is “acceptable” for aquarium use, it is better to just use tap water and use water conditioners to get rid of chlorine, versus RO ?

Is there a “natural” way to raise the PH level in a reef tank ?

[robz]

Are you running a refugium on a reverse lighting cycle? This will help with PH Fluc.

[tims]

Well that all depends, most tap water ( depending on where you live) has tons of stuff in it. some good some bad.. it coould be treated with clorine, floride, have iron or heavy metals in it. even the phospate level could be very high to start off with. which is one thing we do not want..take a look in the ref. area and in the think tank area, you will find a lot on ro/Di and tap water.
maybe you are one of the lucky ones that have very good tap water...

http://www.thereeftank.com/forums/f43/

[TurboRook]

First, with regards to PH, artificial salt water mixes are PH buffered, so adding unbuffered RO/DI or tap water as topoff water will not have a significant effect on PH.

Second, using de-chlorinated tap water is a disaster waiting to happen. There is just too much variability in local water supplies. Not only do water agencies add chlorine and chloramine to the water which you would have to buy de-chlorinators to remove, but they also allow and even add high levels of phosphates and disolved organics which will full algae blooms. On top of all that, they often change their recipe of additives on a seasonal basis, so you may going along ok for a couple months, then all of a sudden you get a massive algae bloom or tank crash because of some new additive.

With RO/DI, you are taking out all the variables. You are giving your tank the purest water possible to start with, without having to worry about unintentionally adding something dangerous. On top of that, I gaurantee that any additions of kalkwater or baking soda you might add to buffer PH or alkalinity will be cheaper than the de-chlorinator you would have to add to treat your tap water.

When I first started in the hobby, I thought I could get by with tap water. When that failed me, I thought the RO water from vending machines would be good enough, but it wasn't. Now that I have my own RO/DI system, I could never in good conscience recommend anything less. The $200 I spent has not only made reefkeeping so much easier for me, but also supplied my family with great quailty drinking water. It's a win-win situation all the way around.

[Phishnoob]

Bleh...my system is RO only which is what the LFS uses. Guess it is time to test my tap water that I started with vs. my RO against some DI water and see what is going on. My tank as a whole has great specs but I don't want it to get worse.

[tims]

the only thing i would add to a RO unit would be some prefilters to get larger particles out first, thus saving the ro membrane a bit longer life..

[ruhspolostar]

I see how some people compare RO water to distilled water

but as someone who has an RO/DI unit, there is absolutley no comparrison to tap, when you add the "salt" mix usually it will replace what is needed

[TurboRook]

Originally Posted by TurboRook

I thought the RO water from vending machines would be good enough, but it wasn't.

Note: I was referring here to relying on the RO vending machines at supermarkets and what not. They're not nearly as reliable from month to month as an in-home RO or RO\DI setup.

[Phishnoob]

I tested my RO only water for PO4 and there is none present. I think we are lucky here with good city water though so the DI would be good to have, but no algae is there and everything is living with six months on the tank now.