Newark tap water....

[mike219b]

I'm gonna be starting up a FO tank this summer in my apartment in Newark. I know Newark has some issues with heavy metals in the tap water and I was wondering if it is safe for an aquarium?

[aquajamieb]

best bet would be to invest in a RO or RO/DI unit. It will cost a little money now, but save you alot more in the end.

[mike219b]

How much do they usually go for and how much space do they take up?

[aquajamieb]

they dont take up much space at all really, depending on what you get. They also run between $100 and $400. Do a little research at www.thatfishplace.com , its about an hour away, and much cheaper then the fish stores around here

[mike219b]

The biggest concern i have is where to keep this water that it's going to be purifying. The tank is going in the common room of my apartment that I share with 3 other guys, i can't really think of a reasonable place or means to set up a purification system like that. What logistics go along with originally filling and then doing water changes on the tank with the RO water?

[alprazo]

I had a tank while living on Chapel St ~10 years ago. It was a FO. I didn't bother to move the reef from my parents. The fish did fine. I had problems with water temp. Though more important for corals a room temp of 90 or more in the summer months really stresses the fish. AC will be a must. I had different sized bags of ice for those hot days. No fun. The water was fine for the fish. I would not add inverts to the tank without R/O water.

Good Luck

[mike219b]

I've got ac so thats not a problem. Can anyone gimme any FO options for controlling algae other than crustacions and minimal light? Are there any peripheals I can get to help control its growth? Algea drove me nuts in my old 15 gal.

[MadTownMax]

I got my RO/DI off of e-bay from aqua-safe. It comes with a 4-gallon resovoir tank that fits under your sink along with the filter, and a tap for mounting on your sink so your roomates will appreciate being able to get filtered water whenever they like.

I'm guessing that 4-gallons will probably be just large enough to do a water change - and using RO/DI water will definately help w/ the algae problem - along with not over-feeding (I had an algae problem in my tank in college, but that's b/c I was feeding 5 goldfish a day to my trigger and snowflake eel in a 35 hex - scary - yes I know) If you're still having algae problems - try cutting back your feedings in half.

As far as critters go, last night I counted 7 large turbo snails, and I'm sure there's at least 10-20 more smaller types of snails in there too - my rocks don't have a trace of algae :D - I also have a serpent star which helps to grab the food that the fish might miss - but you'll need low nitrates to keep a starfish so it won't help much if you already have high nitrates.....

-HTH

[mike219b]

can you post a link for the RO/DI that you got?

[MadTownMax]

this is the one that I got :

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=20684&item=4307517153&rd=1

although there is another guy in the US that sells just about the same thing.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=20756&item=4306929226&rd=1


If you search around on RC you can find comparisons between the two and make a decision - there are also a lot of proponents of other companies like "air water ice" and specific to aqarium systems - but really, all you're buying are canisters to hold the filters - there really isn't much difference between one RO/DI to the next - one thing that I liked about the aqua-safe system (as well as the other mentioned) is that it has two carbon filters - they take out chlorine which can damage the RO membrane - some RO units use an extra sediment filter in place of one of the carbon filters - HTH

[alprazo]

I agree with MTM. RO plus feeding just enough will really help with an algae problem. You also want to keep the tank out of direct sunlight. The Certh snails IME are very tolerant of poor water quailty and temperature swings. They will not clean the glass as fast a a turbo, but do a pretty good job. Attached is a photo/description. www.floridapets.com .I have not ordered from this vendor. You didn't mention the size of the tank but a Blenny or a Foxface / tang may be a nice addition if the algae is a problem.

Good luck

[mike219b]

how big is that thing MadTownMax?

[MadTownMax]

about 20"X16"X6"

[greeneyedblackcat]

go with the RO/DI, try www.airwaterice.com for a great deal , here is my setup. http://reefcentral.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=39431&papass=&sort=1&thecat=500