Water Changes .. Simple Question

[brbegle]

Hello All! Gonna have a lot of these quick questions. I've read a lot about using reverse osmosis and/or other forms of freshwater purification before mixing the salt and adding it to the established tank. I have no capability of doing this, so I attempted the following. I've taken a 7 gallon plastic tub with lid and attached a 125 gal/hour powerhead with venturian aeriation to the inside of the pail. So needless to say it's tossing around the six gallons of water pretty well, but will this suffice for future water changes, or am I still looking at having trouble? Is there anything I could do to make this a better system of preparing new water outside of investing in a new water filtration system? TIA.

[hopper]

Is this tap water you are tossing around in the pail?

[brbegle]

Unfortunately, yes. What other means do I have ... I can't see running it through my Brita...

[geo]

The RO unit is used to purify the water you are using to mix fresh saltwater and for top off. Without pure water you are adding impurities that will fuel algae growth every time you perform a water change or top off for evaporation. Investing in a reverse osmosis unit is a must.
Your bucket/powerhead combo is a good water to mix salt with water

[danho]

Some LFS sell RO/Di water, grocery stores have it. If your tank is the 29 in your sig, your only looking at 5 or so gallons per water change. Shouldn't cost you but 3 or 4 dollars for the water.
Q.

[Glove]

you have the idea right. There are probably a couple hundred ways you could make water changes easier. Some people open valves and let pumps pull old water out as new water goes in.. but they too still need some sort of container for water and salt to be mixed together. I use 5 gallon buckets for some changes, other water changes and fill ups require something like a big ole trash can (un-used of course). The power head is fine- cant do much more but let it swirl around a few hours. An extra heater is a good idea- so you can have the new water the same temp when it goes into the tank....
If its city water from the tap- you should really get a ro system ($150-200 for a good one). Most of the smaller 'at home' ro systems will have the ablity to be connected to a faucet so you can make water and put it away... and then you can always have it plumbed into your water line.
I see your profile says a 29 gallon tank? You really should not need to make more than 5 gallons per change, so a 5 gallon bucket and a couple od those 2.5 gallon jugs of purified water from the store would be your best plan of attack....toss in the power head and maybe a heater a few hours before the actuall change. (I have microwaved water to warm it up too)
:D

[Glove]

Ohh yea...I used to use my (PUR) drinking water filter in the fridge to make up some 'quick' water... I didnt notice any algae blooms, but I didnt use much more than a gallon in my 15gallon tank- and it was top off water.

[brbegle]

All great information! I think until I've invested in a larger tank, I'll pick up the large bottles from the store and use those for mixing the salt and having it ready for top offs and small water changes. I did look up some RO/DI systems and the prices don't look too bad, just not sure if that's an investment I want to make yet ... seems all my theories from 8 years ago have been blown to pieces! This site has been a big help and expensive of course!

[rtecanoe]

ebay has some reasonable ro/di units, but its not just the algae growth you want to be concerned about. Tap water can / often does contain added chemicals and can contain metals which are very harmful to corals. Our drinking water is 'treated' by our municipalities for human consumption, which is healthy for humans, but not neccessarily for corals.

[SPSFiend]

If you have a fish only tank with some hardy fish... you could possibly get away with using tap water and some amquel stuff to remove chlorine/copper etc.

I kept a 60 gallon fish only in San Luis obispo, CA succesfully for 3 years this way. I kept Trigger Fish, Lunare Wrasse, Yelly tang, Clown fish.

If you intend on setting up a REEF, I would buy salt water and RO water for Top off water or buy an RODI unit.

Cheers!

[6Speed]

I have been using tapwater for the last 5 months without any problems. No algae blooms, or coral problems. I got a small leather coral that is growing like crazy, and a xenia frag from a friend that is doing awesome. (Course, those are pretty hardy, and I am still investing in a RO/DI unit soon.)

[Qwiv]

6Speed
Please don't post your short term success stories when they obviously contradict people with way more experience than yourself.

You have to watch them media folk, they aren't trained to check their facts anymore.