Did a little water testing....

[chrisalmand]

I didn't know the tap water here was so good. I measured my tap water and it measured 58-61 ppm. I thought tap water was supposed to be 100 ppm and up. Also, our well water is even better, it was testing 14-16 ppm. Just figured I would pass along the results.

-Chris

[yeldarbj]

It may be lower overall ppm than most but have you tested for specific things - try testing tap for nitrate and phosphate, then you will see the need for RODI, although your well water may be better than Pensacola tap.

[JaredWaites]

A lot of tap water in our area is actually suitable for direct use in the aquarium. I don't recommend this for the beginner, might as well start out right and use RO/DI. But if your able to obtain good readings on your water, you could use Sodium Thiosulfate and reduce the chlorine and chloramines and proceed to use it as makeup/top-off.

Some older houses also might have higher readings of TDS etc...as pipes age they can get a film inside of them, or degrade overtime...especially older houses...like built in '50-'80.

As yeldarbj said...I would test the Phosphates and see what your getting, Nitrates shouldn't be too much of an issue though.

Good luck.

[DrHank]

It varies from place to place. My TDS (the last time I checked it was 124. I wouldn't want to use that for make up or top off. I have no idea what the dissolved solids are but it's 0 coming from the DI so I really don't care.

Our house is only 4 years old so in my case age of the pipes and fixtures is a non issue. I'm just happy to have an RO/DI unit.

[Acro-Phobia]

Niceville, on my TDS is 114-125 going in. Ted tells me that FWB where he is is 245 going in. That's definitely a little trashy.

[KADLETZ]

my tds is from 230-290 it varies at the gulfarium

[Phildirt]

This areas tap water is really clean, but is pulled from the Florida aquifer so it tends to be high in dissolved solids/minerals(TheGriffin would know!). The last I tested the tap ph it was 8.something(I can't remember exactly). The problem with mixing salt is the interaction with the mineralized tap water/increased pH and the salt mix.

[JaredWaites]

Phil,

Could you further elaborate on...

'The problem with mixing salt is the interaction with the mineralized tap water/increased pH and the salt mix.' ?

4 years ago, I used strictly tap water with no increased pH and had no pH swings and had an algae free tank.

I know a lot of people don't recommend this...but I've done it with success and know a few people in FWB that have had great success with tap and I can find some pictures to show you if you want.

I wouldn't try to switch someone over to tapwater...that's ridiculous, plain DI water is more pure than tapwater. But tapwater can work for the budget

Do I use tapwater now for makeup? No. I can actually afford to be in the hobby. But if your on a budget and can't make ends meet....you do what you have to do.

I was also collecting NSW from the Gulfarium and using as well...so I was really getting the best of both worlds.

While we are talking about tapwater, check out this link.

http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...readid=1281496

Its merely a debate, which I don't want to get into. It works for some, and some it doesn't. It depends on your area and your source.

[Phildirt]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11518698#post11518698 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by JaredWaites
Phil,

Could you further elaborate on...

'The problem with mixing salt is the interaction with the mineralized tap water/increased pH and the salt mix.' ?

Simple….Over saturate a solution and you get precipitate. Do you want your calcium in the water or on the bottom of your mix bucket? Not saying that this will always happen but salt mixes were made to be mixed with relatively pure water (no TDS and neutral pH). I’m also not saying “Don’t use tap”, I do for my fresh water. My cichlids love it, it’s almost like Lake Malawi. I just don’t use it for my salt tank.

(Cloud forms over my thinking of the past) I remember that FWB had soft water until the mid 1990’s. I think they had to either go with deeper wells and/or start getting their water from the north end of the county. That’s when the scale stated to show up on some taps. As the water demand increases who knows where we will get our water from (insert Yellow River Dam project here)

Like I said we have really clean water here, thankfully it’s not pulled from a river or canal……………...yuck.

[JaredWaites]

I understand where your coming from. But the Calcium levels wouldn't be high enough to cause a precipitate to form. Although like you said if you have a super high TDS, I could imagine the solubility of your salt mix wouldn't be so good...I've never heard of Calcium coming out of solution though by using tap water however.

[IslandCrow]

TDS is a pretty generic way of guaging water quality. You never know what those dissolved solids are. Tap water with a TDS of 100 could very well be better for your aquarium than water with a TDS of 50. RO/DI units really aren't that expensive in the big scheme of things, and now what's in your water is one less thing you have to worry about. Truthfully, the only thing I really find TDS useful for is as an indicator that you need to change the filters on your RO/DI.

[JaredWaites]

Very good points indeed IslandCrow.

Although on a commercial stand point, really are expensive and the media is a PITA to have to changing or recharging.