The Tap Water Reef Tank

[Anonymous]

Bob - nevermind, you answered my questions..........
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[Anonymous]

I was attempting to limit my comments to just those things that were similiar.

IMO this is why you're confused about what goes on in our reef tanks and give bad advice as a result. You often take the discussion and concepts out of context and then try reapplying them to another situation while ignoring other variables.

The only thing confusing to me is why you don't understand. After all my advice does not have people tearing down their tanks every year, losing all their fish, complaining about algae, and generally getting fustrated. And not just Rob's either. I guess the only good advice is to have the hobbiest spend $1000s, spend many many hours each week adjusting and conducting maintenance to run a system on the ragged edge of destruction. The concept of having a system using its natural processes to take care of itself must be really really confusing to you.

I think this tank is an example of what can be done with tap water.

Sure. And someone in the next town over on a different water supply could get VERY different results. See comment above.

Funny, I have had exactly the same results with Fw and fo's in 1/2 dozen cities. And received feedback from numerous reefers from all over the country. Oh yea you probably just don't have that experience.

 

[Rikko]

This beaslbob vs the world battle is reaching biblical proportions.


Here's another example of a tap water tank (my girlfriend's):
Left:

Right:

Unfortunately the photos are from December - it's only gotten better since then but I don't seem to have taken any full tank shots since these two.
The lights are spiral screw-in compact fluorescents from Home Depot and an NO actinic Hagen bulb. Filtration is a couple of powerheads and an Aquaclear HOB filter with foam block, carbon, and BioMax ceramic media.
That's about as anti-reefkeeper dogma as it gets, and somehow it works. Water changes are about 15% every 2 weeks with tap water dechlorinated with Seachem Prime.

Admittedly, our tap water TDS is always 10-15ppm, so you Iowa folks may have varying mileage.

 

[Anonymous]

I was attempting to limit my comments to just those things that were similiar.

IMO this is why you're confused about what goes on in our reef tanks and give bad advice as a result. You often take the discussion and concepts out of context and then try reapplying them to another situation while ignoring other variables.

The only thing confusing to me is why you don't understand.

He does understand. You seem to be ignoring his point. You pick and choose which examples or concepts support your ideas and ignore the rest.

After all my advice does not have people tearing down their tanks every year, losing all their fish, complaining about algae, and generally getting fustrated.

Untrue. For the nth time, the number of people who run 'fuges, use tap water, etc, that have problem algae is about the same as the people who don't.

You advice is also stated as expert fact instead of essentially newbie opinion.

And not just Rob's either. I guess the only good advice is to have the hobbiest spend $1000s, spend many many hours each week adjusting and conducting maintenance to run a system on the ragged edge of destruction. The concept of having a system using its natural processes to take care of itself must be really really confusing to you.

You continue to polarize these discussions, when the reality is there are many more than two choices you seem so fond of laying out. This behavior is frustrating and disheartening.

I think this tank is an example of what can be done with tap water.

Sure. And someone in the next town over on a different water supply could get VERY different results. See comment above.

Funny, I have had exactly the same results with Fw and fo's in 1/2 dozen cities. And received feedback from numerous reefers from all over the country. Oh yea you probably just don't have that experience.

That you keep bringing up FW and FO as examples of how this your ideas work for reef tanks is troubling.
Surely by now you realize that some tap water is different and that different organisms react differently to that different water. To claim, as you are, that all tap water is fine for every reef tank completely ignores the experiences of many many people.

 

[Anonymous]

Bob - have you ever seen an actual coral reef?
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[ChrisRD]

The only thing confusing to me is why you don't understand.

I don't understand how you can have a tank that looks like a eutrophic mess but continually post to this board giving "advice" like you're an expert.

I don't understand why you continually ignore the experience and advice of others in these discussions who have clearly been involved in the hobby far longer than you and have far healthier looking systems.

I don't understand why you incorrectly assume that many people here don't have experience with using tap water and algae filters. Limitations of these methods are fairly common knowledge these days and many of us have been-there-done-that already...

I don't understand why you casually dismiss proven reefkeeping methods as unnecessary, difficult and expensive despite having no experience with them yourself.

 

[Anonymous]

Here's another example of a tap water tank (my girlfriend's):

Gorgeous!

A TDS of 10 is better than I get out of my RO

 

[ChrisRD]

I agree - that tank does look good Rikko.

 

[Sugar Magnolia]

Nice looking tank Rikko. How long has your GF had it up and running?

 

[Anonymous]

I just had a test on my tap water. 350 TDS. I highly doubt you could run a clean tank with my tap water.

I think you could use it just fine. Most the tds is calcium carbonate, magnesium, and plant food. the parts per billion of nasties like copper would be removed by plant life.

I tried it with a similar reading.

Impossible to start the tank up because the calcium and carbonate is off the scale right from the get go.

If you had an established reef with a lot of corals and coraline that needed all that calcium and carbonate, you might be able to switch to that tap water or to well water with high calcium...all the life would soak it up and probably grow faster.

But then you have all the extras, like fertilizer run off in the ground water and trace metals that would build up over time inthe system. A year later you could see everything go down hill all of a sudden and more water changes would just add to the problem.


I prefer the no water changes at all method. I've done 3 water changes on my 75 gallon since March 2004. 8)

 

[Anonymous]

Here's another example of a tap water tank (my girlfriend's):

Gorgeous!

A TDS of 10 is better than I get out of my RO

I was just going to say the same thing!!

 

[Anonymous]

Here's another example of a tap water tank (my girlfriend's):

Gorgeous!

A TDS of 10 is better than I get out of my RO

I was just going to say the same thing!!

I measure commercial bottled water at between 10 and 15.

My RO water reads below 5 every time....but that's just because my condo has an industrial filter and the water coming out of my tap goes into the RO unit at about 20.

 

[Rikko]

Nice looking tank Rikko. How long has your GF had it up and running?

Thanks guys!
The tank was setup initially in a 25 gallon about a year and a half ago and moved to a 33 gallon shortly after.. I'd estimate that THAT tank you're looking at was sitting there for about ... 8 months? She just moved it up to a 55 gallon last week which would have made it about 14 months old. It remains a tapwater tank but my ugly, ghetto light fixture didn't get to come along.

 

[Blazin__]

here is my tank 29 gal... been up for 2 years, runnin on only tap water, carbon and a skimmer, 250W 14k hqi and LR in a sump for my mandrine to have some food.

BTW nevermind the yellow tang. i bought him on some bad advce when i first started the tank, he is gettin moved in a bigger one within the month

 

[Dr_Tang]

sweet valentini puffer...i plan on getting one in a month or so once i set a 37 gallon up...

 

[Anonymous]

Blazin__ - Where are your plants?
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[Anonymous]

I would be willing to guess where his plants are...

Right Blazin'? :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[Sugar Magnolia]

Both Rikko's GF's tank and Blazin's tank are in Cananda. Must be good water up there. Try that with metro DC area water and you'll have a beaslbob tank.

 

[Anonymous]

I just had a test on my tap water. 350 TDS. I highly doubt you could run a clean tank with my tap water.

I think you could use it just fine. Most the tds is calcium carbonate, magnesium, and plant food. the parts per billion of nasties like copper would be removed by plant life.

i guess you also include hvoc's, and voc's in that group too?

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:




:roll:

 

[Anonymous]

The tap water in my town has a TDS of about 500-600. I know a lot of that is calcium and carbonate (hence the coralline growth) but I know there is also arsenic, selenium, nitrate and phosphate.

There is a low fish load in the tank, and not a trace of macroalgae anywhere in the system. It boggles my mind how this tank looks as good as it does. My gut tells me the very regular water changes are helping.

I'm going to be tossing in a few SPS frags to see how they do. My guess is not too good, but we'll see.

I think you just had enough calcium carbonate to favor the corraline is all.

The corraline and other plant life is consuming the nutirents and the arsenic, copper and selenium as well. But the bad stuff is at the parts per billion level.

no magic no voodoo. just the way plant life works. Water changes slow but not prevent the buildups. Nutirents come more from the fish anyway. Heavier fish load then you just need more plant life. And the corraline may get behind and the green would show up. But right now the plant life is keeping up.

Just the way it works. All your tap is doing is reducing the need for dosing and increasing the plant life growth. Just like anywhere.

most of your posts indicate how little you know of, or understand, plants, and how they actually work :wink: