Can I make do with tap for new fill?

[pulpfixtion]

First of all hi to all.. I am relatively inexperienced to salt and reef and have gleened my limited knowledge whilst browsing boards

I have a nano (30g) and have just bought a 150g with 40g sump. It arrives next week

My issue is that I only have a tiny RO unit and as I am on a water meter I cannot make 190 gallons of the stuff.. my meter will explode, plus the unethical wastage!

The question is, can I use tap water whilst I am cycling the tank and is there any thing I can do to reduce the algae effects from it if i do?

I will have tons of questions as I go through the build, heres hoping for assistance through it

thanks

 

[Anonymous]

pulpfixtion,

:welcome:

Have you tested your tap water and established it's parameters? That would indeed be useful to know. You can IMO/IMe use tap water for an initial fill. As far as algae, a new tank likely will have issues with that anyway. One good way to mitigate that is to not use the tank lights any more than is necessary. As long as you are cycling and there isn't any livestock in the tank, having the lights on only wastes electricity and fuels algae.

Keep us posted as to your progess!

 

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't use tap. I'd make RO water.

We have a store in town called Clean Water America. You can buy all of the RO water you can carry out of the store for something like $5.99 per month. That would be a great way of filling your tank cheaply, and quickly. Check and see if you have a similar store in your area.

Oh yeah, :welcome:

Louey

 

[Anonymous]

We can agree to disagree Lou, if his tap water doesn't test absolutely awful...besides I didn't know the availability of store bought RO in the UK.

 

[pulpfixtion]

thanks guys.. the other reason against buying RO from our local store is that it would cost $150 - £70 sterling!!! We get ripped off for most things over here sadly.

I will test the tap water and see what the parameters are and post back. As long as its not a "suicidal" thing to do from the start I will go with that

thanks again

 

[atnixon]

Hiya Pulp..

Have to admit, i used tap water for my first inital fill of my tank..As i was still waiting for my RO to arrive and i have not seen anu adverse effects from using it at all..

But, i would say that you really do need one here in the UK as the water service companies do have to put in a lot of chemicals to meet the strict standards that we have here..

Hope this help buddy...Welcome to Reefs.org

Niko

 

[pulpfixtion]

Hi all and thanks for the replies. I have contacted local water company and these are the levels from the tap.

The mean nothing to me, can advise be given on using this for an initial fill as above please :?

pH pH 7.4 on average
Ammonium 0.06 mg/l on average
Nitrite 0.01 mg/l on average
Nitrate 29.5 mg/l on average
Calcium carbonate 284 mg/l
Hardness 15.87 °GH
Total chlorine 0.65 mg/l
Lead 2.3 µg/l
Fluoride 0.13 mg/l on average

 

[atnixon]

I dont know what some of them mean, but the pH is not that bad, nitrITE is ok, nitrATE is a little high...

Personally, i would go for it with tap water untill the cycle has finished, which will prob be around the 4 week mark..And in the meantime, start generating your ro water..It may be easier for you to go to B&Q and buy a water collection bin and lid, they are about £35 and hold about 50 Gals..At least that will give you a good start in advance of doing your first water change when the cycle has completed..

Hope this helps

Niko

 

[pulpfixtion]

Thanks.. its nice to see that our normal water is not that toxic!!!

stay safe

 

[atnixon]

You too good buddy...Have a good xmas if we dont catch up before hand..

Niko