Brita or tap water?

For my water changes i have been using filtered brita water. Does this mean i do not have to use Prime to condition my water? And would just regular tap water with conditioner in it be ok for the weekly water change?

 

RODI is best but out of those 2 options I would go britta and still add prime or whatever other ones are out there to condition it.

 

Tap,ro, or filtered water

I have only used tap city water and then use conditioner..

I fill a 30gal new trash can with the tap water add the conditioner and i have a powerhead and a heater. I have been using it for 4-5 months for daily top offs. "5-10 gals is always in there then re-filled"

Also i do add my salt mix to the top off water can.. why?? I find my salt level gets low after weeks.

I from what i hear think the using of ro water means you must add all kinds of things to the water.

Yes you may add bad things to the water if tap is used but IMO things will probably be added no matter what you want. Just deal with them when they come up..But that's just me i'm noob..


Good luck,
Mike

 

Brita does not remove any Nitrates or Phosphates. I have tested this by comparing filtered vs non-filtered water.

PUR filters however managed to reduce nitrates significantly, but still had same phosphate levels as tap water.

I would still add some sort of dechlorinator since filters don't remove chlorine.

 

not at all. Only your salt mix. With freshwater, I wouldn't advise using RO/DI but with reefing, I wouldn't do anything but. You never know what's coming out of your tap but if you are using ro and testing for tds coming out, you know that your water is 100 percent h2o

 

phospates are going to be a big problem if you dont fix the source now. RO/DI is the only way to go to be sure and safe.

 

The biggest issue with tap water is consistency, its never the same. Say a big storm blows through and the treatment plant has to add more chemicals to bring it below the EPA standards. Or summer usage goes up so the utility adds more wells or another plant and quality changes. Maybe they have pH problems so have to add orthophosphates or polyphosphates for corrosion control in the mains. Or thye started disinfecting the water with chlroramines and you are now having an ammonia problem you were not even aware of.

Too many variables! Yes its safe for drinking but our reef systems require a different level of quality. We invest hundreds or thousands of $$ in a closed environment so we need to provide the best environment we can. As the stewards of this hobby its our responsibility, no different than the way we take care of our dogs or our children, provide the best care possible.

Nothing compares to having your own RO/DI system so you alone control your water quality. Heck I'm a water system supervisor by profession and drink it every day but I won't put it in my tanks.

A Britta or Pur is basically an activated charcoal filter made to make water taste good, thats it. They remove chlorine but have a pretty short lifespan due to the nature of carbon.

 

I met someone who only adds tap water from his hose for top off's, in fact he filled his whole tank up with tap water, all 375 gals. had fish in the tank within a week, and they are still alive and no phosphates yet. I know something bad is on the rise, just a matter of when. his tank has been up for 3 months now.

 

Like someone said different city's different water. 3 months is not a long time for a tank to be up. Problems with phosphates can arise after about six months or so. The live rock can only hold or absorb so much phosphate. I believe it's Fragenstein or Packleader, don't quote me if I'm wrong., but they use tap with success.. depends where you live