cheato?

That's not good enough you need to get yourself an ro unit or get water from your lfs. That thing is for drinking purposes only.

 

yes.
i have put the water in a 20 gallon and put fish in after i filled it without chemicals

 

not sure what that is, but if its anything like a brita type water filter its not doing much. as far as i know most tap water filters like that are basicly just carbon, so it removes some of the bad taste and smell, but doesnt do much for silcates.....or nitrate, phospate

 

Again, Fresh and Saltwater fish are different in tolerance.
Just because a fresh water tank can handle it doesn't mean its good for your saltwater.
You need to use R/O water. Excess minerals, metals and chemicals in tap water contribute to algae.

 

yea i just read about it and it is not a ro unit.
i will be getting these when i go to the lfs next time

 

That should help some with your algae problems. Another thing to keep in mind is that algae is merely a sign of some instability in your tank. All it means is there's some kind of nutrient that is out of balance. Everything takes time to balance out in a reef tank and it will balance out in time, so don't try to rush it out of your tank.

Also just to be clear you don't NEED or HAVE to use RO necessarily. It really depends on the quality of water where you live.

 

i live in costa mesa, california
i think the water is ok but im not sure

 

You can get a water report from sewer and water. They should or can tell you whats in your water there.

 

how would i reach them.

 

look at your last water bill, it will have a customer service inquiries line listed