Tap water !!

Few quick questions guys, I cannot afford an RODI System right now so I am using tap water with conditioners and I only have FOWLR tank. No inverts.
Do i still need to condition my water if I leave it out for 24 hours?
Is there any tips That you guys can give me to get as close to having an RODI system as possible, like filters, conditioners, can i make my own system?
If I Dump a extra bag of phosban in the 5 gallon tank while its sitting for 24 hours with a powerhead and salt will that help a little not having RO system?

On a tight budget this month, Lost of employment

 

Amquel Plus. Great product. Use as directed.
DESCRIPTION DIRECTIONS
Protects fish and invertebrates by quickly and effectively eliminating nitrite, nitrate, and all forms of ammonia, chloramines, and chlorine in both fresh and salt water. Safe for reef and live rock aquariums. Offered in a variety of sizes.

 

Personally, I would still use conditioner.

If it's a FOWLR system, I wouldn't worry too much about extra filtration. Judging by your use of the word "extra", I'm assuming you're already running phosban for phosphate removal. I'd just run some carbon to remove some of the other nasties.

Assuming you're not housing any particularly delicate fish, you probably won't have too many issue aside from a little more algae, perhaps...but that can be curbed with proper nutrient export.

Do you have any LFS nearby that sells RO/DI? I know I've got three around me that sell pre-mixed RO/DI at less than $1/gallon. Just a thought - it might be a cost effective solution in the short-term. At least, you'd probably spend the same amount on their water as you would on the extra additives/filter media to condition your tap water.

 

I have used the purple cap distilled water from walmart before and it does just fine. It is 88 cents a gall here... I used to buy 6 a month for my 10 g

 

Aquarium pharmacutical's makes a $40 tap water filter that will attach to a simple kitchen sink, I have had good success with this for a fowlr. I think marine depot carries this, also put a power head or airstone in the water and run it for 12-24 hours before putting either top off water or freshly mixed salt water in your tank. This will help get rid of some of the chlorine and or chlorimin in your tap water.

 

There is no substitute for a good RO/DI system period.
For smaller systems bottled distilled water might be a viable option but for larger systems the cost soon exceeds the $128 a good reef quality RO/DI costs.

Conditioners remove chlorine and nothing else. Some bind metals so they are not as toxic but they do not magically disappear.

The tap water filter is an extremely expensive, short kived product that ends up costing a fortune since for most people they only get 15-30 gallons of treated water before the cartridge is exhausted and in need of replacement. After a couple replacements you have more than the RO/DI would have cost. 99% of those who report good results don't even have a TDS meter have no idea if it is working or not, usually it's the Not.

 

Yeah You are right I am Using a phosban and good skimmer with my 55 gallon, The problem is I tried the lfs here and they all have a policy not to sell water :-/ Its weird.
I will be trying the distilled water from wal-mart.

 

They have a RO unit for 99. Better than nothing, still treat with prime or such. Check out AquaFX RODI units, I have one and I TDS test constantly. 000 250 will get you a nice one.

 

If you plan on being in this hobby for 6 months or longer.

Get an rodi. end of story. I wouldnt put any walmart water, tap, well, spring, glacier, rain, in my tank.

Only RODI should be used, no excuse. This should be the first thing you buy, even before your tank. By the time all the drops and chemicals you add in the water to "clean" it, you could be done toppling off your tank with an rodi. All i have to do, is flip a valve and im filling up my tank. When its full i close it, 5 min. bam. done.

do yourself a favor, pull some change out of your couch, car, washer. and get one.

 

+1 this is the best advise,I used an api tapwater filter at one time and replacement cartridges were about $25,for the cost of the filter and four replacements you can buy a good ro/di system.