Water parameters

So, when I first set up the tank, I decided I wanted to do a FOWLR setup. A few books I had read stated that tapwater (treated) would be fine for FO and FOWLR setups. I used tapwater, treated, of course, with the initial tank setup, and have no problems since setting it up, cycle and afterward. I do continue to believe with my limited experience that tap water would still be fine (though not ideal) if I decided to keep my tank FOWLR, but I definitely do not think it would be acceptable for reefs. I'd like to start adding a few hardy corals to my tank, hopefully in around a month, once my water parameters are within an acceptable range. All my water changes have been with RO and RO/DI water (depending on what's available) and I'm going to buy an RO/DI filter soon.

The water seems fine for FOWLR at the moment As far as my current levels, Ammonia and Nitrite are at 0, Nitrate is somewhere between 10-15ppm (Dropped from 30ppm 2 days ago), Temp stays between 76 and 79, Ph seems to hover around 8-8.2, SG is at 1.023. The drop in nitrate levels I attribute to the protein skimmer finally maturing and picking out a lot more skimmate. After reading more about phosphates, I've decided to get a phosphate test and monitor those as well, just to see if they're having any affect on my tank. If so, then, I'll have to figure out how the heck to attach a phosban reactor to one of my powerheads! I've been doing 8.3% and 16.7% (yeah, weird, but I have a 60 gallon tank and only two 5 gallon buckets, so, that's the size of water changes they get :), alternating the sizes every week, and water quality doesn't seem to really change that much when the water changes are made. It seems like other external factors have more to do with nitrate levels.

Also, as I said in a previous post, I've read on many posts that nitrates aren't the big deal that many people say they are, but phosphates are. To those who know anything about that - is that just for fish, or is that also for corals and other invertebrates?

So the question I have is, what sort of measurement would one use to decide when a tank is ready for a few hardy corals? Do I really need to worry overly much about the percentage of tap water remaining in the tank or is it a better idea to focus on parameters? I was thinking the latter, but I want to be sure.

Thanks, everyone.

P.S. If anyone wanted to know why I chose tapwater initially, the main factor is a back injury that never fully healed. Hauling 60 gallons of water is a repeat injury waiting to happen, and a favor I'm not willing to ask of anyone.

 

Personally i have a mixed reef, and i do use tap water, but it turns out my water is the best in the area, i would test your water with and without your salt and see how everything sits, if its good, you should be fine and be able to add your corals, now, i must mention NEVER use hot or even luke warm water, alway use cold, and put a power head, and a heater in the bucket to make it up to your tank temp so you dont shock anyone, ive been also using RODI water for my water changes, but i actually dont see a difference i never have algae blooms, not brown algae, no red slime, maybe im just lucky? but IME its not a big deal, Hope this helps!

 

The only thing that I've noticed in my water from my own tests is nitrate and chlorine. The reading of nitrate is very slight; the most I can say from my test is that it they are below 5ppm according to my reading. According to my local water supply, nitrate ranges from 1ppm to 4.4ppm. A full summary of the local water supply is here if someone would like to check it out and say whether it is good or bad. There is no mention of phosphates on the test, so I'll still have to test it for phosphates myself. and see whether it's something I'm willing to continue using or not. It probably all depends on where you live!

I've had a bloom of diatoms that now seem to be dying out (getting eaten by the cleanup crew and not replaced), but I've heard that is normal for a new tank. It happened to me last time I had a tank, and I was using RO/DI water the whole time. My cleanup crew has been eating the algae and none have taken their place.

Thanks for the advice!

 

For what im aware of your water supply shouldnt have any nitrates, so i would go with the RODI unit myself, ive tested everything on my tap water, and i do use a dechlorine chemical to my tap as well, and for me an RODI unit isnt really an option b/c i cannot install one in my apartment complex, if i do, i have to leave it if i move, which i wouldnt want to do that, recently i have been getting water from my LFS but it makes me nervous b/c im not sure how old the filters are on it,so i switch it up a little bit i hope this helps and the brown algae is normal, i just added a bag of sand in my refugium and i have some brown algae growing, completely normal just make sure you test your RODI water to make sure its good to go, i always test twice, once without salt, and once with right before i add it to my DT, good luck!!

 

Thanks a ton for the advice. I'll definitely be buying a filter then as soon as my paycheck clears! I agree about not being sure how old the filters are on it.

Just an aside, I've seen some RO/DI filters that come with hookups for hoses. Maybe that would be an option for you, as it wouldn't require anything permanent... That is if your apartment has a hookup for a hose you can use.

 

yeah Original Poster i would strongly advise you use RODI water..Mainly because your putting 100% pure water in your tank...Using tap water has more than just nitrates and chlorine..It contains tons of metals and when you use rodi water and it read 0TDS(total dissolved solids) you will have a much healthier tank..

Some tap water even contains copper and will crash your tank..Using tap water is just to much of a risk that i am willing to take when i have tons of dolllars worth of coral..

I will never run a reef tank without rodi water..my water is even ran through ultraviolet filtration as well as rodi filtration..

 

Agreed – the use of tap water is a designed failure in my opinion and water conditioners are designed to remove chlorine. As mentioned the metals and TDS is what’s going to get you in the long run, along with phosphates and silicates. The inevidable is that you will post down the road of your various algae blooms, its much wiser to pick up an RO/DI unit when you can

Of course this is all opinions, you have a post above from a reefer using tap water as his tap is good. I assume he tests it for phosphate, silicates, nitrates and TDS. Other issues to be concerned with are well waters, the water condition changes after large rain storms – so the water parameters vary with the seasons. And towns can add supplements to your drinking water such as fluoride for our teeth !

 

Marty you dont have to buy an rodi unit..if you have winn dixie around you, i know for a fact they should have a glacier rodi machine outside, should be around 25cents a gallon..the water goes through i think 9 filtrations methods..

But most grocery stores and maybe walmart should have a rodi machine outside you could use if you didnt wanna drop 250$ on a unit..but regardless i advise you to use rodi water or you will have problems in the long run i promise..

 

Sounds like you have a good plan. As to tap water, some tapwater is ok short term. The problem long term is toxins can accumulate in your rock and substrate and there are more toxins in tap water. So, this can cause issues as your tank gets older and the levels build. I wouldn't worry so much about the tap water, but the substrate should probably be changed out. The rocks may be ok.

as for nitrate, it really isn't an issue for inverts either. The main issue is it can cause directly and indirectly lead to excess growth of sybiotic algae in the host coral. This algae is typically brown, and therefore over time, seems to cause the host coral to "brown out". So, if you don't like ugly brown corals, best to keep levels low.
It can also be somewhat growth inhibitive in higher levels, as biproducts from the algae are tollerated in low amounts, but become toxic as the levels increase. At very high levels they can become fatal. Too little can also inhibit growth of some corals though, so, for a soft coral tank 5-20ppm or so is fine IMO.

Phosphates inhibit hard coral growth and feed algae outbreaks. The effect on soft corals is less clear, but still should be kept low.

 

Focus on the parameters but probably a little differently than you think. The key is to get all you parameters in the acceptable ranges and then get experience at keeping them in those ranges. I have found that stability of the water chemistry is most important.
Here is a detailed article on the composition of sea water. Look through the chart and find all the key elements/measurements.