what do you think of my tap water...

But, he did say he was in Geneva, Switz., and they take pride in their tap water.

I also agree, and only use RO/DI now and have for nearly a year.

 

I wish I could recall exactly who I am quoting here

but I once read this

"using tap water is like playing Russian Roulette, nobody wins, just some get to stay in the game longer than others"

 

Nice, need to commit that to memory bank

 

I use tap water and have been using it with no problems (except lots of nuisence cyano) for more than 3 months.

In saying so. My RODI arrives Monday-Tuesday.

 

Of course you CAN use tapwater, but man, the costs associated with using it, the algae, the corrective measures needed, the lost live stock, or a 'rodi unit. But it can be done if done properly. Mr. Bill can help you with that alot.

But IMO get a RODI, it will save ya alot of work

 

The algae did it for me.

Its definately not most optimal conditions I could be providing my tank by any means. Will get the water changes going as of Tuesday though.

Can I do maybe 7 or so 10%/per day water changes in a row?

 

I wouldn't do that much, I'd maybe up you're regualr schedule a bit, but I'd do 15% twice a week or so. I'm sure you'd be fine the way you're planning, but changing too much too soon, can be a problem in this hobby. But you'd prob be ok, not worth worrying about too much IMO, as long as you keep the WC params in line with your DT so you dont mess the tank up more

 

Agreed. In fact, I would recommend sticking to your normal routine. Algae growth is not an emergency; it's feeding on the nutrients, keeping the water clean for you, so additional WCs would mostly be a waste of RO/DI water and salt. Just vacuum out all you can while removing old water.

 

Successes are measured in years and decades in this hobby, not months. I have learned that the hard way a couple of times.

I would opt for consistency and RODI.

 

Are those readings from the source, or are they representative of what the end consumer can expect? I'm just thinking of all the contaminates that can be picked up in the distribution piping, and in the end user's household plumbing as well.

It's common to see people posting on various forums saying that they use tap water with "no issues." However, you will also see them posting about cyano/aglae/etc problems with their tanks at some point.

I started with tap, based on the advice of my LFS. I was doing my research when I was getting into the hobby, but I was on a steep learning curve and hadn't really looked into RODI water. All of the guys (well meaning though they were) at the LFS swore that they used tap with "no issues."

My tank has been up and running for nearly 3 years. I switched to RODI 4 months in when I moved, and set up a Spectrapure system at my new house. Due to some moving issues, I ended up with nealy 100% "new" RODI mixed water when all was said and done.

I never over feed, or overstock. My phos STILL ran a little high. It was leeching out of my sand and live rock. I'm in the process of switching to an SPS dominated system and it's a real struggle getting my levels down.

I'll change my GFO and get down to 0.03 ppm phos, and then more will leech into the water column and bump me back up. Swap GFO and repeat! Each time the eqilibrium rate gets smaller and smaller, but it's a battle of attrition.

LONG story short, of all the mistakes I made when I was new to the hobby, starting with tap water is by far my biggest regret!