Question about my water

[ejv1013]

I put up my 90 gallon tank about 5 days ago I put live sand and my water in but I used tap water . Now I want to remove the tap water to put in new RO/DI water but I was thinking that I might loose some of the beneficial bacteria that came with my live sand. Another concern was that the sand I have in there now with the tap water will still have traces of cooper wont that effect me in the long run?

[sponger0]

Yes lol. Some thing could be absorbing into the rock and sand. Best think to do IMO is remove the water, fill it with RODI salt water, get a copper test kit, and do frequent water changes. To help reduce any metals or unwanted material in the water.

But someone else may have a better suggestion

[spankdog]

Since you just put it up I think it would be safe to drain a large amount of water and replace with RODI. Have you started cycling yet, checking for Ammonia? I don't think you have to worry about the copper but you could do a test to see how much is in the tank. Did you treat the tap water with anything?

[BIG_KAHUNA]

I'm no pro but there is a lot of debate from what I've read. I wouldn't be too concerned with Cu in the tap water. Some claim PO4 etc will "leach" into the sand, rocks, etc. Randy would be the man to answer such a question but I don't really see it happening w/o acidic conditions in the tank (low pH). BUT yes, loose the tap ASAP just in case. It's how I started out, and that didn't work so well. Live sand and even live rock to some degree is anything but alive when it finally arrives at our tank. Basically don't worry about the bacteria and make the switch. You wanna do things right from the start. Happen to have any pics?! We all love watching a new tank grow!

lol ya'll beat me to it...

[Ron Reefman]

You should drain out as much water as you can. Push the sand to one end and tilt the tank so the clean bottom end is lower and pull out all the water you can with a sponge. Have your SW ready and add it back into the tank. After that, you'll have so little tap water that you shouldn't have any issues and I wouldn't do a water change until after the tank has cycled.

You won't have any copper issue. I don't know why sponger0 said yes. Tap water has very, VERY little copper and you won't have any issues with that.

The tap water may have killed all the bacteria in the sand. If it's city water, it has clorine in it and the bacteria are dead. If it's well water, I'm not sure, but I'd bet against any being alive. The good news is it isn't a big deal. The clorine in the city water has evaporated out of the water by now and the other contaminates will be so small a fraction of your entire water volume so as to be completely insignificant. New bacteria will grow back as if you were setting up a new tank with no live sand. Add some LR and you'll be up and running in 4-8 weeks (your new tank cycle time).

[ejv1013]

Ok thanks for all your responses. Hopefully by Thursday or Friday I can get the RO/DI water in.

[ejv1013]

BIG_KAHUNA: I will try to get pictures posted on here sometime later on tonight I need my usb transfer cable and I think my 18 month old might have gotten a hold of it :/ but I'll keep you guys posted with updated pictures as I go through the whole process

[ejv1013]

Ron Reefman: I'll make sure to take your advise and post the outcome thank you all again for all your help

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I do not know if it is worth doing an unusual water change at this point. I probably wouldn't bother as some of the worst nasties are probably mostly consumed or attached to sand and rock surfaces. But there is no concern about bacteria in doing a water change. They mostly reside attached to surfaces, not loose in the water.

[ejv1013]

By the way I will most definetly be getting RO/DI water in soon and I am currently looking for a RO/DI filter I might just get one I saw on ebay here is the link let me know what you guys think.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/0-PPM-6st-Re...t_12258wt_1039

[bevis28]

the question i have for randy or anyone else, is does filling the tank with rodi prior to any addition of salt, kill the bacteria in agra alive sand ? i have been away from the hobby for 8 years and i just set up a 93 cube . i put 3 bags of live sand in the tank bottom and started filling with rodi. i waited until there was about 2" of water over the bags and then cut them open and distributed it across the bottom of the tank. it would seem that i have made a rookie mistake. wont the rodi ( fresh water ) kill the marine strains of bacteria found in the live sand ? the tank has been filling since yesterday and almost full now. should i just pull the sand and call it a stupid rookie mistake and
put 3 new bags in ? im moving all my corals and few fish from a 29 biocube that has pristine water conditions and am trying to avoid an ammonia spike / cycle in the new tank.

[EllieSuz]

Yes, fresh water would kill any beneficial bacteria, but it will repopulate once you add salt and begin the nitrogen cycle. For future reference, it's best to mix the saltwater in a separate container. There is no need to throw away your sand. Get a cup of active (live) sand from a LFS or fellow reefer and it will "seed" your sand. The bags of so called live sand sit on a shelf for who knows how long and not much, if anything, remains alive in those conditions.

[jenjen]

For what it's worth, I started my 90gal with water from our garden hose. I got an RO/DI unit shortly after and switched to that water, but the initial fill was garden hose water. I just did regular weekly water changes with the RO/DI water (no full tank or extra large WC), and didn't experience any problems.

I wouldn't recommend filling a tank with tap water, but if it's been done personally I wouldn't worry about it as long as the source water doesn't have anything unusual in it and you're switching to RO/DI.

JME

[Fish doctor]

I agree with the post above. The fresh water will kill the bacteria that lives in salt water, however the live sand has very little bacteria, depending on how long it was on the shelf before you bought it. Because the bacteria needs to eat, unfortunately there is little for it to feed on in the bag. However once you add a shrimp or piece of fish to start your nh3 cycle you will see progress.