Reef CRISIS!

[noahm]

Originally posted by giambi4343
ok ill do distilled water than. can afford a RO unit as of now. ill try that my next water change.

How much have you spent on dead corals?.....

sounds like your tap water might be high in calcium as well as maybe some metals. You can't hurt anything by going RO/DI, and it will most likely be a big help. Pretty good stuff at the filter guys, buckeye field supply, and many others. Good bang for the buck though at those 2. Can definitely get something good under $200.

The problem with tap water is IF it has something bad in it, it stays in your tank. You keep topping off the evap which doesn't take anything with it and the little bit that gets changed out in a WC doesn't reduce the overall accumulation by much. Metals wind up in the substrate, bound to rocks, and in the tissue of critters....

You can usually get an analysis of your city water from the city, and IF everything pans out, a person CAN use tap successfully, just not most of the time.

[giambi4343]

ok well im getting water from a buddy of mine that works at a water treatment plant. he uses it in his tank so im guessing its top notch water. anything else i can do right now while im waiting for the water or any other suggestions on what it could be?

[giambi4343]

oh and whats GFO? noob question

[TWallace]

Originally posted by SnowManSnow kinda like running a tank with no skimmer. Yes it CAN be done, but the stakes are too high and the variables too many. [/B]

That's not a good analogy, since lots of people run successful reef tanks without a skimmer.