New system and Tap Water?

[Adv4Justice]

So I think we are ready to set up the tank after months of research and reading ( I have devoured the available info in Books including Salt water for dummies, Reef Secrets, Saltwater Aquariums make a great Hobby & my favorite The New Marine Aquarium.) I have read online blogs and forums, numerous articles and magazines and spoken with the LFS employees. ('')

We finally bought a 75g tank thats 48" long ( more water to air ratio) and stand, then we decided to pick up the acrylic refugium. We determined that for us it would be better to leave the fabricating your own refuge to others since for the 200 dollars I would spend hours of time and probably almost as much money on a refugium system that in the end would likely not fit under my stand. We found a system at the LFS that also had a made to fit protein skimmer (For an addtn'l cost) , it also integrated 2 prefilter socks and a light. Skimmer came with a pump so then we had to buy the return pump. LFS also had the 700 Mag pump which we purchased as the return pump and an all in one hood with a 250 Watt Metal Halide, True Actinic Blue and LED Blue moonlight. Since we did do some research we braced for the sticker shock. ('')

We were at $2100.00 and not the first living thing yet. We told ourselves that will come.

In order to reduce costs we proceeded to the Local Pet Superstore for a less expensive set up for the quarantine tank we settled on a 20g Long with fluorescent light strip and two 10g rated in-tank filters, we also purchased reef crystals, 3 heaters, 2 thermometers, 2 hydrometers, two test kits (saltwater and reef). Went to a box store to get a few 5g plastic bins w/ lids and a 32g bin for premixing water and that bin may work for curing live rock if we cant find sufficient live rock that has been cured at a reasonable price. So we should be ready to go Right? ----Wrong.

We are still debating location of the tank and are concerned about Tap water vs. Distilled store-bought water or getting a system to make our own RO/DI water to start the tank.('')

I'm guessing we will likely replace 7.5 gals. or (10%) of the saltwater every two weeks as a normal water change. Also, we will need perhaps as much in freshwater evaporation. At about a dollar a gallon we would buy the distilled water for approximately $15 a month right? My LFS sells water at $1.75/Gal ( if its premixed saltwater that may end up being cheaper?) The RO/DI costs $165 for a 100gpd system which is really not a lot of money and would pay for itself in less than a year but---there is a tremendous amount of waste water that I would be paying water & sewage for and I don't have enough plants to water to use that much in waste water. Has anyone really done the math on this yet? How bad can the tap water be?

Since here in Florida we get our water from the Florida aquifer ( Same place where Zephyrhills and Aquafina bottled water comes from) So, I looked it up and after removing the chlorine there are no listed Nitrites, Nitrates, Phosphates nor Copper listed in the local water quality report.

I could test the water with my new water testing kits but they are "saltwater" tests do I need freshwater tests?

Should I premix a small batch of saltwater then test that?

We really wanted to be able to at least set up the water in the tank this weekend and possibly put in the base rock to skim off any debris. (Did I forget mention the fossilized coral /?limestone? base rock we were going to integrate with live rock to reduce costs?)

Any Ideas?? Thoughts?? Starting to feel overwhelmed.

[Gtstricky]

Deep breaths... deep breaths....

I think you will end up with a few different answers here but I will give my 2 cents.

With tap water you are going to have a TDS issue. Essentially you will have stuff in the water that will break down and cause issues. RO/DI water should have 0 TDS. Some LFS (live fish stores) sell RO/DI water. You could use that for a while and see if it is worth buying a system (I recommend thefilterguys.biz). My guess is that you will want a system soon so you might as well get it now. If not for this tank you will need it for the next bigger one you get.

TDS will lead to an algae issue that you will be fighting and will make the tank less fun to maintain.

Good luck.

Cheers-


(edit: you want a 75gpd system not 100)

[THE ROOK]

Tap water usage generally leads to algae issues. Once you fight that for a few months you'll buy a unit anyways.

Get a decent RODI unit (under $200.00). Well worth the money. After a few weeks of picking up water you'll have had enough. For a 75 you'll only be sending about a showers worth a week of waste water down the drain.

Also, be careful purchasing new equipment from a LFS. There are many more options out there. Sometimes they don't always start people in the right direction.

The light is a nice unit. I've got the 150watt version that I ran for awhile. The moonlights are awesome.

[Sisterlimonpot]

Well funny you might mention RODI costs. melev just crunched some numbers yesterday and decided (in Texas) that with the price of water, the RODI unit, the 6 month filter changes it comes out to be about $.07 a gallon. now since you also have to pay for sewage (i'm assuming that's metered as well) use the waste water to water grass, do dishes, laundry that way at least you’re not wasting it.

[Sisterlimonpot]

BTW

To Reef Central

[fireman676]

First of all congrats on your new tank. You have taken your first steps down the long and enjoyable road of this hobby.

I agree with everything said above so I wont waste your time saying it all again. I will give you my experience. When I first started out I was buying my water at the LFS and it seemed to never fail that when I needed top off water my water jugs would be empty, (and of course, it would be too late, or I would have to go to work, etc before I could get to the LFS). It didn't take that happening too many times before I was ready to buy my own system. I have been using the filter guys for the past few years and really enjoy doing business with them.

Also one other thing I noticed from your post. You mention doing 7.5 gal (10%) water changes...
you need to figure your total water volume DT+ sump
I have a 75 gal DT with a 20 gal sump so I do 10 gal water changes.

[WaterKeeper]

It still is a lot cheaper than buying distilled at the grocery. You have invested $2100 for the house so invest a bit more on the environment in which your livestock will actually live. An RO/DI is a smart move from day one.

[Adv4Justice]

Well it seems like a home RO/DI wins a landslide vote. LOL I still wanted to ask what do most of you do with the waste water?

[Adv4Justice]

Oh almost forgot to say Thaks for taking the time to respond-- I noted that my math was wrong on the 10% as Fireman pointed out I need to take into account the size of my sump.

[SHAKEEL]

i admit the first time i filled my tank was with tap and some prime but that was because i kinda maxed out on funds for the moment but now i have a ro/di unit as far as my waste my ro/di unit is in my laundry room so my waste water goes in the washing machine and the wife never complains about me doing laundry win/win situation

[WaterKeeper]

I used it to fill the toilet but it kept overflowing until I started to take Exlax on a regular basis.

[Adv4Justice]

Argh, I wouldn't you know I have a front loader washer/dryer set and no lawn as I live in a condo. I do have a Bichon Frise but if the water is highly concentrated toxins I am afraid to do that. In Fla. we are constantly reminded of the need to conserve water to prevent the leeching of salt into the aquifer so I can't just pour it out.

[WaterKeeper]

But you could save a bunch on salt if you let it evaporate.

[Aquarist007]

Originally posted by Adv4Justice
Well it seems like a home RO/DI wins a landslide vote. LOL I still wanted to ask what do most of you do with the waste water?

I use it to water the gardens in the summer. In the winter the mice skate on it

[thegrun]

I put my unit under the sink with a tap up top and we get great drinking water as well as water for my tank (a good selling point with the wife).