does anyone on Long Island NY use tap water and salt in their reef

[acropora4u]

setting up a new tank, just wondering if RO.DI is absolutely necessary with the high water quality on LONG ISLAND?

 

[jnbrex]

I don't think Long Island water is pure enough to be a good substitute for RODI water. Plus, it will have chlorine which is toxic to all marine life.

 

[FolkLoreReefKeeping]

setting up a new tank, just wondering if RO.DI is absolutely necessary with the high water quality on LONG ISLAND?

Back when I lived on the island I used it on a little biocube could never get rid of the cyano I chalked it up to the tap water

 

[Hot2na]

Depends where you live on long island....When I lived in freeport - I used a kold steril by poly bio -NO ro/di.. you didnt need much ..the water is very soft and pure right out of the tap..other places like farmingdale (a fellow reefer friend of mine lived there) were bad..he had tons of hair algae and his tank looked like a swamp until he started using ro/di and an algae scrubber on his tank...Get your towns municipal water supply report and go from there...

 

[ronsonb]

I’m in and Suffolk my TDS meter reads around 45ppm Into my RODI.

I use the RODI never tried not using it so not sure. Filters get dirty so so it’s certainly doing something!!

 

[FMF0331]

Put too much money into my SPS tank. RO/DI unit is a small investment for peace of mind.
( Suffolk county Long Island )

 

[jstabile316]

Long Island water sucks, it has low tds but I’ve noticed it’s high in iron and silicates. NYC water is much better but I would still use a rodi filter or atleast distilled water.

 

[Hot2na]

NYC water is much better

YES it is !!!

 

[MIKE NY]

Absolutely not!…..my TDS is about 65, but it’s all the chemicals, metals that are in it…if you want to know for sure, mix up a patch and send it out for testing. You can also request a water analysis from your district, but that’s at the source not from your faucet which will be worse picking up everything in the pipes especially if there are copper pipes in your home.

 

[SteveMM62Reef]

I remember NYC Water and the Steam Humidifier Cannisters, in Computer Rooms. They wouldn’t work, because the water wouldn’t conduct. We would put the Fast Food Salt packets in them till they produced, and keep our fingers crossed.

 

[ronsonb]

When my filters and resin got dirty I wasn’t paying attention and my TDS went to 2 and I started getting little sponges everywhere that from reading were from higher silicates.

Long Island water sucks, it has low tds but I’ve noticed it’s high in iron and silicates. NYC water is much better but I would still use a rodi filter or atleast distilled water.

 

[acropora4u]

thanks all, was asking for my nephew...he is new and broke, ill send him a ro/di.

 

[WalkerLoves_TheOcean]

thanks all, was asking for my nephew...he is new and broke, ill send him a ro/di.

Good choice, tap water is not worth it.

 

[Cthulukelele]

I know a lot of the water @Paul B uses is direct from the long Island shore which is something to consider

 

[Velcro]

I know a lot of the water @Paul B uses is direct from the long Island shore which is something to consider

pretty if difference between treated municipal water and ocean water though.

 

[CBonito]

I know a lot of the water @Paul B uses is direct from the long Island shore which is something to consider

Yeah, the further out on the island, the better the water quality, and a good suggestion. I'd be curious to see the parameters.

 

[Devaji]

I know a lot of the water @Paul B uses is direct from the long Island shore which is something to consider

I was just gonna say that. deff. not for everyone. + you gotta go get it.
so there is cost in gas and buckets.

 

[ChrisPPolys]

I’m having a hard time understanding TDS… can someone please take a look at this and let me know what the TDS is for my town? Or am I missing something.

https://www.woonsocketri.org/sites/g/files/vyhlif5231/f/uploads/ccr2022.pdf

I’ve only used tap water and never had any issues in my tank. That being said I have no idea what the TDS of my tap water is…

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I’m having a hard time understanding TDS… can someone please take a look at this and let me know what the TDS is for my town? Or am I missing something.

https://www.woonsocketri.org/sites/g/files/vyhlif5231/f/uploads/ccr2022.pdf

I’ve only used tap water and never had any issues in my tank. That being said I have no idea what the TDS of my tap water is…

Don't bother looking at TDS to gauge anything about the usability of tap water. It is totally useless for that purpose. If they sent 0 ppm TDS RO/DI water to you, it would definitely be not OK to use by the time it got to you, dissolving copper pipes along the way.

I just looked up woonsocket in the other thread (page 4 of the link you show) and posted that 10% of homes have copper over 72 ppb. Not usable.

 

[Evil1]

thanks all, was asking for my nephew...he is new and broke, ill send him a ro/di.

As a NYer myself, I wouldn’t use tap water. Your nephew does not need to get a RODI unit. There are plenty of salt water aquarium stores that sell RODI water to hobbyists for Pennie’s a gallon. Although not as convenient as making it at home, it’s a cheaper alternative to buying a unit especially if large amounts are not needed.