Tap water for fish-only tanks?

[AbstractSoul]

I plan on running a 20-gallon tank with just two clownfish and some live rocks. I want to keep the setup minimalistic. Maybe add a small algae eater. Would using my tap water be okay? I heard tap water is terrible for corals because of the unnecessary minerals. is it any different from keeping fish? I'm located in South East Michigan and the water in my area is not too high in nitrate or phosphate. Thanks

 

[AmazingYocool]

I plan on running a 20-gallon tank with just two clownfish and some live rocks. I want to keep the setup minimalistic. Maybe add a small algae eater. Would using my tap water be okay? I heard tap water is terrible for corals because of the unnecessary minerals. is it any different from keeping fish? I'm located in South East Michigan and the water in my area is not too high in nitrate or phosphate. Thanks

Its bad for saltwater in general. It just adds many micro elements and toxins that make it really hard to have a stable tank. If you have a LFS near you, see if they sell RO water. Usually its around a dollar per gallon. (if you wanna mix the salt yourself) or see if they sell pre mixed saltwater

 

[AbstractSoul]

Its bad for saltwater in general. It just adds many micro elements and toxins that make it really hard to have a stable tank. If you have a LFS near you, see if they sell RO water. Usually its around a dollar per gallon. (if you wanna mix the salt yourself) or see if they sell pre mixed saltwater

I see, my issue is how I'm going to carry 20 gallons of water back to my house. I don't mind mixing the salt myself. After the initial setup, I would only be changing a gallon or so every two weeks right? I don't really plan on having too much bioload. Also how expensive are RO/DI filters and are they a hassle? Thank you for your help

 

[Tamberav]

You can go to walmart and buy 20 gallons of distilled water in the 1g jugs and mix your own from that if you want.

You will also have to buy gallons of distilled or RODI for top off/evaporation but some people do run glass tops.

RO buddy is like $70 if upfront cost is a concern, the filters in them do cost more over time to replace than the regular ones though but it is a space saver as it is a smaller unit.

 

[Jamie814]

I heard tap water is terrible for corals because of the unnecessary minerals.

The concern with tap water isn't the "unnecessary" minerals, as natural saltwater also contains 72 different minerals. The problem lies in the various chemicals present in tap water, such as chlorine, which is almost always found in city water and can be lethal to fish and corals. Starting with the right water quality is crucial to avoid future frustrations. As others have mentioned, it's necessary to replenish the evaporated water with fresh water (not saltwater) almost daily since salt does not evaporate and water does. Your salinity levels will gradually increase over time if you do not perform this maintenance.

 

[Cichlid Dad]

I see, my issue is how I'm going to carry 20 gallons of water back to my house. I don't mind mixing the salt myself. After the initial setup, I would only be changing a gallon or so every two weeks right? I don't really plan on having too much bioload. Also how expensive are RO/DI filters and are they a hassle? Thank you for your help

5 Gallon Plastic Hedpack with cap https://a.co/d/ezBWkT9

Get 4 of these

 

[Cichlid Dad]

UST 5 Gal Water Carrier Cube with Collapsible, Transparent, Compact Design and BPA Free Construction for Drinking, Bathing, Camping, Hiking and Outdoor Survival https://a.co/d/2f1YFrq

Or this if cost is a issue along with space

 

[vetteguy53081]

I plan on running a 20-gallon tank with just two clownfish and some live rocks. I want to keep the setup minimalistic. Maybe add a small algae eater. Would using my tap water be okay? I heard tap water is terrible for corals because of the unnecessary minerals. is it any different from keeping fish? I'm located in South East Michigan and the water in my area is not too high in nitrate or phosphate. Thanks

I would not recommend it as the amount of Alk in tap water can potentially double this number easily and affect CA and PH not to mention content of heavy metals, chloramine, polluants. flouride and other elements not contained in sea water. tap water also offers no ph buffering and note many areas have copper in their taop water which you do not want in your system. Next will be phosphates in water which will cause further issues.
As you can see - Risk is the issue

 

[Spare time]

I see, my issue is how I'm going to carry 20 gallons of water back to my house. I don't mind mixing the salt myself. After the initial setup, I would only be changing a gallon or so every two weeks right? I don't really plan on having too much bioload. Also how expensive are RO/DI filters and are they a hassle? Thank you for your help

You can use zero water filter pitchers. They are no where near as cost effective as RODI and work best for topping off, but that is what I use at the moment since I can't use an RODI.

 

[AbstractSoul]

The concern with tap water isn't the "unnecessary" minerals, as natural saltwater also contains 72 different minerals. The problem lies in the various chemicals present in tap water, such as chlorine, which is almost always found in city water and can be lethal to fish and corals. Starting with the right water quality is crucial to avoid future frustrations. As others have mentioned, it's necessary to replenish the evaporated water with fresh water (not saltwater) almost daily since salt does not evaporate and water does. Your salinity levels will gradually increase over time if you do not perform this maintenance.

I see, would I have to readd the minerals to the RO/DI water when adding to the tank or will the fish be fine swimming in water lacking various minerals? Thank you for the help btw

 

[Cichlid Dad]

I see, would I have to readd the minerals to the RO/DI water when adding to the tank or will the fish be fine swimming in water lacking various minerals? Thank you for the help btw

The salt mix has the minerals, and minerals don't evaporated. Adding RODI water is what keeps everything even.

 

[AetherealKnight]

In my early days of reefing I’ve used tap water but treated it using water conditioner. You’ll likely get silicates and get brown algae. But considering it’s a Fowlr I don’t think it should be a big deal, it will go away eventually or your cleanup crew will take care of it. Additionally you might need to run gfo, or carbon to remove these impurities from your tap water.

But as everyone has said RODI water is the best. It doesn’t relatively cost too much either to set up a system (~$199)

 

[AbstractSoul]

In my early days of reefing I’ve used tap water but treated it using water conditioner. You’ll likely get silicates and get brown algae. But considering it’s a Fowlr I don’t think it should be a big deal, it will go away eventually or your cleanup crew will take care of it. Additionally you might need to run gfo, or carbon to remove these impurities from your tap water.

But as everyone has said RODI water is the best. It doesn’t relatively cost too much either to set up a system (~$199)

I have a bag of carbons in my HOB filter, would that remove chloramines and other pollutants?

 

[AetherealKnight]

I have a bag of carbons in my HOB filter, would that remove chloramines and other pollutants?

Use seachem prime prior to mixing the water with salt, it should remove chlorine. Carbon should help with the removal of toxic metals if present. Alternatively you can run chemipure elite instead of carbon, it’s pretty good at keeping water clear and keeping phosphates low, and it’s pretty cheap.

 

[Spare time]

It may make it impossible to keep snails and such alive.

 

[gbroadbridge]

I plan on running a 20-gallon tank with just two clownfish and some live rocks. I want to keep the setup minimalistic. Maybe add a small algae eater. Would using my tap water be okay? I heard tap water is terrible for corals because of the unnecessary minerals. is it any different from keeping fish? I'm located in South East Michigan and the water in my area is not too high in nitrate or phosphate. Thanks

If you wish to avoid problems later, you should avoid tap water.

Tap water potentially contains many pollutants that may be harmful for all salt water animals, not just coral.

If costs are that much a concern (RODI is not an expensive part of running a salt water tank), perhaps freshwater is better option.

 

[AetherealKnight]

If you wish to avoid problems later, you should avoid tap water.

Tap water potentially contains many pollutants that may be harmful for all salt water animals, not just coral.

If costs are that much a concern (RODI is not an expensive part of running a salt water tank), perhaps freshwater is better option.

As long as chemipure and carbon is being run to remove those pollutants I believe it should be acceptable. It should be safe as the water we drink from our carbon filtered pitchers. Though using tap may increase algae growth but this could be countered with water changes and gfo. However, I agree with you that RODI is much better for saltwater in the long run.

 

[gbroadbridge]

As long as chemipure and carbon is being run to remove those pollutants I believe it should be acceptable. It should be safe as the water we drink from our carbon filtered pitchers. Though using tap may increase algae growth but this could be countered with water changes and gfo. However, I agree with you that RODI is much better for saltwater in the long run.

You cannot compare the requirements of humans with ocean animals.

Human are much more complex and have better methods of filtering and adapting to various pollutants and water chemistry to maintain homeostasis.

I've tried running FOWLR tanks on tap water and it did not end well for me.

Of course the water out of every tap will be different so you may get lucky if you play the game of Russian roulette with your animals.

FWIW, Carbon does not remove all pollutants that are potentially harmful to animals.

 

[Cichlid Dad]

As long as chemipure and carbon is being run to remove those pollutants I believe it should be acceptable. It should be safe as the water we drink from our carbon filtered pitchers. Though using tap may increase algae growth but this could be countered with water changes and gfo. However, I agree with you that RODI is much better for saltwater in the long run.

Just curious, how is water changes with the same water going to help with algae growth?

 

[NTLA]

Yeah it’s better to just use RODI or distilled. It will save you headaches down the road