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Originally Posted by reef_guru  ive never seen a tank last with tap water, there are to many elements that are not wanted in a reef tank. like tangy said, they build up, ro/di is the way to go. |
I've had the same 55 gal FOWLR tank for 20+ yrs now, and all those years I've had horrendous algae problems. NOTHING I did would help, other than pouring a few cups of bleach in the tank and starting over (of course with no fish present!). That always works wonders, by the way!
Every ounce of water for all those years has been tap water. Honestly I've never tested for phosphates until recently, but algae and me were best of buddies.
Now I have an RO/DI unit, and I've not had a speck of algae (other than in my refugium under a 67K daylight bulb) in my tank since Nov. 1st.
Believe me, I'm happy enough without a single coral, just to shout out to the world that I have a fish tank with no algae! But I'm still going to buy my first coral very soon. Either a hammer or some type of leather. . . .