Bottled or Spring water???

[Scoffer]

Hi again all. A few days ago I went to my favorite LFS and the guys had a 5 gallon jugs of seawater (manufactured). I bought 2 of the jugs to do a 10 gallon water change to my tank, and because it has all the trace elements in the mix. but....its kinda expensive, I think. 11.99 per 4.5 gallon jug. Maybe after buying trace elements to add, salt , and RO water, its not so bad???

My reason for posting is, instead of this stuff, can I use the mineral free bottled water? In the 5 gallon container is only a few bucks. Or Spring water???

I'm trying to avoid using tap water, my diatoms are going like mad. My nitrates are definitely lower since the water change(about 20-25 with my Red Sea dip test kit), but I want to do 5-10 gallon changes week/biweekly. Try to get a schedule going.

Can I use these other water sources, or should I stick with the $12 jug of seawater only??

as always, thanks so much for ya'lls input. Your shared knowledge and experience is why my fish are alive today!

Scoffer

[Diver_1298]

I'm sure there will be plenty of people to correct me if I am wrong, but here goes. I would use the distilled water from walmart at 58 cents a gallon. "No chlorine no phosphates" then add your sea salt and water to a bucket and mix it to the desired specific gravity. Add till your tank is where you want it. Check the specific gravity in your tank and adjust if necessary.
I think that's way to high a price to pay for saltwater imho.
I hope this will help you.
Jim

[hoodoo]

my fishstore sells RO water. it's 29 cents (I think) per gallon. Premixed with salt it's $1.19. That's what I use.

[Fishez]

I dont use the distilled water from wal-mart but I do use the bottled water from wal-mart the label says " drinking water" and it says Processed by: carbon filtration,uv treatment, reverse osmosis, microfiltration, and ozonation, and its also 58 cents a gallon but some fish shops sell RO/DI water for around 40 or 45 cents a gallon.

[Brian_B47]

I think the best thing to do is buy an RO unit. Your right using tap water usually is not the best thing to do. If your going to have a tank for a while, you'll find having a RO/DI unit will pay in the long run.

[Dave_J]

I agree with Brian_B47 - Think about investing in an RO/DI unit.

That's what I am planning on doing. I have been purchasing my water for my reef tank from my LFS. They charge 50 cents/gal for RO-DI and $1.00/gallon for salt water. HOWEVER - I was assuming that I was getting quality salt mix with all the trace elements etc. But, I asked them one day about the salt mix they use and found out that they use a "low grade" mix. So, I better dose my tank before I go on vacation (to keep the inverts and corals happy). I also learned that they have different people mixing up the salt water thus leading to different concentration of salinity. I am going to invest in a RO-DI unit and use a quality mix and do it myself - so I KNOW what i am adding to my tank! I want to be consistent in my pH and trace elements and manufacturer's brands.

I do use the PUBLIX (supermarket) brand SPRING WATER ( 89 cents / gal. for my 20 gallon gold fish tank. I never had to fuss with this tank - no water testing at all or additives except for STRESS COAT.

[Scoffer]

I found the walmart gallon bottled water as shown in my picture. Its says its added elements for flavor. Are these 2 extra elements ok?

Walmart also had a water-refill machine with same type of filtered water. You can bring your own container in to fill up...look like it was made for a 5 gallon type jug. Maybe 2 of those would be better than 10 little ones!!!
About 50-60 so cents a gallon that way too.

This picture was took with my Canon 300d digital EOS ....I had to minimize it to 30%to get it under 200k to upload...best Christmas present I ever got!!



Thanks all for the adivce!!!!

Scoffer

[glocklt4]

[quote author=Scoffer link=board=Water;num=1096900089;start=0#6 date=10/13/04 at 20:29:02]I found the walmart gallon bottled water as shown in my picture. Its says its added elements for flavor. Are these 2 extra elements ok?

Walmart also had a water-refill machine with same type of filtered water. You can bring your own container in to fill up...look like it was made for a 5 gallon type jug. Maybe 2 of those would be better than 10 little ones!!!
About 50-60 so cents a gallon that way too.

This picture was took with my Canon 300d digital EOS ....I had to minimize it to 30%to get it under 200k to upload...best Christmas present I ever got!!



Thanks all for the adivce!!!!

Scoffer[/quote]

D Rebel is best camera

[ScooterGuitar]

I bought a couple of the Culligan 5 gallon bottles, fill it up at Culligan for 25 cents a gallon. I believe it is R/O, carbon filtered, and UV sterilized. Mix it myself. Anyone else use Culligan?

[cannon2222]

I have a GE RO-DI http://www.geappliances.com/smartwat....htm?GXRM10GBL tah I got a Home Depot for about $400. I need to get a TDS meter to check the water output. If you can get a RO-DI, get one, it saves a lot grief in the long run.



phil