Bottled or Spring water???

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

 

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

 

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.

 

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.

 

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. 8)

 

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. ;D

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.

 

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 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

 

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?

 

I have a GE RO-DI http://www.geappliances.com/smartwater/model_fs.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