phosphate remover

so ive been told it would be safe to use tap water as long as i use phosphate remover each time i introduce new water. has anyone had any experience with this? id be so very sad if i set up a new tank and had a bad algae outbreak. =(

 

I would not recommend this. If I was going to use tap water I would test it to see how your water test. You can also call your water company and get there reports to see how hard the water is. Phosphates may not be the only problem.

There are a some people on this site that use tap water so maybe they will chime in on what they do.

IMO --I would get an RODI unit-

 

What size and type of tank are you setting up?

 

itll be a 40 fowlr

 

Are you going to run a protein skimmer?

Sorry I am just trying to help you out. I would like to know where your at in the process of the tank. Do you already have a tank, lights and such.
There are so many ways you can go its gets overwhelming at first.

 

Many folks use tap water. You have to buy a conditioner of course to neutralize the chlorine first.
Depending on where you live water quality can vary greatly. I wouldn't chance it at all personally but there are people who do it.

 

well i havent set it up yet ive been aquiring little by little. im going to be using a reef octopus protein skimmer and just regular flourescent bulbs.

 

If you could get a TDS meter and test your water, you'll have a lot more info. Here, the water test in the 200's out of the tap. I only want to add water to my system that is at 0,1 or 2.

Can it be done? of course. But if you introduce less phosphates to your system, maintaining good water params an easier battle to win.

Again, tell us what your water tests at, and we'll give you more tips.

 

As others have said, there are several reasons not to use tap water. If phophates are an issue in your tap water, it's best not to use it. With the high price of phosphate removing media, why introduce phosphates at all? Most of us use phosphate media in the best of conditions (in conjunction with RO/DI units) to remove what little trace of phosphates there may be in foods; and in other sources we can't control. If you intentionally add phosphates via tap water, there will be no catching up with media. You'd have to change it out so often, it would be cost prohibitive.

Take it from someone who didn't--If you do it right the first time, you'll actually save money in the long run. Algae is part of a marine tank--there's no avoiding that--but it can be controlled to the point where you'll never have an outbreak. There are lots of good threads on 3reef about keeping algae at bay.

Good luck!!

 

It's just not worth the risk, get yourself a ro/di unit and you will be happy you did.