What did people use before ro/di water???

Years and years ago when ro/di water was not avaliable what did people use to mix there salt with??
PEOPLE SAY you must use ro water but there must have been something else used back then


If anyone says declorinated tap water then it must be ok to use.:-/

there are a lot of mixed reviews
a lot of people have run saltwater tanks for 20 +yrs using tapwater with no problems

yet ive heard alot of people using the ro water

please give me your views unless you have answered on one of my other threads

thanks

 

Good point... I also know that before recent advances in technology, coral reef keeping was near impossible from what I have read. I guess it all depends on what kind of setup one is going for. If they are only keeping fish, conditioned water or distilled water worked fine because fish are not near as touchy as corals are. But if you ever plan on keeping coral down the road, they will not like the leaching of chemicals from the previous setup, you would almost have to start over.

 

I wouldn't say people running with tap water have had NO problems. They are probably just a lot more strict on their maintenance routines.

But yes before RO I would imagine people used tap.

 

It probably depended on where each person was located.
I started Jan 94 using aged tap water, and while I tried DI water for a two year period and a one year period a couple of years later, I have used aged tap water for the other 14 years of my hobby and still do.
I'm fortunate enough to live in London Ontario with an excellent water treatment system using Great Lakes water.
I don't know if I'd want to try using well water from most wells, but I guess there may be some out there that have excellent water that might be suitable.
I should also mention that many hobbyists in London here, also use RODI, and there are just as many of them with algae problems as there are people using tap water. Conversely, there are just as many using tap water that DON'T have algae problems, as there are RODI users without algae problems.

 

I'm sure that some folks used natural sea water.

 

Anyone remember the TWP (Tap Water Purifier) by Aquarium Pharmaceuticals? It was a DI cartridge only with no RO before it. With St. Louis water, I could make about 20 gallons on one cartridge. Since the refills cost $20 I was paying $1 gallon.....years ago. One of my LFS's started selling RO water for 49 cents/gallon so that became much more inexpensive to buy. When I bought my 75 and 200 gallon tanks I obviously bought my own RO/DI system because that was much cheaper than even buying at 49 cents

 

The TWP was my first water filter too I believe that it's still available for sale?

 

As far as I know before RO/DI water know one kept reef aquariums.

 

It is OK to use tap water. It won't harm your fish or coral. However, the tap water contains impurities and whatnots which can stunt coral growth and promote algae growth. You will just have to do more frequent water change to keep good with water quality.

Some people claim that "Oh, if it is safe to drink, it must be safe for my fish tank". Not necessarily. Think of it like air people breath. Air quality for human is like water quality for fish. You want minimum impurities in your air; so does your fish and coral.

Ro/di is well worth investment in long run considering the cost of salt for more frequent water change, the possibility of fish loss and the coral which never grows.

 

R/O and deionization polymers have been used and have been around since the 50's when I was a kid The military used them back then to use on ships at sea to make freshwater I have watched water be pumped from a river in S.E Asia and then be R/O and D.I then given to use troops to drink . I have had a R/O membrane filter my self since my first LFS in 1971 or so and If memory serves me Ultra Pure was the first to make them cheap and compact enough for just about anyone home to have on under the Kitchen Sink I know I was installing them by 1973 or so for every one on a nasty well system by then. And before that when My Grandfather had Aquariums from 1920 on he always used Distilled water . And in the mid 70's once CPVC and several polypropylene plastics where developed to handle the heat of the distillation process it was good for marine aquariums .

I started with soft coals in the late 70's leathers and them damn mushrooms it was touch and go for the first few yrs but the now old timers had it figured out pretty well and LPS started to show up in the mid 80's then late 80's and early 90's I went to SPS and that was just starting to take off . Reefing used to be a very lonely and low key and quiet hobby There where few of us .

And as for tap water I have been involved and have set up systems for a lucky few who could pull water straight from their deep wells and have no problems at all.