Calgary tap water?

[JohnnyReeftank]

Hey guys

I'm just finishing up my first cycle on my new tank and I've already mixed enough water to do a 50-60% water change for tomorrow. I used regular tap water and I live in Calgary and I was wondering whether anyone has ever done an analysis on the Calgary water supply to see if it contains any dangerous trace elements. Does anyone else consistantly use Calgary tap water for their tanks or do I have something to worry about down the road?

[Kronosdelsol]

It will depend on how old your neighborhood is due to the age of the pipes. Some people have luck, others don't. Most people say there are too many elements (e.g, phosphate) and they get cyano algae outbreaks. Best thing to do is test the water on its own, then test it with your salt mixed in. Your salt will add some trace as well. If you start to get some break outs, switch to RO water. Don't forget to add in the Prime and try to age your water if you can. I mean mix the salt several days in advance.

[cjpa]

Was wondering the same thing, is there a preferred water conditioner for Calgary tap water?

Up until this point i've only been using ChlorXchange and haven't been letting the water sit, does anyone have advice or a link for water changes without RO/DI since it's not in the cards for the immediate future. I have a 50 gallon tank with about 50 lbs of live rock, sand a few corals

[FishTankBoy]

I live in a newer community and a 3 year old house. No phosphates in my water. I run tap water and seachem prime. No issues with my fresh water planted or my nano tank (establish for over a year). There are lots of people on canreef who run Calgary tap water with ill effects.

Edited January 6, 2012 by FishTankBoy

[uwish]

Just a quick note on PO4. I don't think many people know that there is actually two types of phosphates, Soluble reactive Phosphates (SRP) and Organic Phosphates.

When you are measuring the PO4 levels in your tank you are really only measuring the SRP phosphates, which are NOT the phosphates that 98% of algae like to eat. Those are the Phosphates that are dissolved in the water column, the 'bad' phosphates are the Organic Phosphates which are bound to the organics in your tank (ie rocks, sand etc). Those you cannot measure with any simple home test kit.

So just because you have a 0 or very low reading on your phosphate test kit, does not necessarily mean you have 0 phosphates.

That being said, if you are not having an issue with algae now, as long as you don't over feed your tank, do regular water changes you should be fine. No reason to add another piece of equipment that will likely have little value overall to your ecosystem. I do urge (strongly urge) you to look at getting RO/DI water, there are many RO/DI water treatment systems you can easily install yourself and some are 'relatively' inexpensive. I live in Tuscany in a house less than 10 years old and when I set up my 100Gal I had massive algae problems that I never had before.

RO/DI water is quite simply the very best you can hope for, and with any problem algae, the real solution to extinguishing this issue is prevention. The other thing you may want to look at, if in fact RO/DI water system is not in your cards is trying GFO in a reactor. No better method (other than large water changes with purified water) to remove phosphates (both kinds) from your tank.