Top up with Tap Water

[ckpeh]

Hi pple,

Need your advice on topping up my tank. As I am using a ac fan to cool my tank, I need to top up my tank daily. Will daily tap water do?

I saw in the past posting that tap water is suitable for topping up my tank, but if I top up everyday, will it affect the chemical balance of the tank?

How about other sources of media to filter the tap water first?

Thanks for the help.

Rgds,

Thomas

[pospeh]

I dont use any RO/DI water. I just let the water sit a day or two to wait for the chlorine to leach out.

I haven't done any chemical tests but it seems to me the water quality is alright (low or no phosphate) since I dont have any problem.

Maybe someone can shed more light on this.

[Tanzy]

I've used tap water for 5 years without problems. The tap water is used to mix kalkwasser which is self-purifying, almost everything undesirable like heavy metals to phosphate is precipitated out except nitrates.

[eprouve]

Kalkwasser? What's that? Isn't it just calcium suppements? If yes, is this bottle which I have "Invertebrate Calcium Supplement" by Coralife Kalkwasser?

[Tanzy]

Kalkwasser(chalk water) is the german equivalent for calcium hydroxide solution. It is a calcium supplement.

Is the stuff in the bottle liquid? Nobody sells calcium hydroxide solution because it is too unstable, it's always sold in powdered form labelled as Kalkwasser. Chances are the stuff in the bottle by coralife is Calcium chloride solution.

[dodo]

Tap water is perfectly safe in Singapore except, IMO it contains some undersirable substance like chlorine etc. Wat I do is fill a 15 gallon plastic pail(besides my tank) with tap water, then I dechlorinate the tap water first and preferably let it settle down for 12hr or more then i can top up the tank from the pail no problem wif tat so far i also placed a small PH to circulate the water inside the plastic pail

if tap water isn't safe to use...then I thk not many of us can afford to keep marine fish oredy having to invest in RI/RO unit, plus chiller, plus MH, plus all sorts of things...wah biang...will go broke man!

[ckpeh]

Hi all,

Thanks for the advice.

Hi Tanzy,

How do i administer Kalkwasser(chalk water)? Do I need to test the calcium level 1st before dosing it? Do I need to test the PH or increase buffer (i don't even know what I'm saying)

I am always confused by so many chemicals for coral growth. What chemicals are essential?

All of your knowledge amaze me.

Thanks.

Rgds,

[anakjoh]

I am kiasu - I top up with DI but replacement water is from the tap mainly because it was prepared well in advance and all chlorine would have gone. I put DI bottled in the fridge too to help maintain temp.

[bawater]

?oooooooh yeh....u need to test PH- its one of the major elements in SW,even for fish only.

hmmm buffers,kH or PH?(same answer, u need to maintain healthy levels) the point of dosing is to maintain adequate levels. Over Dosing on some chemicals can kill.

Do u also check salinity? & all the basic parameters? & i'm pretty sure u need to check calcium levels before dosing,at least know if u need to dose or not/or when- otherwise u r in the dark.

This is natural seawater composition:

seawater @3.5% salinity

(AT u got any idea if u could post up this table somewhere for reference?)

CKpeh- Don't get confused by the minor elements like platinum/Thallium etc...(this is just a detailed break down in raw seawater)

Here's some reading below to do on parameters & additives>

reefkeepers faq

[Gold Monkey]

Tap water is ok. Remove the chlorine and don't worry so much.

[Tanzy]

Ckpeh,

I believe in dosing only what you can measure. If you keep hard corals, testing calcium, alkalinity and pH is important. Kalkwasser that is fully saturated has a pH of 12.4 which is very high, 10000 higher than normal seawater pH of 8.3, so you cannot add it carelessly into the aquarium. The best way is to use the drip method.

Prepare a saturated solution according the the manufacterer instructions and leave to settle for at least an hour. Decant into a dripping container leaving out the slurry or precipitate. Dripping the slurry into the tank will cause a snow storm. The dripping container is any decent plastic jug with a hole drilled about an inch from the bottom and fitted with a valve and airline tubing. Drip kalkwasser into the tank in area of high flow for good mixing. Set drip rate to be about one or half per second. Kalkwasser must be freshly prepared and cannot be kept for more than 24 hours.

Overdose of kalkwasser will cause magnesium depletion that will lead to pH, calcium and alkalinity problems. Always dose only slightly higher than what your tank requires.

[NormanH]

Hi Tanzy,

New to kalkwasser, have a few questions,

1. Is the dripping process non stop 24/7?

2. U said should not leave prepared kalkwasser more than 24hrs, does it mean u must used up whatever u had prepared in 1 day?

3. In your opinion, if budget is not too much a constraint, would it be better to invest in a calcium reactor or the kalkwasser approach?

4. If calcium reactor is prefered, any recommendation for a 4x2x2 tank?

Thank u

[Tanzy]

NormanH,

Just found this thread! Must have missed it.

To answer your questions:

1) My dripping doesn't go on for 24 hours. I think my container empties itself after 3 hours at one drop per second.

2) Preferably one day because calcium hydroxide will react with carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to produce insoluble calcium carbonate.

3) I'll take the kalkwasser approach until it is insufficient to meet the tank's calcium demand. Some say it is cheaper on the long run to use a calcium reactor but calcium hydroxide or calcium oxide powder is quite cheap if you buy commercial items and not aquarium specific stuff.

4) That I can't help you because I have yet to see a good ca reactor.

[NormanH]

Tanzy,

Hi pal, i have waited too long for your answers, but never too late. Thanks.

If u dont mind, i have one more question: : do u drip kalkwasser everyday?

[mv3i]

tanzy ,

quote

3) I'll take the kalkwasser approach until it is insufficient to meet the tank's calcium demand. Some say it is cheaper on the long run to use a calcium reactor but calcium hydroxide or calcium oxide powder is quite cheap if you buy commercial items and not aquarium specific stuff.

where can i get the calcium hydroxide or calcium oxide powder in singapore ??? can save a bit of money instead of buying the marine stuff

[Sinn]

and i would join u in the search

[Dinosaur]

For me i will use ice instead of just water. I feel that ice is purer that just water ........ but how true? I dunno, its just my practice.

[hongqixian]

There is no diff.