[siredmund]

Ok so I am leaning on an RO system but then I read in "Conscientious Marine Aquarist" by Robert Fenner that (ACCORDING TO HIM NOT ME!!) " Compared with other contributing factors in marine systems, ordinary treated tap water is not typically a major source of concern in terms of added nutrients, pollutants, and/or metals." He goes on to say that in some places it is a definite benefit but more often not its best to look to your "skimmers and their feeding and supplementing habits before deciding that RO/DI will be their water quality panacea." SOOOO my question is, sound off here, do you or Dont you RO/DI? Is this guy right? I am taking my water in to get it tested today anyway but I want to hear everyone's opinion.

Cheers,
Evan in Oregon
Still planning a 55 gal FOWLR,LS and inverts and maybe some soft corals.....

[glampka]

Opening a can of worms are you??
I have pretty tap good water where I am. I never had a RO/DI unit until recently. I have definitely noticed a BIG difference between the 2. With the RO/DI water I don't have all the nuisance algae & the diatom bloom was minimal at best. Why start behind the 8 ball when you don't have to? Fenner is absolutely correct when he states that most pollution in the tank will come from feeding & everything else you may throw in there. Skimmers are good at taking out dissolved organics but I don't think they work on dissolved metals & such. For me, I'll always use RO/DI water from here on - I see the difference.

[lynnvangsnes]

I think the main thing in tap water that worries aquarists is copper and sulfates. RO is the way to go unless your local municipality has good water. Ask them for a test, usually they are glad to get you one. Ya might have to be a chemist though to understand it...I'm not a chemist. Oh, yeah. One more thing; Bob Fenner is a very smart person, but he's not God; though he may think he is.

[rlcline76]

Originally Posted by lynnvangsnes

I think the main thing in tap water that worries aquarists is copper and sulfates. RO is the way to go unless your local municipality has good water. Ask them for a test, usually they are glad to get you one. Ya might have to be a chemist though to understand it...I'm not a chemist. Oh, yeah. One more thing; Bob Fenner is a very smart person, but he's not God; though he may think he is.

Lynn, I was just going to say the exact same thing about Mr. Fenner... almost word for word.
Evan, I agree with Lynn, if you have any doubt, please ask for a water test.
I have not read that book, does Fenner say he uses tap or that it is OK for others to use tap?

Becky

[jimw369]

Bob Fenner is an expert and I read all his stuff. He can also tell you what causes algae blooms and Cyano. If I make a mistake I will error on the safe side and keep using RO/DI water. IMHO

Threads are started almost daily here at RB with problems from phosphates which stem from using tap water. I dont know why Mr. Fenner makes those statements. I wish he could respond to threads like this and clarify things better.