How To Make Tap Water Safe for Saltwater Aquariums

Saltwater aquariums are growing in popularity, but it can be difficult to maintain proper levels of salinity. An aquarist should only add salt to the water if they have an accurate method for measuring it. It is important to use a calibrated scale that measures both grams and teaspoons so that you know exactly how much salt you are adding.

Is Tap or Faucet Water Bad for Saltwater Aquariums?

Some aquarists feel that tap water is not suitable for use in saltwater aquariums because of chlorine. While tap water comes from the same source as seawater, it does contain chemicals used to maintain proper salinity levels. Chlorine is one such chemical and should never be added directly to tank water unless there are no other sources of chlorine present at all times. At some point you will want to purify your un-pur ified water to use it in your aquarium.

How To Make Tap Water Safe for Saltwater Aquaria: Is It Possible?

The only way we know how or can suggest, is by using “purification tablets” available at any pet store and tap-tap loaders (suction device which you would submerge the cup under a faucet). I attach a 50 guage copper tube directly into my skimmer; then suck down 10-15 gallons of sudsy tap water, add 1 tablet per 10 USG. I let it sit for a couple hours and then strain through coffee filters into my sump container to top off with RO/DI. That’s all that was necessary — much less expensive than purifiers from the “big” name companies but a lot cheaper in maintenance costs versus buying an RO system every 5 yrs….once u get over 100gallons , go with purifiers instead of dosing weekly.

Can You Use Purified Water For A Fish Tank?

One of the most common problems with tap water is its high chlorine content which can kill fish and plants. If you’re going to filter your own drinking water for your aquarium, find out how much chlorine it contains before filling up a 500 gallon tank or more! It may be easier just to buy bottled springwater from a fish store. There’s no need if using imported saltwater in tanks – RO (reverse osmosis) processes remove all the contaminants without leaving anything behind.

Issues with tap water

Water changes cause other side effects than just removing the organics. The water itself becomes a means of balance in our aquatic life. When we change too much or not enough, this is very problematical for the equilibrium with which nature works and immediately affects all its realms: how it looks, fishes’ growth rate and feeding behavior… chlorine/chloramine also lowers redox level by oxidizing essential nutrients such as nitrate to nitrogen gas ( in the case of saltwater), or available phosphates to water soluble organic phosphorus, which is unavailable for plants. This too directly impacts your fishes – reduce ammonia levels by removing more nitrogen from them with a nitrite test kit and reducing ammonium reactions into ammonium ions in softies’ stomachs.

The increased risk associated with increased concentration of organics is widely reported: zooplankton dies off while swimming predators begin eating fewer and smaller aphids. Phytoplankton die or stop growing because there is no food for them, to the point of starving completely. This eventually leads to dramatic losses in water column nutrients and oxygen content – low level algal blooms may form due to lack of herbs’ precipitate cover which speeds up decomposition processes very quickly.

As long as organics are present in tank’s nitrifying bacteria’s medium (and sometimes, in an algae-dominated tank), they help cruise water bacteria to degrade them; however once the limit is reached (often around 75%), very likely there will be no enough bacteria left. They must then compete with nitrifying organics for nutrients – due to small buffers of available micronutrients there are not much mineralization work left on filter media before even minimal organic carbon sources deplete.

How can I make tap water safe for my aquarium?

Simple: buy a reverse osmosis (RO) or deionizer filtration system and remove as many organics as possible from it. Beware of buying such systems though – those with minerals in them may contain substances undesirable for your plants! Take less than 0,5 l/weeks water out of the tank; this amount can be used to top-up aquarium’s fresh cold tap water.

How do I know if my tap water is safe for a saltwater aquarium?

If you have a question about whether or not your tap water is safe for a saltwater aquarium, you can do a simple test. The first step is to run the water through the faucet until it is clear and free from any debris. Next, add one tablespoon of salt to one gallon of water and shake well. If the mixture starts to cloud at all or there are white floating particles in the mix, then this means you have broken down enough organics from your tap water to make it safe for a saltwater tank. Once this mixture is perfectly clear, dilute one part of the solution with two parts fresh aquarium water and add to 10 gallons in order to avoid mistakes when measuring portions in small graduated cups etcetera.