alanmin4304 Posted November 10, 2007 Report Share Posted November 10, 2007 You are corret Wasp. I asked a retired plumbing Inspector who assured me any leak from a water main would be out not in (unless there was a fire engine down the line pumping the hell out of it). My point was that the reading seemed very high for an artesian water supply running through greywacke and I wondered as to the accuracy of the test. Phosphate is often used as an indicator of organic pollution which would be unlikely under the circumstances. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tHEcONCH Posted November 11, 2007 Report Share Posted November 11, 2007 Guys, I was so concerned about the reading I actually went and bought a second Phosphate test kit and retested at the time with the same result. I don't know where the phosphate came from (maybe there is something growing in my hot water cylinder?) but in any event it is gone now. It may just be coincidental that the mains down the street got replaced - there is no way to tell now. I think all that can be concluded so far is that Christchurch tap water is OK for quite a few corals, but not optimum if you really want stellar results. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted November 12, 2007 Report Share Posted November 12, 2007 If the mains were replaced it is possible that soil or whatever entered the system at that stage. They probably (or should have) chlorinated before use but that would only kill bugs not remove phosphate. I understood that only the galv pipe from the main to house had been replaced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tHEcONCH Posted November 12, 2007 Report Share Posted November 12, 2007 If the mains were replaced it is possible that soil or whatever entered the system at that stage. They probably (or should have) chlorinated before use but that would only kill bugs not remove phosphate. I understood that only the galv pipe from the main to house had been replaced. It started out that way, but the Council ended up having to do the whole street when they found out how much water was leaking from the system(the Council is finally fitting meters to all of the mains in Christchurch, so I guess that means charges are on the way...) Anyhoo, if a chap were to consider buying an RO unit for his marine tank, what sort should he buy? I assume like everything there are good ones and bad ones - what do people recommend? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted November 13, 2007 Report Share Posted November 13, 2007 My guess is that you live in what was the old Riccarton Borough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tHEcONCH Posted November 13, 2007 Report Share Posted November 13, 2007 My guess is that you live in what was the old Riccarton Borough. Nope - further south. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted November 13, 2007 Report Share Posted November 13, 2007 My old stomping ground---Ex Paparua (I have a certificate to say I served 14 years in Paparoa) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted November 13, 2007 Report Share Posted November 13, 2007 Paparua County---not prison Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wasp Posted November 16, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 16, 2007 UhHuh. The pieces of the puzzle are beginning to fit now :lol: . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef Posted November 20, 2007 Report Share Posted November 20, 2007 Can I use tap water? For most fresh water aquarium uses people simply take water out of the tap in the house, add some dechlorinator and salt, may be let it sit for awhile then use for a water change. Or they get the water, use the dechlorinator then top up the tank. Is that something that you can do with a marine tank? No. The reason is that the water used to make up synthetic salt or for evaporation top up needs to be pure water. Any contaminants can cause slight or major problems, depending on what they are. The more common ones that can cause on going slight problems are nitrate and phosphate. Then you get more major issues with things like copper, since most house piping is copper and it is highly toxic to invertebrates, or organics such as pesticides and insecticides. Some cities water is suitable to use for the most part, , However, the issue then is you do not have any control over the quality of the water that comes out of the tap. If something changes with the water supply, such as maintenence or the water treatment plant, back washing of the piping etc., then suddenly the water quality has changed, with the possiblity of it being far worse than anything that should go near a marine aquarium. And this does happen, rarely, but people do loose a lot of livestock due to this problem. It may be rare, but all it takes is a water change or top up after this event has happened and all your hard work, passion, time and money is lost. Is that worth it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tHEcONCH Posted November 20, 2007 Report Share Posted November 20, 2007 Can I use tap water? Sounds pretty much like what happened to my water with the unexplained phosphate spike. Maybe people should consider the predictability of RO water as an insurance policy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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