water type

[johnnystingray]

About to fill my 55 gal. Don't know what kind of water to use. Have a water softer which does ok in my freshwater tank with a 50/50 mix.
The later 50 being outside tap. On my salt setup should i do the same
or go with outside tap and some DI water. Like to use more DI but not
very convenent to bring from the fish store.

[VGB]

Hasnt "soften water" just had the "hardness" removed by ion exchange?

Exchanging calcium/carbonate ions (good for reef-bad for pipes, water heaters, coffee-makers and showerheads) with the ions of salts that wont clog your plumbing.

The problem with reef tanks and water is other contaminates that I dont think water softeners remove-such as heavy metals, chlorine and organics.

In fact, I would like a little hardness in my water and many people "remineralize" RO/DI water to get the hardness back.

If I couldn`t use good RO water, I would just use de-chlorinatied tap water.

[captexas]

A water softener simply changes certain types of molecules/ions to another type. It will not reduce the number of dissolved solids and the water will still cause problems in a reef tank as there is all kinds of junk in our tap water supply.

You can go to Home Depot/Lowe's and buy a simple Reverse Osmosis filter system that will remove most of the stuff and should be sufficient. Don't buy one of those cheapy water filters as they usually just remove the chlorine from the water. If you want a good system and have the money for it, check out Airwaterandice.com or Aquaticreefsystems.com for systems and more info. These two companies have the best products and service and are familiar with the saltwater/reef keeping hobby. The systems may seem expensive at first, but they are one of the best investments you can make if you intend to stay in the hobby for awhile.

Also, if you do buy a system, also get a TDS meter. They usually don't cost that much and they will help tell you when it's time to change out the filter cartridges.

Hope that helps,
Chris

[Isis]

Long after I had established my tank, I started doing my water changes with pre-mixed RO/DI salt water from a local pet store. I was doing weekly (or bi-weekly) water changes of 10 gallons for my 72-gallon. I had two plastic kerosene jugs that I bought from Home Depot to transport my water. I figured, the time and money it ended up saving was worth lugging around two 5-gallon jugs to do my water changes with. Plus I was in an apartment that I didn't have the luxury (or space) of rigging up my own RO/DI unit, let alone the cash to buy such an investment and its replacement parts.