# grocery store drinking water



## thinhthan (Jan 7, 2008)

is there anything else i need to add to my water if i use the refillable water from the grocery store


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## fish_4_all (Nov 13, 2006)

All depends on what the water has in it. If it is simply municiple water then maybe not. If it is truely clean pure filtered water you will need to add a buffering agent to keep you GH and KH at about 3 Degrees. The only way to know is to test your tank water after adding it and adjust it form there.


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## thinhthan (Jan 7, 2008)

would it matter?


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## fish_4_all (Nov 13, 2006)

It does matter for the fish. If the water is too pure then there is no buffering capacity. Without a buffering capacity then any large swings in pH, GH or KH can stress them out. Stress causes vulnerability to disease and parasites.


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## bndrinkin (Mar 20, 2008)

if this is a new tank you wanna do it right or you will regret it in the end

just go get ro water from a lfs and add the salt yourself. usualy .25 a gal is the cost


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## thinhthan (Jan 7, 2008)

what about the di? dont i need that too?


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## Puffer (Jul 6, 2007)

Or you can simply test the Water your buying before you use it to see if the source its coming from is good or not. Then you can adjust the water accordingly.


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## thinhthan (Jan 7, 2008)

what should i test for?


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## Puffer (Jul 6, 2007)

1st Do you have a saltwater Test Kit?


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## MattD (Apr 25, 2007)

Please be cautious when using store bought water. It varies widely from brand to brand, location to location, and from source to source. Use a test kit to determine if a particular brand is suitable, then stick to it.

Good luck.


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## SKAustin (Aug 1, 2006)

Lets Talk about the water. RO water, which is likely what the "refillable water" is (I suggest you verify that) would probably be sufficient. Ive used the same thing for the past 15 months. The downside to using this is that you have no way to verify the maintenance of their filtration system. You will likely pay about $0.33 per gallon for refillable RO. If you calculate the rate of evaporation and the amount and frequency of your water changes, you gan get a good estimate on your water needs for 1 year. As an example, I have a 55 gallon tank with a 30 gallon sump. Over the course of a year, I loose an average of about 1.5 gallons of water per day. That coupled with 25 gallon water changes monthly, I use approximately 950 gallons of water per year that cost me an annual expense of just over $300.00

Now, for less than half that, you can purchase an inexpensive 6 stage RO/DI unit on ebay. You save money, get cleaner water, and you control the maintenance of your system. I plan to be purchasing one in the next few weeks. Ive got several friends using these systems and have heard no complaints.


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