[bongobrian]

My girlfriend went into an lfs last week and had someone tell her that the owner of the shop actually uses well water for all top-off water for his personal tank as well as the tanks in the shop. They went on to say that he takes it straight from the well before it gets to the water softener. Now somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't it hard water that we want to AVOID?? I havn't tested my r/o water for hardness, but I'm guessing the results would read soft to very soft.. am I wrong? isn't water hardness essentially the same as total dissolved solids? Anyway, I just wanted to know if hard well water is actually ok to use in reef tanks. I know that's a pretty general question since the water tables vary depending on the area. Using well water would be great for her because she lives in a rural area and has been buying distilled water at the grocery store. When she told me this... it just didn't sound right.

[Poseidon]

Hey Brian,

Can't really comment except I have well water and NEVER put a drop of my well water in my reef I always buy from the Grocery store. I have read several posts that well water has caused Algae blooms in the past... I just did not want to chance it.

I am always tempted because the well water tests out at like 450 PPM calcium and 12 Dkh, so it would be a great source of replacement, but I don't know what else is in there....

What LFS did she get the advice from, most of the shops in our area are pretty good.... Fish Doctors, Tropicorium etc....

Mike

[bongobrian]

She went to Pets n' Things in Saline which is actually quite reputable for their saltwater. I was going to ask Tom at Fish Docs about this same problem... I think he would know since he also lives in the boonies.

[hcp28]

I remember somoene saying that Dr. Ron used well water for his tanks. I would imagine that it couldn't be too bad for your tank, it would be a good way to save money ecspcially if you are consuming a lot of water.

Henry

[Reeffantic]

Pro's
First, what makes well water hard...Calcium and Magnesium! That certainly is not a bad thing for a reef tank. Why would you need a calcium reactor if you could continually replenish the calcium levels in your tank simply by doing a top-off. Based on that assumption you would think that I would be pro well water. Well, I am not.

Con's
Many of us, me for one, live in and around a largely agricultural area and our farmers pour a lot of chemicals in the form of fertilizers into our soil which makes its way into the water table. Fertilizer comes in the form of Phophates and Nitrates. These we definately do not want in our tanks. That is why a RO system is employed, to rid us of that garbage. Before I started using RO water, I could count on a major algae bloom after every additon of water. I did this when I was still new and naive about the hobby. Now I know better.

If you are interested in using well water, have it tested to see what is in it.

[Reeffantic]

Pro's
First, what makes well water hard...Calcium and Magnesium! That certainly is not a bad thing for a reef tank. Why would you need a calcium reactor if you could continually replenish the calcium levels in your tank simply by doing a top-off. Based on that assumption you would think that I would be pro well water. Well, I am not.

Con's
Many of us, me for one, live in and around a largely agricultural area and our farmers pour a lot of chemicals in the form of fertilizers into our soil which makes its way into the water table. Fertilizer comes in the form of Phophates and Nitrates. These we definately do not want in our tanks. That is why a RO system is employed, to rid us of that garbage. Before I started using RO water, I could count on a major algae bloom after every additon of water. I did this when I was still new and naive about the hobby. Now I know better.

If you are interested in using well water, have it tested to see what is in it.

[Reefland]

I'm no water professional but wouldn't a TDS meter tell us if the water is ok to use or not? I would think using a TDS meter and some fresh water test kits you could determine if it is safe to use.

Unresistable Blue, where are you!!!!

Regards,

[kevinpo]

Using well water can be OK and can be terrible. I use well water for my home tanks. It has a TDS of 113 ppm due mostly to calcium and a slight amount of silicate. I use RO/DI for the store tanks. You really need to know what is in the water before you use it.

The term hard water is not a scientific term but used to describe water that doesn't let soap foam up very well. This is often caused by high calcium levels (a good thing for reef keepers) but it can also have silicate, phosphate, and nitrates present at the same time (which also add to the TDS reading).

Total dissolved solids (TDS) are just that, any mineral that is in suspension in water. The TDS meters I have measure conductivity of water but cannot tell you what in the water is causing the change in conductivity be it good or bad dissolved minerals.

The best way to determine if your well water is good to use is to test for nitrate, phosphate, and silicate. These are the ones that cause the major algae blooms. Iron can also be present but normally your sink/toilet will turn an orange color or you can smell it in the water. Iron will also be used as food for algae.

HTH,
Kevin

[Unresistible Blue]

I agree with Kevin.

As a start, use your test kits to evaluate the quality of your well water. Be aware that your well water may have many constituents you don't have test kits for.

You could take a sample of your well water to a local lab and have then run a suite of tests on it. This would include things that the average hobbiest doesn't normally test for (e.g., metals, VOCs, pesticides, herbicides).

Or call your local health department - they may already have this information available.

Blue

[bongobrian]

thanks guys- this is pretty much everything that I expected to hear... but one thing I did not know before is that well water typically has good alkalinity and calcium levels for top-off water. Other than that, I think we may be out of luck since she lives close to several farms, and I'm sure all of them are using chemicals and fertilizers on the fields. I think we'll just stick with the distilled for now, and try to get an r/o later on down the line.

[Poseidon]

Gad to be of help, I wish I could use my well water it would definately save me some CASH!!!!