# Well water.



## Adam S (Jan 28, 2006)

I've got a question regarding the use of well water vs city tap. I live two miles north of Gunnison, CO and have well water in the house. We have a water softner; however, would not use it for the aquarium-there is one tap in the house which does not run through the softner-I'm contemplating using it. Currently I'm bringing tap water from the City of Gunnison home and dechlorinating it for water changes (50% per week). 

Does anyone have any input regarding well water in a heavily planted aquarium-It would simplify life greatly by not lugging water to and from my car (it's recently been pointed out that I carry more water than an African woman). I also have a very established saltwater tank which evaporates three gallons or water per day-using city water run through an RO filter here. Needless to say, I move a lot of water by hand. 

The aquarium is not aglae free, although there's hope, I don't want to make matters worse by switching to well water. I've got recurring beard algae and this dark green slime which is advancing slowly along my Glosso and along the substrate without manual removal. 

Any help is appreciated.

Adam


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## Chris S (Feb 27, 2006)

I suggest taking a sample of your well water to the local fish store. See if they will test it for you.
Test for everything you can. :
Nitrate
Phosphate
nitrite
Ammonia
KH
GH
and that should give you a good start and help others give you advice.
This could really work out for you.


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## banderbe (Nov 17, 2005)

if you already have an RO filter.. just use the RO water for your planted tank.. unless I didn't understand you...


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## Adam S (Jan 28, 2006)

*RO water*

To my knowledge RO water will not provide enough nutrients for plants, nor will it help plants or fish with their osmotic balance requirements-could be wrong of course.

Adam


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## frozenoak (Jul 30, 2005)

Can't remember if gunnison is up near Salida or not. If you have simmilar water to them you should have no problems. If you are on the west slope then I can't imagine that there would be a problem. The west slope has some of the best water in the country for plants (well, at least it is the best for hay.) ;-)

Having said that you should still have a sample tested as Chris S explained.


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## banderbe (Nov 17, 2005)

Adam S said:


> To my knowledge RO water will not provide enough nutrients for plants, nor will it help plants or fish with their osmotic balance requirements-could be wrong of course.
> 
> Adam


Nah, RO is great for planted tanks. I use it myself.

You will need to build up the GH and KH though.

A product sold by Greg Watson called "GH Booster" is perfect for doing this. I put 3/4 teaspoons in my tank after water changes and it keeps the GH around 5. This product is very, very inexpensive as well and lasts a long, long time.

Of course to raise the KH you only need to add baking soda.

This way is preferrable in my opinion because if you become advanced in the hobby and decide to try more challenging plants, which tend to require soft acidic water, you will already be there.

Let me know if you want more info about using RO on a planted tank.. I have been doing it for a while with very good results.


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## Adam S (Jan 28, 2006)

I live 60 miles West of Salida and 2,000' higher in elevation, not to mention my subdivision is formerly an expansive hay meadow-no grass here, you just water your 'hay' with ditch water and it looks like lush green lawn.



frozenoak said:


> Can't remember if gunnison is up near Salida or not. If you have simmilar water to them you should have no problems. If you are on the west slope then I can't imagine that there would be a problem. The west slope has some of the best water in the country for plants (well, at least it is the best for hay.) ;-)
> 
> Having said that you should still have a sample tested as Chris S explained.


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## Adam S (Jan 28, 2006)

I would be very interested in the use of RO water in the planted tank. The salt tank I've got is pristine, fish over 17 years old and corals of 10 years. There's alot to be said for increased control of the water used in these small systems.

Any input you've got would be great.


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## Adam S (Jan 28, 2006)

The local fish store is a 300 mile round trip. Do you have any suggestions regarding dealer (internet) and brand of test kit? I have no test kits here and should pursue them.

Adam


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## bpimm (Jun 12, 2006)

I have been using strait unfiltered well water for years with no problems, in fact I would hate to have to deal with city chemical soup water, just test it to make sure there are no surprises and use it. I wouldn't worry about RO unless your water is hard and you need softer water.

Brian


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## banderbe (Nov 17, 2005)

I like RO and using it will give you a much more flexible tank able to grow some of the more exotic species.. but your well water is probably fine.. though I would do as someone else said and test it for the usual things..


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## Adam S (Jan 28, 2006)

Do you specifically check for water hardness? If so do you have a test product which you'd recommend.

Adam


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## BryceM (Nov 6, 2005)

I have well water and love it. There is no need to worry about chloramines, or chlorine. The water doesn't fluctuate throughout the year like many city systems.

If you do live in an agricultural area, I also agree with checking the nitrate and phosphate levels as heavy fertilization over a period of many years can cause these to be on the high side. Also, you should check GH and KH. My well water is pretty high on GH, but KH ranges from 6-7 which is about perfect for most plants.

RO is also a perfectly good option, but you need to do a mixing with each bach to get the GH and KH back where you want it. Before going that route, I'd at least check what you have to see if it's already what you're trying to make. One caution - the one faucet you have with hard water is likely to have softened water on the hot side. Mixing the two may or may not work out ok.


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## frozenoak (Jul 30, 2005)

If you want the best test kit you can get this is it. (Atleast as far as money allows.) Nutrafin Test Kit - Master Test Kit 
You can also buy the individual tests if there is only one parameter you want to test.

There are a lot of companies that make test kits. Any one of them would probalby do the job.

Best if luck,
dale


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## banderbe (Nov 17, 2005)

guaiac_boy said:


> RO is also a perfectly good option, but you need to do a mixing with each bach to get the GH and KH back where you want it. Before going that route, I'd at least check what you have to see if it's already what you're trying to make. One caution - the one faucet you have with hard water is likely to have softened water on the hot side. Mixing the two may or may not work out ok.


i just dose 3/4 tsp of gh booster straight to my tank after water changes.. keeps gh around 5.. leave the source RO water alone.


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## Bert H (Mar 2, 2004)

We have well water at home and use it for everything without a softener/treatment system. The water is hard, as it comes from a carbonate based aquifer, but other than not being able to grow a few plants which require soft water, I have no issues with anything else. RO is perfectly ok is you decide to go that way, but it may well be that your well water provides a great source of water which you don't have to do anything to other than adding the normal ferts. A kh of 6-7 as you have should allow you to grow most anything other than perhaps some of the Eriocaulons.


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## scrkpr (Jul 25, 2006)

I have well-water that we chlorinate and soften as it comes into the house. If I get it from an outside tap though, it doesn't treated at all. I do suggest getting a testing kit that tests gh and kh and API (Aquarium Pharmacueticals). I use my treated well water because I tested my untreated water and it had all kind of nastiness in it. But it grows my plants VERY nicely. I think there are more nutrients in well-water than any other water you can get.


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## Adam S (Jan 28, 2006)

That's why I created this post. It's amazing what the well water has done for our houseplants. Algae is the concern. It's become clear that I need to have a firmer grip on the chemistry of the water before making any changes if at all. Will pursue a quality test kit this afternoon.


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## ex0dus (Mar 14, 2006)

I have wellwater that passes through limestone. The hardness is out of this world. R/o was my only alternative if I was ever gonna have sucess raising plants.


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## Adam S (Jan 28, 2006)

Do you run the well water through the RO filter?

Adam


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## JanS (Apr 14, 2004)

I have well water, and as already stated, it is much more stable than most city water you'll run across.

I have a large RO unit, but it really isn't necessary or even recommended for most purposes. I bought it for my salt tank, but I just use a small ratio of it compared to my well water.

Adam, to answer your last question, yes you can run well water through your RO unit with the same results as with city water. The purpose of an RO unit is to make your water completely sterile and inert regardless of the source. The only difference would be what is passing through the membranes as for how long a life they have. But again, it could go either way between city and well water.


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## werner (Jul 6, 2006)

> yes you can run well water through your RO unit with the same results as with city water.


Wells often don't have enough line pressure for an RO unit. The higher the psi, the better the flow and recharge rate, and the better the rejection rate of the membranes. With low psi or high TDS you may need to add a booster pump for efficient filtration.


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## ex0dus (Mar 14, 2006)

werner said:


> Wells often don't have enough line pressure for an RO unit. The higher the psi, the better the flow and recharge rate, and the better the rejection rate of the membranes. With low psi or high TDS you may need to add a booster pump for efficient filtration.


completly correct. With the pump turned off my rejection rate is so bad I would never use the filter (3.5/4:1) with the booster pump on in the summer time I can get a solid 2:1 water rejection ratio. I havnt measured rejection in the winter but im sure it would drop as the source water comes out of tap @ 60 degrees.


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