# Using brita filtered water in marine or freshwater.



## cichlid

Has anyone used and know someone who has used brita filtered tap water in an aquarium. I was wondering if it would work for salt water. Ihave heard of people buying filters, but a brita is just a charcoal filter.


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## Edarion

The problem with brita filters is that sometimes the charcoal can leave into the water itself. A better filter would be Mavea. Which uses a 4-stage multilevel filtration.

Tea Test Challenge: MAVEA Filtered Water vs Tap Water - YouTube


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## cichlid

Edarion said:


> The problem with brita filters is that sometimes the charcoal can leave into the water itself. A better filter would be Mavea. Which uses a 4-stage multilevel filtration.
> 
> Tea Test Challenge: MAVEA Filtered Water vs Tap Water - YouTube


Alot of aquarium filters use charcoal.


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## grizadams_7mm

I'm going to be using the brita water filter to keep the PH down in my soon to be set up community tank. I did a few little test and it seems to lower my PH from 7.4 down to 6 and seemed to remove everything from the water. Not to sure how it would work for SW


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## cichlid

Yea, for a cummunity tank its perfect. Brita ( the company ) boasts there filters remove nitrates, abbotsfords water is friggen clean anyway. The only problem is its 4ppm PH right out of the nozzel so No matter what I would have to boost it. Live rock should boost it some not sure how much tho.


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## Algae Beater

our tap water is damn near pristine here ! use a small dose of water conditioner and call it a day! 

there are no nitrates, phosphates or any other junk in our tapwater. there are some stay metals, some chlorine and at times in the warmer months the silicates can rise ever so slightly. don't even bother! 

but of course don't forget to harden your water, the money is better spent there!


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## cichlid

Yea, it seems to be prefference, ive talked to guys who have been using tap water year round, for years now. other guys swear against it. 

I know abbotsford/chilliwack has prime water.


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## scherzo

I'm going to agree with algae beater. I love in Coquitlam as well (north) and we seem to have excellent water out of the tap. 

I used to just use a aquarium pharmaceuticals water filter and it would last about 6 months. 

I kept up with tank maintenance with my tap water and I have had I problems. I just make sure the water sits for at least 24 hours before adding it into my system. 

I'd ask around re: your local water. I'm not sure if yours is reservoir or ground water. Or how far you might be from your treatment plant. 

The other advantage of getting an RO system over doing things manually is that you can automate certain tasks like flipping up your top off container or your salt change bucket.


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## grizadams_7mm

I found it safer just to run a gantlet of test on your tap water just to be safe. It is possible for the water to pick things up on its way to your tap, Older houses/ pipes maybe even stuff in the main line. I have nitrates and high PH, but I'm also not hooked to a city line. Well water has its =/- The brita is the most consistent way to keep my PH low.


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## gklaw

cichlid said:


> The only problem is its 4ppm PH right out of the nozzel ..... Live rock should boost it some not sure how much tho.


What is 4ppm PH? GH you mean. I won't rely on live rock to boost anything 

Aragonite will buffer it somewhat even then, not much. That's why we use calcium reactor to bring with CO2 injection to bring the pH to 6 in the chamber to dissolve the aragonite.

In terms of tap water for SW, you will probably be ok for a few months until the mineral build up - iron from water pipe, etc. SW tank is a big investment and when you have problem, it will cost a lot of time and $ to fix the problem along with the frsutration.

Water is not where you want to save money from. For a 20g the DI cartridge will last a years - so $5 per month. Not worth the gamble IMHO  Even if you change with 5g RO from the grocery store weekly, it is only around $15 a month.


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## Rastapus

Although we have low Chlorine, the turbidity in our tap water is very high. Also metal content can reach scary levels. Filtering water prior would not be a bad thing IMO. Brita filters don't pull a lot out, mostly carbon, meant to make our water "clearer" for drinking pretty much.


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## Dietmar

Carbon also takes out the chlorine. 
Here in Surrey, my tap water is pretty good to start. Has a TDS (total dissolved solids) of 15. After the RO it is about 3. Then the DI (deionizing filter) brings TDS down to 0


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## Algae Beater

carbon in general is used up within 10-14 days with high flow-through. it is a useful filtration option, but it can add up. i prefer to use it in the tank. 

Abbotsford actually uses Chloramines in their water supply .. not ideal. but minus that and like the rest of the 604 we have very clean water for the most part.


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## Dietmar

Carbon may be used up in an aquarium in a short time, But in a RO filter system that filters tap water for your aquarium, it lasts at least 6 months here in the lower mainland.
Don't forget it is a large filter, 10 inches long by about 2 inches wide. 
Some manufacturers say theirs are good for 2000 gallons of throughput


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## gklaw

The way I use mine:

- two level prefilter
- then carbon

This then split to supply my kitchen for drinking and cooking as well as another valve to FW tanks. $15 - $20 worth of filters good for at least 6 months.

After that it goes to RO and DI for the SW system. Besides the ability to use the water for drinking and FW, I believe the cleaner the water going into the RO and DI, the longer their life would be. They runs a good 2 -3 years each for me  I know people recommend changing the RO every year - I am not convinced from an engineer's perspective?

Carbon in the aquarium serve a different function ?


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## cichlid

4ppm is the PH roughly.

( without filter )if I test my tap water, everything looks safe and I start my 25g SW with tap water, add a bit of live rock, its gunna be fine. Later on I will do my wc's with RO water. My father inlaw gets big jugs for his CPAP breathing machine. Was also told that to use fill up stations theres one here in abbotsford. Its like 3$ 

Not using tap water is more of a suggestion to prevent problems that could occur?


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## gklaw

I am not familiar with pH in ppm. Most scale are 0 to 14, 7 being neutral.

SW recommends 8.2 and there is no way you will find the right pH coming out of your tap. The salt will buffer that to 8.2 though initially.

Tap water? Honestly, not worth the chance for SW. If you want 25g of RO and has way to haul it back to Abby from Coquitlam, let me know a day ahead


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## cichlid

Ya, im doing what alot dont. Asking simple questions for good reasons. Lol I have never done salt before, just gathering intell. Dont worry this isnt a troll thread. Lol. 

I was trying to understand if there is specific reasons.


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## Dietmar

gklaw said:


> The way I use mine:
> 
> - two level prefilter
> - then carbon
> 
> This then split to supply my kitchen for drinking and cooking as well as another valve to FW tanks. $15 - $20 worth of filters good for at least 6 months.
> 
> After that it goes to RO and DI for the SW system. Besides the ability to use the water for drinking and FW, I believe the cleaner the water going into the RO and DI, the longer their life would be. They runs a good 2 -3 years each for me  I know people recommend changing the RO every year - I am not convinced from an engineer's perspective?
> 
> Carbon in the aquarium serve a different function ?


My last RO membrane lasted me 3 years. My carbon in the filter setup (tap water) is presently a year old. Will change this out probably before 6 months. There are two different types of RO membranes and I can't think of the names of them. I have the one that is sensitive to chlorine. So if any chlorine gets past the carbon filters, it decreases the life of the membrane.
Because the membrane costs so much more than carbon, I change the carbon more frequently. With a TDS meter, you can monitor the quality of water before the DI. The DI will always (if the flow is slow) take out all the rest of the dissolved solids. So if you only had a particle filter and a DI, you would get 0 TDS. But the expensive resin would deplete faster.


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## cichlid

Buying an RO/DI Filter is not worth it for a salt water experiment. Maybe if I had a 90gallon+ tank or something.


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## gklaw

cichlid said:


> Buying an RO/DI Filter is not worth it for a salt water experiment. Maybe if I had a 90gallon+ tank or something.


You are probably right for a 25g depends on how often you need to replenish or WC. The are getting pretty cheap now though. Better still if you can use it for your drinking water


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## cichlid

There is a refill station in abby, rumor is its 3$ to fill a big jug.


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