Does Good water go Bad?

[Vafik]

I have never came across this before so I thought that this might be a good place to ask. If I were to buy my SW from a LFS does it ever go bad? If I were to buy 5 or 10 gallons for water changes and only use it once a week or two would it expire in anyway? I'd hate to have to make a trip to the LFS everytime I needed to do a water change. The reason that I'd buy my SW and not mix my own is that my city water SUCKS and I have no place to set up an RO filter. I'd probally be buying my top off water from them too. Dont worry I wont buy SW for top off I know that much at least. Also since they are the ppl I will most likely be buying my LR and live stock from their water seems to be the best choice. Less stress on what I get.

 

[mikeguerrero]

I have two 5 gallon jugs that I fill up at my LFS and they go in storage, in a small closet where light won't hit it. When I'm ready to use it, I pull it out and drop a 100 watt submersible heater in it. I sit back and watch TV for 20 minutes then I check to see if the pilot light is still on, if not, it means my salt water batch is 77 degrees and ready for my water change.

You don't want sunlight hitting your stored water because it can cause unwanted algae to ignite.

Hope this helps out.

Mike

 

[incysor]

I have never came across this before so I thought that this might be a good place to ask. If I were to buy my SW from a LFS does it ever go bad? If I were to buy 5 or 10 gallons for water changes and only use it once a week or two would it expire in anyway? I'd hate to have to make a trip to the LFS everytime I needed to do a water change. The reason that I'd buy my SW and not mix my own is that my city water SUCKS and I have no place to set up an RO filter. I'd probally be buying my top off water from them too. Dont worry I wont buy SW for top off I know that much at least. Also since they are the ppl I will most likely be buying my LR and live stock from their water seems to be the best choice. Less stress on what I get.

I have never came across this before so I thought that this might be a good place to ask. If I were to buy my SW from a LFS does it ever go bad? If I were to buy 5 or 10 gallons for water changes and only use it once a week or two would it expire in anyway? I'd hate to have to make a trip to the LFS everytime I needed to do a water change. The reason that I'd buy my SW and not mix my own is that my city water SUCKS and I have no place to set up an RO filter. I'd probally be buying my top off water from them too. Dont worry I wont buy SW for top off I know that much at least. Also since they are the ppl I will most likely be buying my LR and live stock from their water seems to be the best choice. Less stress on what I get.

To maintain a nano an RO/DI system isn't really cost effective. It's much more cost effective to buy both RO/DI and salt water from a trusted LFS.
I would invest in one of the disposable type filters similar to this:

http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/pro ... d1=;pcid2=

Just because you never know when you'll have an emergency, need to do a massive water change, and the LFS is closed. If you only use it in emergencies it should last you for a looong time.

As for water going bad....Well if it jus sits in a jug for a week the oxygen content may be pretty low. I'd probably throw an airstone in there for a couple hours before changing it out if it's been sitting for a couple days.
Temperature differences might need to be taken into consideration as well. I don't run heaters on my tanks, so just setting the jug next to the tank for an hour or so ensures that they're roughly the same temp.

Mike's comments about keeping it out of direct sunlight is right on. The last thing you want is an algae bloom inside your water jugs. :lol:

B

 

[Vafik]

I figured keeping it out of the sun was a good Idea. Thats what I do with my water for my FW tanks. I store about 10 gallons of it at a time. I wasnt to sure about the SW though. Seeing how it is probally teaming with life already if I buy it from a LFS. Thanks for the info you two. It helps alot

 

[djconn]

Yeah, I agree with everyone else. I keep 5 to 15 gallons of RO/DI water in sealed containers (buckets) and use them to mix my fresh SW with whenever I need it. I usually keep it for 1-3 weeks or so with no problems. I actually never heat the water up but that is a really good idea. I usually give it a good shake when I'm about to use it though.

Buying premade SW got really expensive so I make my own now.