new to whole house water filter systems

[fishboy]

Hi all! My house in general is very old at least 50+ year and the piping system is also very old. My basement piping hasnt been changed yet if I recalled. I'm planning to get a big show aquarium fish tank for my basement. I want to use get a house filter for my tap water so that I can use the water directly to my aquarium tank. What would you guys recommend me doing? I know my pipes are a bit rusty. I just want it to be safe for my fish in general. Any help would be great!

[pawaterguy]

Town water or well water? What variety of aquarium? IE: freshwater vs saltwater. What type of setup you're going with will determine how critical water quality is. Example...if you're on town water your PH should be fine but ideally you'll want to get rid of chlorine before you use it in the tank. Depending on your filter setup this may be more or less important as your carbon filter will remove it and there are chemicals you can add to overcome it and get rid of it. If you go saltwater then you want a low TDS which can only be accomplished with an RO system and will also require more upkeep once its in the tank to maintain healthy life in the tank. So, more information would help me answer the question better for you. If you are on well water then there are a number of things to test for and address. PH, iron, nitrates, bacteria etc etc.

PS: I'm a fish geek from way back. I've had aquariums since I was a kid...30+ years ago. Fresh and salt. I've done it all...or at least as much as I wanted to.

[fishboy]

It's city water. Planning to setup a discus show tank. They prefer soft water. I want to get rid of whatever is bad before entering my tank. I don't want to use any chemicals to pretreat the water. Thanks for replying to my thread. Also do I need to test my tap water for anything that is harmful?

[pawaterguy]

Pretty much the 2 concerns will be the chlorine level and the hardness. The chlorine can be dealt with easily enough if you use a good carbon block filter as a point of use filter (install it at a specific cold water line one a sink you'll use to fill the aquarium). You can put the filter on for the whole house but the carbon won't be great at removing the chlorine with the flow rates you may encounter and the life of it won't be that long so you'll have to replace it more often than you'd ideally want to. Or, if you're using a large canister filter (not a hang on the tank one) and seed your tank properly it will remove the chlorine before adding your fish and then you'll only have to worry about water changes and whatnot...which you could try your tap water on or buy a couple gallons of spring water. Up to you at that point. Going back...even if you use a hang on the tank filter it will no doubt have some activated carbon in it...but it will have to deal with the chlorine before it can work on the other "stuff" it is used for and therefor won't last nearly as long and you'll take a hit on water quality eventually...or be stuck changing filters every week. ORRRRR, you can do what so many have done before you...set it all up, throw some stress coat in and get a fish or 2 in there and see what happens. (I know you don't want to use chemicals...just sayin)

[fishboy]

Thanks! is there anything else that I need to worry about? Would I need sediment filters as well? Do I need to worry about Chloramines in my water? Sorry for all the questions.

[pawaterguy]

You'd have to check with your municipality to see if they are using strictly chlorine or if they're using chloramines as well to know if they're there. Generally, sediment isn't an issue on town water. They generally do some manner of filtration to the water to make sure no chunks come through. It's never a bad idea to throw a 10" filter housing on to your system anyway to increase the quality of your water coming in and allow you to treat things at your end so I wouldn't say NOT to put one on if there is nothing there now. Use a 5 or even a 1 micron filter and go from there. If you want to really get into the water quality stuff, get a sample taken for hardness, chlorine, TDS, PH and iron (generally a water company will do those for free anyway) and go from there. Good luck with the fish!!!

[lissa martin]

If you are finding rust in your pipe go for changing them, I don't think so it is useful in any of the ways. Then plan further. You can take help of experts for further things.