Is RO/DI water necessary in a FOWLR marine setup?

Question

I am planning on getting a 30 gallon saltwater aquarium with a power filter, skimmer, heater, ect. I am aware of all the items needed for a saltwater setup. I know that you dont need RO water for a Fish only setup, or most FOWLR setups. I know it is needed for a reef setup. This is all the info I can gather from many websites and a few books. Can I use a conditioner to remove heavy metals, chlorine, chloramine, ect. from the tap water, then add a good salt mix (instant ocean), then age the water and add to tank during water changes, or set up. I know to use conditioned freshwater for top off. Will the conditioned tap water be safe for invertebrates such as cleaner shrimp, hermit crabs, emerald crabs. I know you need it for corals but I cant find info telling me if I need the RO water for inverts such as shrimp or crabs?

Answer 1

I havnt used ro water in 20 years and my shrimp and hermits have been fine just be sure there is no copper in the tap water but a carbon filter will remove these harmfull metals. I often use collected rainwater but I also live way out in the country I do also use tap for topoffs with a dechlorinator and I have a seperate tank always mixing for water changes I use both rain and tap for this as well.

Answer 2

Reverse Osmosis,deionized,and distilled waters are the best way to go for any aquarium setup,in my opinion.they are "designed"to keep algae out of the tank,and lessen pollution.you can have a successful tank using tap water,but i would advise using some filtered water,even if its only through a carbon filter.with live rock,as with corals i would use the top 3 as much as possible.the tap water should be ok for inverts.don't use it all the time.a 30 gal.is a small tank,prone to fast pollution.