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Okay, I think this post might have gotten sidetracked on NSW. I don't plan on purchasing NSW for water changes. I think my ? about aged saltwater has been answered. I assume that this is only necessary when using NSW.
Now comes the point where a choice has to be made. So far in my setup I have used treated tap water(prime). The salt has been pre-mixed with Coralife salt. Over the past month or so, I would say I have added roughly 5-6 gallons of freshwater to top off. Can using treated tap water become a problem in the future because of the metals in tap water?
Secondly, there is a LFS near me that sells RO/DI water for .39 cents a gallon. Would this be a better plan for water changes? If anyone has shared these same experiences please let me know. Thanks.

Thanks, pics would be great

Not expensive really. The switches were $50(Dual for redundancy), then a power head to lift the water, and then a 6' piece of plastic tubing.

Ill take pictures tonight, its quite easy really.

Is this float switch deal sort of like a sump? I'm interested as well. Is it have a high price tag?

Hi Iam currently in the process of getting ready to convert my FW tank to salt water and I like this float switch of yours lil_mikey69, how exactly is it set up?

dose the float switch control an electronic micro switch which in turn powers up the pump or is it an all mechanical float switch which turns the pump on some other way?

any info would be great

I never really top off my tank per say. I have float switches in my main tank, connected to a 10 gallon aquarium in my stand which I store heated and circulated RO/DI water in. When the water level in my tank decreases at all, a powerhead in the 10 gallon tank is turned on and it pumps fresh water into my tank untill its filled to where its supposed to be. It really makes things SO much easier, at least as far as top offs go. I assume it adds water up to several times a day if necessary. I've actually only been down there once while it turned on. It turns on for maybe 10 seconds and adds water untill it reaches the full line.

All I have to do is make sure the 10 gallon doesnt run out of fresh water. I think my first 10 gallons lasted over 3 weeks though.

How often do you top off your water? I have topped off my water about every 3 days or so. That seems to be a lot. Also, I have been using a PH buffer lately. My PH in my tap is 7.8.

I've got the Remora Pro too.

Just keep doing normal water changes/top offs with RO water and you'll be fine.

I currently have a Romera Pro skimmer. It also doesn't recommend using conditioners, but only because it creates a lot of foam. I've had people tell me that using tap water won't do anything to a system. I was hoping someone had experiences. I do know that I have a lot of brown algae growing right now, so you are correct about that.

Another question is if I were to replace my current water with RO/DI water, how would I go about it? Is a normal 5/10% water change a week a good idea?

Those are the kind of problems.

I would say the biggest problem people face who use tap water is algae.

Also, I don't know if your using a protein skimmer at all, but mine states that it should not be used with "conditioned" tap water.

What kind of future problems are you speaking of? I was thinking maybe Phosphates and deposits from heavy metals. Maybe I'm in the right direction. I think it will be worth my time to purchase RO/DI water.

I think mabe you mean your water has been mixed with coralife salt, not that your salt has been mixed with Coralife salt. Either way, you need to pre mix and let that water stand for 24 hours as I mentioned. Someone brought up NSW because you really just add it to your tank, so it makes it easier than mixing up synthetic mix to the proper salinity, etc.

Defentinally switch to the RO/DI water. Tap water will only cause you problems in the future.

Well, its that time. 1 month and its time to do my first water change. I was thinking of doing a 5% change on my 70g and then continuing it every week. I have a question that cannot be answered in the books though. I've read that you should have 5-6 days of aged saltwater in a bucket with powerhead. Can anyone explain this to me please? I would consider running it for an hour or so, but see no point of aging the mixed water for 7 days. Thanks for your inputs in advance.

Yes, the NSW that comes in the boxes is filtered, UV'ed, and QT'ed.

True...but isn't most of the boxed water stuff steralized anyways? Living in Indiana, thats the only NSW Im exposed too

It takes out all the guess work.

but also adds some headache like QTing all the water for atleast a week so you dont introduce nasties into your tank.

NSW dies biologically and chemically more quickly than synthetic seawater

Well, you don't really use NSW for any biological advanatage. Its used because well, as you can imagine it perfectly resembles the natural make up of seawater. It takes out all the guess work.

"NSW dies biologically and chemically more quickly than synthetic seawater"

Im not sure about that one synthetic sea water souldn't contain any biological material at all should it? so therefore if is already biologically dead so how could NSW die quicker?
How does something die chemically?

"can I use synthetic saltwater from tap"
If you mean use tap water to mix the saltwater, then probably not due to phosphate and other contaminates in the water.

24 hours in a bucket(Or some other container) for 24 hours with a powerhead and a heater to match your tanks temperature. That will be more than sufficient.

How long should synthetically mixed saltwater sit for? I have read 2 reliable books that said it should sit for 4-5 days. I want to do this the right way. If theres any secrets, please let me know.