[vash]

from my experience..tap water is (sometimes) ok. the danger comes when the chlorine in the water kills the benificial bacteria in your biological filter system, and the waste builds up fast.

do small water changes often, rather than huge changes everyonce in a long while. reading some more...algae is a PITA. you can get an algea eating fish, which would help. NO SNAILS! the best way to control algae is to use live plants. you will need to buy a bulb with a spectrum made for plants. then leave the light on for at least 8 hours a day. i like hardy plants like NUBIUS and JAVA fern. both plants grow better if you jam them into a crack on some driftwood...they both grow very slow, so they are mildly expensive in stores. amazon swords, and other cheap plants dont do that well, not in my experience. plants pull valuable nutrients out of the water and starve the algea. one of my 2 fish is an albino plecotomus. i have so little algea, i have to supplement his diet with a commercial food, and sliced zuchini.