Using Rain Water

[scozzman]

Hi all...

I have just moved house and live on a farm and all water is rain water stored in a tank.

I was just wondering if i still have to treat the water for my tropical fish.

Obviously I dont need chlorine nuetralizer anymore but just wanted to make sure if its safe or do i have to add anything else.

Thanks,,,

 

[newtotropical]

Hi all...

I have just moved house and live on a farm and all water is rain water stored in a tank.

I was just wondering if i still have to treat the water for my tropical fish.

Obviously I dont need chlorine nuetralizer anymore but just wanted to make sure if its safe or do i have to add anything else.

Thanks,,,

As i understand it rainwater can have heavy metals & chemicals in it ( acid rain) Aquasafe would deal with the heavy metals but i dont know hwo you would deal with whats left!

So, not much help then really was i!!

 

[mark.w.jones]

As I understand it. People who use rainwater for their tanks pour it through a carbon sponge a few times to remove any chemical nasties before using a water treatment product to remove heavy metals etc.

 

[cuticom]

It depends where ya live.

I live way way out from towns and cities and we've got wonderful water from the tanks. Always a ph of 7, no ammonia, nitrites or nitrates (well except for that a time a snake climbed in the tank and died). I've never added anything to it and it seems to work well with the fish, we've never had any problems from water changes.

I honestly wouldnt bother adding anything unless you live close to a city and there's a chance of acid rain as stated before.

Emma

 

[scozzman]

Thanks for your replys...

I dont live close to the city.

I have used the rain water for the kids goldfish and they seem very happy.

So is this a good indication that the tropicals will like it?

Thanks again.

 

[scozzman]

Hello again...

I forgot to mention that some of this water is pumped from an underground bore. Will that make any difference.

Cheers

 

[gpgscott]

My only concern would be bacteria. Rainwater as it falls from the sky is relatively pure, even in an industrial area with lots of emissions after a minute or two of rainfall they are washed out of the sky. Likewise water from a well (is this what you mean from bore?) is usually quite pure being filtered by the earth. There can be localized exceptions to this and any well water must be tested from time to time to ensure that no contamination exisists. Once the water has been placed in a tank however you get bacterial colonies established some harmless and some deadly. I would not use any water from an above ground storage tank without first treating it with chlorine to kill bacteria and then aging/aerating to remove the chlorine. Scott

 

[DarkEntity]

Rain water is fine, just catch it in a bucket and hold it for a few days prior to use.