rainwater

[secretagent]

Anybody here ever use rainwater for waterchanges? I once knew someone who swore by it, and his tanks always had super looking plants. Any farmer will tell you that rain grows plants much better than water from the tap, and that is what goes into "real" ponds and lakes after all. Any thoughts on this? By the way, this is my first post, I just discovered this forum and it seems like a really good one.

Chris

 

[lyquidphyre]

If you added dechlor.. then maybe... but if you think about acid rain and polution.. I would kind of worry about my fish

Oh, welcome to aquarium advice!!!!

 

[PatM]

Welcome to AA.
rain water is probably a little risky, I guess it depends where you live and how pure the water is, smoke smog etc will pollute, as well as the container it's collected in. I don't know anybody thats ever done it, but most people will swear by ro water. I must say though, that my mother in law's pond is crystal clear, though her filtration tops anything I've ever seen, so thats probably the cause to the clarity.overall health. It might be worth a try, though I would try it with something your not afraid to lose, and test it like crazy beforehand. Wild idea though.

 

[youronlysin]

I dont think one can compare a small tank to a pond or a lake. Even a 1500 gallon tank wouldnt have near the biological capacity nor water volume to filter as efficiently as a pond or a lake. Also, fish that are bred and raised in lakes and ponds tend to be less succeptable to water parameters than tank raised fish. You wouldnt scoop water from a lake and put it directly in your freshwater tank...at least I wouldn't. All of my fish are tank bred and raised...the change would be devastating Im afraid. Personally, I've never had a problem with my tap water that ordinary dechlor couldnt solve. I wouldn't drink a bucket of rainwater thats for sure, so my fish wont be getting any. I hope your tap water isnt that bad!

 

[AlonelyCody]

Welcome to AA!!!

 

[Frank_the_Tank]

The rain water around the metro area here couldn't sustain a goldfish cracker

 

[benji-star]

welcome to aa!! welcome to aa!! welcome to aa!!

 

[frog girl]

I have used collected rainwater but it is usually best to discard the first bit that you collect because it contains the majority of pollutants.

I never have had a problem with it but I don't live in a very polluted area (except for dust) as I am on the high plains in a windy area.

I also use RO and that works fine too. If your rainwater is collected from your roof it is worth testing the water because you can get rinsed off bird poop & minerals. Especially the 1st 10-12 gallons.

 

[Toirtis]

If your rainwater is collected from your roof it is worth testing the water because you can get rinsed off bird poop & minerals. Especially the 1st 10-12 gallons.

...and anything that is leaching from your shingles...

 

[secretagent]

The friend that I am talking about doesnt live anywhere near a metro area, so the rain is as "pollution free" as rain gets. Yes, I know that there is "stuff" in rain but the tap isnt exactly a mountain spring either. No I wouldnt want to drink a bucket of rainwater, but I wouldnt want to eat a handful of flake food either.

Chris

 

[greenfish]

I found this site a while back about collecting rain water that you might find interesting:
http://rainbarrelguide.com/

 

[frog girl]

Toirtis is right if you don't have a metal roof then collected water is washing over roofing tar in composite shingles so depending on how new your roof is & the volume of water that could definitely be a problem. Perhaps not worth the risk.