RO water vs. Rain water

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Blondek727

Aquarium Advice Activist
Joined
Mar 11, 2009
Messages
153
Location
Vero beach FL
Ok well I have a quick question I live in Florida we get alot of rain in the summer months and I was wondering if it would be safe to use rain water that I catch from my roof with my rain catcher when it rains. The reason I'm asking is because 1 I have alot of it 2 cuz it's free 3 I don't have a RO system at home so I have to purchess it from the store and after awhile it gets expensive. I did use the rain water for a 55 g planted aquarium before but would it be safe for a 50g reef tank thanks ahead of time
 
personally i wouldnt use it. dont know what pollution is in the air collected as it falls on the roof and down into the catcher.
 
No, no, NO!

I'd use tap water before I used rain water. (And I wouldn't normally recommend tap water!) Rain water will have a TON of contaminants in it, depending on what you're downwind from... not to mention what all it might collect as it runs off your roof.
 
Having studied greenhouse emmissions from power generation at university, I cannot say clearly enough NO. :)

There is so much you don't want in your tank. If you live anywhere near a highway you'll find in your air CO, SO2, NOx, Pb, CFCs, O3, any combination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, 1,3 butadiene, benzene, whatever else is in photochemical smog, and if you live anywhere near a coal fire power station there'll likely be dust and flyash too. This will all come down onto your roof both in the air and in an aqueous solution in your rain.

Tap water, provided it doesn't come through too many copper pipes, is much better IMO.
 
I live in the middle of noware about 45mins from the beach we don't have acid rain and the closest power plant which is a nuclear one is about 2 hours away.
 
You *may* be okay, if there's practically no pollution near you and your rainwater collecting system is perfectly clean, and you let the water sit for a couple days to let the muck get to the bottom (as I'm sure you do already), but if you used the rainwater and something in it killed / contaminated your tank how much more would it cost to fix + then get in an RO system?
 
When comparing it to RO/DI the statement 'if there's practically no pollution near you' just doesn't hold water (pun intended). Pollution would be defined as anything introduced into the pure water that wasn't intended to be there. That would include pollen, mold spores, general dust particles and anything else airborne that the rain drop collects along the way down.

IMO it's a horrid idea.
 
That's basically what I meant, but I was attempting to be nice and tactful. Something new I've been trying :)

Congrats I think that might have been your thousandth post CaptainAhab!
 
Buck up and just order the ro/di system... I got one from abundantflow.com. came with a fossett connection so i dont even have to tap into my waterlines.
 
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