tap water okay for fish?

[snowangel]

I somewhat recently moved to an area that gets flooded some years. This is one of those years. So far the city says our tap water is still safe for people but it has started to reek since the last time I did a water change and I'm worried that it may not be safe for my fish. There are cories, tetras, and a gourami in the tank.

 

[eco23]

Have you checked the water parameters (ammonia, nitrItes, nitrAtes, etc...)? Is there chlorine in the water? I'm sure there is if it's city water. I would imagine as long as the levels are okay and you use a dechlorinator like Prime, you'll be fine.

 

[eco23]

If there's bad odor to the water you may need to run some carbon to take the smell out so it doesn't stink up your house. What does it smell like, rotten eggs, musty?

 

[snowangel]

I've tested the basics and it's good on those... it's other weird stuff that I'm worried about. And the smell is like rotten eggs... I already use a carbon filter in the tank but anything other than that isn't really possible because I live in a college dorm.

 

[eco23]

Sulfur. I run a water purification company and rotten eggs = sulfur. It's completely harmless to humans, it just stinks to high heaven and is very difficult to remove. It actually has to be evaporated out because normal filtration is only mildly effective. There are some high dollar treatment options, but since it's a dorm, you couldn't do anything with the water supply anyway. I just got done reading an article about forms of sulfur being used to remove nitrItes from water, so I can't imagine it being a problem for the fish...just a problem for your sense of smell, taste, etc...

 

[snowangel]

Thank goodness... glad I don't need to worry about it hurting the fish! Now to do something about covering up the smell, lol... can't wait for flood season to be over with.

 

[eco23]

It won't hurt to get a second opinion, I'm only familiar with effects on humans. But in principle, if it's okay for us I can't imagine it being bad for them to swim around in. I just hope they don't have a sense of smell or they're not gonna be very happy with you, lol. Just remember to always use your dechlorinator during pwc's. The counties tend to really bump up the chlorine/chloramine levels if theres risk of runoff from flooding. Good luck!

 

[Tasha]

It won't hurt to get a second opinion, I'm only familiar with effects on humans. But in principle, if it's okay for us I can't imagine it being bad for them to swim around in. I just hope they don't have a sense of smell or they're not gonna be very happy with you, lol. Just remember to always use your dechlorinator during pwc's. The counties tend to really bump up the chlorine/chloramine levels if theres risk of runoff from flooding. Good luck!

I think they do smell, before my male Molly mates with the female he always puts his "nose" there....?

 

[Crepe]

Seachem prime reeks of sulfur because of the sulfur compounds as mentioned before. Sulfur isn't harmful to fish as far as I know....but it could cause nutrient poisoning in plants.

 

[snowangel]

Thank you everyone for the help!

eco23 - thanks for the tip about bumping up the dechlorinator... didn't think of that

 

[eco23]

Happy to help! Good luck with the sulfur... I have a feeling you might be driving to a different city to do your laundry,lol!