Is it worth me getting a water butt?

[robmcd]

Butt water can't be a good thing....

 

[Essjay]

That depends on the type of butt you mean, the UK version or the US version

 

[Slaphppy7]

Yes I know I know haha just sitting bored thinking of random things I don’t need lol

I do the same....especially when I'm at work, haha

 

[Slaphppy7]

Butt water can't be a good thing....

That's why I shower instead of bathe.....

 

[AmyKieran]

Thanks guys for these very adult responses, some of you have some right cheek

Lol sorry

 

[GaryE]

For me, with rainforest fish, I am setting up a rainwater collection system within the month, when I redo the eavestroughs. That water is very valuable.

But if I had East African Cichlids, I would run away from it quickly. I'd run so fast that if I had a water butt it would slosh from side to side.

The rainwater that would get my fish breeding and make them extra happy would kill mbuna.

 

[Moby]

I’ve always used a water butt from gutter down pipe.So with a gallon bucket it’s 75%rainwater and top it with warm tap.So a mix really.

 

[outofwater]

In america "butt" means something else lol

Yeah when I saw rge post I was like wtf I have to read this

 

[Back in the fold]

whats a water butt?

I saw the title of this thread and just had to know too. Those Englishmen !

 

[Essjay]

The word butt means so many things.

The unsmoked end of a cigarette (cigarette butt)
A gun or rifle handle
A person being laughed at (the butt of a joke)
To hit something with the head or horns ("that goat just butted me")
A large container to store liquids
To interrupt someone (butt in)
.
.
.
And a person's rear end.

 

[StevenF]

My water hardness from the company is 4 German degrees, is rainwater softer than this?

hardness is a measure of the calcium and magneisum in the water. Rain water has a GH of zero degrees One degree is 17.8mg/L and rain water likely has less than 0.01mg/L. So Animals and plants need calcium and magnesium so a GH booster should be used to bring up the GH of one degree for plants. Fish have different GH Requirements depending on theater in their natural environment.

I’m not sure to find out about airborne pollution

CO2 NO2 NO3, SO2 will make the water acidic. A little lime stonier the barrel will and a pump to circulate the water would neutralize these (it would normally add only trace amounts of calcium). Volital organic compounds in the air may get in the water but I don't know how to neutralize these.

But that said many people attache water barrels to the roof gutter drian and use that water in thegarden or backyard water features. Others use large water storage containers drinking water (filtered to remove debris and sterilized with UV light).

 

[itiwhetu]

For me, with rainforest fish, I am setting up a rainwater collection system within the month, when I redo the eavestroughs. That water is very valuable.

But if I had East African Cichlids, I would run away from it quickly. I'd run so fast that if I had a water butt it would slosh from side to side.

The rainwater that would get my fish breeding and make them extra happy would kill mbuna.

Rainwater works fine with African Cichlids, you just need to have the correct substrate and do the right amount of water changing. I have never had a problem.

 

[Lynnzer]

Been there: Done that.
It's working well for me.
I mix it with treated tapwater and/or Asda bottled water to achieve the correct pH/GH etc.
It hasn'r rained an awful lot but hey - I'm in the northeast so that will correct itself. In any case I have about 25 empty Asda 5ltr water bottles that I keep filled to empty the butt for the next downpour.
I'd recommend putting the downpipe filter in above the diverter. It keeps all the $hite out of the tank, filters it and with the activated charcoal potentially at least sorts out any bacteria.

 

[GaryE]

Rainwater works fine with African Cichlids, you just need to have the correct substrate and do the right amount of water changing. I have never had a problem.

I have had very softwater for 15 years, and got a little cavalier about hardening water since I had limestone gravel. While what we've seen as individuals isn't important compared to what generations of fishkeepers have, I can match you anecdote for anecdote!

I don't know if you have ever seen the neurological symptoms East African Cichlids or Mexican coastal livebearers can show when kept in soft water. It begins with a shimmy, and ends in spiral swimming and 'spinning'. It's fatal. It can also be solved in a flash, with the right additives.

Anyway, "the right amount of water changing" is an interesting concept from a person advocating no changes in tanks. Maybe by stewing your water with just top ups, you've gradually created harder water? What are the numbers on the GH and KH test kits at your place? or the tds, if you use a meter?

It's much kinder, and easier not to subject your fish to stress (and this ain't being scared, it's potentially neurological). It can vary from fish to fish - stick asthmatic me on a high mountain, and a person without respiratory problems beside me, and one of us is going to look bad fast.