Rainwater?

[DoubleJ]

I'm assuming that rainwater is ok for the fish tank? It's natural and has none of the nasties that tap water has. Reason I ask is that it has been raining a ton here, like 5" in the last 48hrs and more on the way. I have 3 rubbermaid totes out back with about 40 gallons of water collected so far. This will be ok to use in my tanks right?

 

[Teelie]

Should be. A recent article I read pointed out a few of the myths/misconceptions on rainwater and pollution and other than it being acidic (sometimes a problem depending on your fish), it should be fine for your aquarium. If I can find a place, I'm going to set out a few water collectors myself for the next rain.

 

[tnhowery]

I wouldnt be so sure about that pollution in the from factories, cars, ect. called hydrocarbons not only destroy the ozone but they can also mix in with rain causing acid rain. Allthough its not harmfull to us it may be to your fish, and this stuff can travel for hundreds of miles so if you in the country you will still have to worry about it. Your best bet would be either an R.O. unit or use distilled water.

 

[Teelie]

That's actually one of the dispelled myths about rainwater I was reading about. Found the PFK article on it too.

 

[Tolak]

Which nasties in tap water are you referring to? Municipally supplied tap water is tested several times daily; it has to be tested by law. Bottled water is tested a few times weekly; the regulations are less strict than for municipally supplied tap water. How are you going to test the rain water, and are the test you plan on running even close to those used by your water company?

 

[tnhowery]

That's actually one of the dispelled myths about rainwater I was reading about. Found the PFK article on it too.

Learn something new everyday...

But as the article said you can still have contaminates from factories and such, which i have alot of in my area. I guess the best answer to this question would be to test the water, and not to use it if your in an industrialized area.

Thanks for the info teelie!

 

[DoubleJ]

I was refering to chlorine and metals that are at an "acceptable" level as far as the city testing is concerned. I tested the rain water and it scored 0's in ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, copper, phosphate. It has a Kh of 5.6 and a Ph of 6.9

edit: Kh is actually 2 to 2.5. Screwed up the first test

 

[Teelie]

I used to believe rainwater had all that nasty stuff too but it really can't be so bad if there are still plenty of natural bodies of water where fish live fine with the heavy amount of pollution said to be in rain water that would kill fish. I mean, yeah if you live next door to a polluting factory I probably wouldn't use the water but then I probably would be drinking bottled or imported water too. In theory, these factories are supposed to be reducing their emissions but then big industry usually finds a way out of that...

 

[tnhowery]

i just did a quick google search on the subject and found that its not so much the pollutants in rainwater (unless you are in an industrialized area) but the ph level which can be lowered and rainwater with a low ph is acid rain, which in some cases lower the ph so much that it can destroy entire ecosytems, but again the best option would be to test the rainwater first.

 

[Teelie]

Or stabilize it with tap water or other additives.