Using Rain As Water For My Tank?

[CJH0825]

I just had a thought! If I were to take 55 gallon plastic barrels, Have my gutter run the water directly into them and fill them up, Would I be able to use that water in my tank ( of course add a dechlorinator to it )?

It would cut down on my water bill!

Of course during the summer it would be warm water and during the winter I would have to go back to using tap water.

Any thoughts?!

 

[DrRob]

Nothing to stop you bringing it in in a barrel to warm up indoors in winter.
 
The main problems with this are air quality and pollution getting in from industrial fumes and things on the roof getting in. There are traps that take the first run of water from the roof and dump it in the drains, allowing you to avoid the worst of the rubbish coming off the roof.
 
Overall, it's generally worth checking the water tests on your rainwater before assuming that it's fine.

 

[CJH0825]

Of course I would check the levels of it. There are no industrial areas around me, And I would screen it through the gutter, Using some kind of wire mess, Like a filter.

 

[DrRob]

It's the solubles that are on the roof after a dry spell that are the real problems, although the larger stuff is important to keep the main organics and decomposing stuff out of the water. In the summer a few short bouts of rain after dry spells can leave you with a water butt full of these.
 
There is a daphnia toxicity test that some people use, that happens to provide live food at water change for good batches. People also peat and carbon filter rain water a lot.
 
I've been known to use a fair amount of rain water and have had to dump whole water butts on the garden after some terrible readings after long runs of good, and we have no industry around us at all, we do have farms though and rain clouds could be bringing stuff from fair distances away. I'm aware of people in rural Cornwall as an example that have been successfully fishkeeping with rainwater for many years.

 

[CJH0825]

I currently have a metal roof. I'll have to check the levels of everything before I put it in my tank. Or, Maybe just let the water fall freely into the barrel and use a towel to filter it ( put a towel over the bucket and pour the water in ).

 

[SmexxyNick]

Isn't this illegal lol

 

[CJH0825]

Why would it be illegal?!

 

[DrRob]

Potentially if you try to use it as drinking water. Some countries have licencing requirements on anything potable. Legislating against using rain water for most other stuff would be nigh on unenforcable.

 

[CJH0825]

I know of nothing like this in the USA.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Collecting rainwater to use in gardening is not only acceptable (legal), but also being encouraged in many parts of the US. 

 

[CJH0825]

Good Point! My garden does need watering when we get dry spells!

 

[CJH0825]

Well, My thought went down the drain tonight. I collected some rain water in a bucket, Tested it...and didn't like the readings. Ph was none, but ammonia was 2 and nitrite and nitrate were none. Ammonia is what scared me. So, I'll stick to my tap water.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Save the water for your garden still.  Saving water is saving water!

 

[BubblesLotsOfBubbles]

It's the solubles that are on the roof after a dry spell that are the real problems, although the larger stuff is important to keep the main organics and decomposing stuff out of the water. In the summer a few short bouts of rain after dry spells can leave you with a water butt full of these.
 
There is a daphnia toxicity test that some people use, that happens to provide live food at water change for good batches. People also peat and carbon filter rain water a lot.
 
I've been known to use a fair amount of rain water and have had to dump whole water butts on the garden after some terrible readings after long runs of good, and we have no industry around us at all, we do have farms though and rain clouds could be bringing stuff from fair distances away. I'm aware of people in rural Cornwall as an example that have been successfully fishkeeping with rainwater for many years.

 
Humm! Could you tell me what the tests were that have had you throw water to the garden?
 
I am about to set up a tank. First one in about 20 years. This time I do have a water butt and a 10 x 8 polycarbonate greenhouse to feed it and wanted to use rainwater. I do have an off let I can dump rainwater through before it gets to the barrel for certain times.I live in Wigan in the UK so around bonfire night, after long dry periods I can drop all the rainwater to the ground before it gets to the barrel.
 
What concerns me a bit is comitting to rainwater. What if there is a fire, even a BBQ, and I get smoky rainwater or a real dry period and I simply run out of rainwater or its frozen for weeks on end and I need to switch to tap water?
 
I'm trying to think ahead and the idea of rainwater appeals, but maybe in a town that lies midpoint between Liverpool, Manchester, Preston and Warrington isn't the best?

 

[DrRob]

I can indeed. I used a simple daphnia test for toxicity. Largely involved sticking daphnia in the water and making sure that they don't die. If they do, test the water to see if there's an obvious cause.
 
http/ei.cornell.edu/toxicology/bioassays/daphnia/environmnt.html
 
Some introduction to the idea there.
 
Water was fine until one day when, I found out later, a local farmer had sprayed his crops with his new machinery. Daphnia died pretty much on contact and ammonia levels were off the scale. Sadly the fields are right next to us, so if you're out at work when they do it, you get a hit to your roof without realising. You can get devices that allow the first flush of water to go down the drain, but that didn't save me from that one. I'd started testing more rigorously after having some problems that turned out to be caused by a slug falling into the tank and dieing.