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I also have a dehumidifier that produces a few pails of water every day if I switch it on. Perhaps I should try using that water instead.
Cheers,
What if i said i'd found a source of water that was not only free, deviod of chlorine and chloramine, free of copper and carbonates, a little dusty but otherwise pure H2O?
Water that we unwittingly throw away every day just so we can buy RO units that produce water that isn't completely chloramine free for our beloved fish?
You'd probably think something hit me on the head right? Well it did. My aircon's leaking. Not getting me yet? My aircon, is leaking, water. Water that condensed on the fancoil and fell on my head. Water that's free of almost all contaminants except dust! Water that would've normally gone down the drain.
Pardon the needlessly lengthy post but has anyone realized that we could just pipe the water into a reservoir(pail, spare tank) and use it for topping up/water changes? It's better for the fish than tap water, and it's free!
So unless there's chemicals in the aircon that get mixed with the condensed water, there should be nothing wrong with using it for fish!
Long story short, are there any aircon repairmen on AQ who can confirm my theory?
I also have a dehumidifier that produces a few pails of water every day if I switch it on. Perhaps I should try using that water instead.
Cheers,
I have dwarf cichlids in my tanks! Do you?
Erm.. maybe you should just test the water first? wouldn't want to kill everything in the tank
Jinxed fishy photographer
[Specialist]
I was told that the copper pipes in the aircon will leach Cu2+ into the water. Depending on what critters you have, you might have problems with copper sensitivity. Shrimps immediately come to mind. On the other hand, copper has been used for algae control also...
ck
Last edited by Justikanz; 19th Jan 2007 at 14:14.
The juggling apprentice fish
My aircon repair/service uncle asked me not to even use the water for watering plants... He told me the water is 'dirty', not good wor, supposedly mixed with some chemicals...
Read me! :bigsmile: http://justikanz.blogspot.com/
I'm crypt collecting... Starting cheap, now have Cryptocoryne beckettii, C.beckettii var petchii, C.crispatula var.balansae, C.griffithii(Melted!), C.nurii, C.parva, C.pygmaea(Melted!
Oh, juggling is hard work, man!...
Hmm... I guess the proper course of action would be to just get some aircon water, test it, find out if there's anything dangerous in it. That aside, i gave it a taste, doesn't seem to have anything unnatural in it. And my cat seems to have taken a liking to it. She'd rather drink from the outlet in the toilet than her drinking bowl which is RO water... Will "test water" and update you guys soon.
er...you actually tasted the water from your air con? EEWWWUUUU
Anyway, whilst it may be safe for us, it might be different for the fishes.
For one, I think the water will be devoid of oxygen, to use it, we probably need to aerate the water and add trace elements.
Cheers,
I have dwarf cichlids in my tanks! Do you?
DON'T DRINK THE WATER! Your aircon is leaking probably because the drainage pipe is choked with fungus(the phlegmy jelly type). It is a hotbed of various weird germs and stuff.
Last edited by Justikanz; 19th Jan 2007 at 16:49.
Concur with bryan, the water collection tray is an active breeding ground for germs.
There is a commercially available 4-in-one product made by Hyflux : the Dragonfly. This product filters the air with HEPA filter, sterilises with UV light, dehumidifies and then ultrafiltrates the water to drinking quality. In our Singapore climate, you can easily obtain a few litres of purified drinking water while enjoying purified air every day.
Yippie!! Reptiles and Fishies!
Okay.. you drank it???????? Wow..
obviously you haven't seen whats in a choked up air-con...
Come to my house when we flush out the aircon... you'll give drinking the water more thought...you'll even give more thought to letting your cat drink that water...
That water not only has chemicals in it.. it also has a whole host of bacteria and invertebrates that can do you some real harm.
Dear god... I said i TASTED it, not drank... And having said that, do we know what chemicals are in the water? Perhaps a call to Sanyo about my cat's peculiar drinking habit will answer the question
Taste or drink, not much difference if the nasty stuff packs a wallop, just try not to pull such a stunt next time. I got a case of food poisoning in Bangkok during a working trip just because I took a sip from a mineral water bottle I just bought.
Yippie!! Reptiles and Fishies!
Wow.. i'm a god... Thanks..
Its not the chemicals that are bad for you really.. its the microbes and the bacteria and mold spores that get you...and Sanyo cannot tell you what kind of that you have.
Aren't the microbes present in any damp environment? leaf litter for instance? And it's the chemicals i'm worried about because that'll be the thing that kills the fish and plants right? If there're any. The micro-organisms would be similar to the ones already in the tank no?
Wow. Times are getting bad huh? Or are you really into conserving water?
It's going to create quite a sitr when the news report comes out with "Boy kills himself with Aircon water". Don't think it's worth it.
If you really want to, test a small tank of that water with the feeder fishes. Should give you good enough results to proceed further. And at least test the pH of the water since you do seem to have quite some time off your hands.
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The water comes from condensation on the fancoil. The fancoil consist of copper or aluminium pipes running through rows of aluminium cooling fins. If the aircon has recently gone through an overhaul where they did a 'chemical wash', there may be residue of the soapy solution used for the cleaning. How much of all this stuff will leech into the water? I don't know.
Last edited by Justikanz; 22nd Jan 2007 at 13:47.
Ok, tested some of the water:
kH 0
pH 6.8 (suggests an absence of "chemicals" since i'd imagine they'd increase the pH)
more tests to follow.
Jinxed fishy photographer
[Specialist]
You can have a soup with loads of stuff and still maintain the pH at 7.0.
pH is a measurement of hydrogen ions while KH is of carbonate. If it was contaminated with a salt, a heavy metal or some bugs, it will not have any effect on the pH/KH. Something from google. I don't think that legionnaire bacteria is that prevalent in home aircon units, but more in cooling towers for buildings (it hit the Melbourne Aquarium a couple of years back
Then again, what are you keeping that needs distilled water? Singapore water is quite soft as it is.
ck
Last edited by Justikanz; 22nd Jan 2007 at 13:47. Reason: 'dun'
Think the motive is to explore an option of distill water without getting RO unit...
Have you seen the series "Dr House" where the laughing cop dies? It's not something you really want to risk. Why do you think water supply companies inject chlorine or chloramine into the before pumping it to folks and ensure residue chlorine/chloramine still remain in the pipe line.
Regards,
Peter Gwee
Plant Physiology by Taiz and Zeiger
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