Rain water instead of tap

[mellette]

Hi all,
just wonder , would rain water be the substitute for tap water? Given that its not treated, hence we'll not need to add neutralising agent. Reckon we will then only need to concentrate on the hardness, Ph, bacteria etc.. which I believe can be overcome using relatively conventional natural methods..filtering, resting..etc

Yes I am aware that getting rain water from high rise is no easy feat.. but like to know if anyone would endorse using rain water and the shortfalls..

mel

[tinydot]

shortfalls: collect water, test water, do necessary treatments, rain condition is dependable on environment, might contain harmful gases, coastal area rain could be salty

tap water: just add anti-chlorine/chloramine and adjust pH accordingly.

worth so much trouble and testing for free acidic water? i would consider using rainwater if this world is not so polluted.

[Nanami]

rainwater will have pollutants from the surrounding environment dissolved in them. and the smell of the rain is a hint that there might be some other additives to the water that you may have to test and treat before it's usable for an aquarium

[XnSdVd]

If you ask me, there's really no substitute for rainwater(Except maybe distilled water). No copper, no chlorine, no chloramine. Aside from sulphur dioxide, dirt, spores and some ash from regional fires it's excellent for fish.

Especially if you consider that all our nature reserves are doing far better than our tanks and they get their water from rain.

As for the shortfalls;
there's no need to treat it unless there's significant haze
sulphur dioxide is commonly found in natural water bodies and consumed by plants
and no, coastal rain does not contain salt.

I've bred just about every species of native fish except for harlequin rasboras with rainwater. And my Cryptocoryne x. timahensis & Crypt. griffithii are waterd with it.

[mellette]

Yes indeed, given there will be pollutants for the first 5 -10 minutes when rain cleanse the air. My dogs choose rainwater over his usual bow of tap water, when the rain stops and they rushes to the drain pipe whether for health reason or taste they wouldnt say..sigh

As plants will consume sulphur dioxide, so it will be prudent to keep some plants in the tank.. and perhaps some charcoal to rid further harmful particles or gases?

There must be a better way to collect rain water, when our weatherman always use the same recording " occasional showers over several area in the..." its free for the taking. I am not saying rain water can create a black water environment but like fishes depend entirely on water quality to strive like we depends on the quality of air we breath. I am very uncomfortable with air refreshers , perfume, chlorine and the smell of dettol..or detergent

[Shaihulud]

Rainwater is very clean, but is difficult for people like me living in flats to collect. Dustborne pollutants are nothing actually. Doping tapwater with anti-chloramine does not makes it pure, Im more worried what is contained in its makeup.

[mictok]

I only collect it after 10 mins of down pour,so far so good and my Apisto, flowerhorn loves it.

[XnSdVd]

Shaihulud, when I was living in a flat, I used to hang a few large funnels(DIY them if you can, better that way) outside my more exposed windows. Then just connect them to some hoses and a bucket(mine was directly into the 6ft tank. Quite easy really, you just have to put up with the strange questions from the neighbors and the torrent of "Rainwater is dirty leh!" comments

[checkerboard]

I used to collect rain water in my old house when I was keeping discus. They like rainwater. I have bred espei, dwarf and golden pencils using rainwater.

I think in Singapore, air pollution is less of an issue, so rainwater should be fairly safe to use and it is free!

[mellette]

I am collecting rain with buckets, from the drain pipe and contemplating to setup a mini catchment/direct drainage with waterproof sheets. But reckon our friends living in high rise will surely face an uphill task..any bright ideas/proven methods to share .. I am convinced rainwater is a better source other than tap.. and now how to harvest it efficiently.

[barmby]

rainwater is the best if you have a catchment area. let it sit and coagulate. I mean the particles will coagulate. I agree with checkerboard and mictok 100%

[Puffer]

I've considered rainwater....However, having a catchment area is a problem in a HDB flat, especially having NEA people knocking at my house door occasionally. Has anyone living in a flat collect rainwater? How do you do it?

[mellette]

I want to try this setup in my garden..Bamboo pole( clothes hanging bamboo pole) Rest one end of pole against fence , the other end will be lower supported by a chair ( or something similar) So I will have two sloping parallel pole. I will tie a bancho or rubber sheet with 4 ends to the pole. It will look like a stretcher seen in rescue movie. I can place a pail in the lower end. The bigger the surface area the more effficient it will be.

Likewise for high rise dweller. You can hang out your homemade stretcher I believe the clothe pole holder is angulated and you can place a pail in between to collect your rain. Well I amsure you can figure out whats safe and whats not to do..

I've considered rainwater....However, having a catchment area is a problem in a HDB flat, especially having NEA people knocking at my house door occasionally. Has anyone living in a flat collect rainwater? How do you do it?

[reagan022]

hmm like that my living room would become a new catchment area. imagine every hdb apartment has one...

i too wish i can collect for my little creatures. natural still the best but very hard in hdb.

[lyan]

I only collect it after 10 mins of down pour,so far so good and my Apisto, flowerhorn loves it.

U are right, always collect rain water after 10 mins of rain. 1st 10 mins have lot of other impurities in rain water but after that is clean pure water. The water is a bit cold but is very good for keeping all type of fishes.