Experiment time!!!!!! Opinions please

Snappyarcher

I am setting up a water butt of 100 litres in the back garden to see if i can improve upon the water i put into my trop and fresh water tanks.... this is because we have crappy water from the tap which is full of nitrates and the possibility of RO water filter is nill for now.

SO my question is this: What can i expect to find form the rain water ? or from water that has been left to stand for a week?

Any opinions or ideas welcome!

Thanks Bill

Reefing Madness

Is rain water clean water

wake49

The same question posed on Yahoo! answers: Is rainwater clean???

The science behind rain and snow is that water vapor collects on particulates in the clouds to become large enough to become rain drops. These raindrops can contain sulfuric acid, nitric acid, dirt and other pollutants. Rain water is potable to a degree, but drinking from fresh lakes and streams is a better alternative as the nitrogen cycle and other natural purifiers make the water cleaner.

A visual:
g_acid.jpg

Chesherca

I've never collected rainwater for a tank, but I have tested the rain in my area. From time to time I've found traces of ammonia in it. . . really very sad and disturbing, but something to keep an eye out for. I have a plant bucket out on my back porch over the summertime, and I have found my fair share of mosquito larvae and damselfly nymphs, a fine mesh screen solved that problem right up. Over the course of a WEEK, I didn't have any problems with algal growth, and the plants did very well outside in the sunshine, but after a month or so things started to get slimy in there, so you'll probably want to periodically scrub out and sun-dry the tub.

You know I'm REALLY excited to see how all this works out! Hope you find the information you need to keep your fish safe, and that everything works out how you hope! Good luck, and (of course) please keep us posted!

Olympia

Fill it with live plants to purify first?
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Reefing Madness

Theres one of those cool ideas.

Snappyarcher

The problem with doing that is that there would need to be light which means floaters..... therefore the tank needs to be open and impurities can get in and we are back to square one.

Snappyarcher

Read the original post Reefing.... the oppotunity for RO is nil at the moment.

Reefing Madness

No, not entirely, as the plants need these things to thrive, and they should at that. Why no light? Light means floaters?

Reefing Madness

?? The Plants clean the water. ?? No need for RO.