Storing tap water
- Thread starter Jim Barry
- Start date
Well, first I had to look up a garden water butt on the internet. See, where I am from, a butt is what you sit on and make sycophants kiss. I know a lot of folks who store change water in 55 gallon trash cans, plastic barrels etc. If you KNOW your water is chlorinated and that the water company never uses chloramination, you can skip the part where you add dechlorinator. Also, if you have a plastic butt (I feel so wierd saying this) make sure the heater is secure and not touching your butt, because no one likes their butt burned.
The water butts that I saw online (I've also never heard the term before) seemed just fine for storing change water.
I don't usually let water sit for more than a week (usually only about 2-3 days), and the inside of my storage barrel has a healthy amount of diatoms growing on the sides. If anything they remove some excess silica and nutrients from my water before it goes in the tank.
For most of us, our tapwater is perfectly suitable for fishkeeping. Plus, RO units are expensive, and another piece of equipment that require maintenence. Then, buffers need to be added back into the water. It's easier and cheaper to skip all of this with no ill effect.
Avenolpey said:
I don't usually let water sit for more than a week (usually only about 2-3 days), and the inside of my storage barrel has a healthy amount of diatoms growing on the sides. If anything they remove some excess silica and nutrients from my water before it goes in the tank.
Avenolpey said:
For most of us, our tapwater is perfectly suitable for fishkeeping. Plus, RO units are expensive, and another piece of equipment that require maintenence. Then, buffers need to be added back into the water. It's easier and cheaper to skip all of this with no ill effect.
Raskolnikov said:
I agree with Raskolnikov, I don't usually let my water sit for more a week, but sometimes leave it longer, dose'nt seem to have any ill effect. I use a 700g concrete holding tank with fibreglassed waterproofing to stop any chemical changes occuring in the water. About having diatoms in the water tank, this is actualy a good thing, Dr Adey(algae scrubber inventor for those of you who dont already know) actualy scrubs all of his change water to rid it of excess nutrients before adding it to his systems.
I wish I had enough water storage for it to sit longer than a week, but most of my reservoirs turn over every 48-72 hours. Some individual tank reservoirs do hold the 7 days between changes. Other than the diatom films (which I also consider a plus) - all silicates and other minerals used in the reservoir are that much less to go into the tanks.
Storage bins, reservoirs, water butts, etc. should be suitable for potable water storage. Beyond that, only structural strength and avoiding damage by localized heating, as Harlock already mentioned, really matter. A bit of aeration is a plus but not essential.
Ashdavid - Dr. Adey used and popularized algae beds, but he was not the originator. That predates him substantially.
Storage bins, reservoirs, water butts, etc. should be suitable for potable water storage. Beyond that, only structural strength and avoiding damage by localized heating, as Harlock already mentioned, really matter. A bit of aeration is a plus but not essential.
Ashdavid - Dr. Adey used and popularized algae beds, but he was not the originator. That predates him substantially.
Sorry, I was meaning to say he invented or patented the use of the more efficient algae producing wave bucket or dump bucket that is incorporated in the design of the algal scrubber that Dr Adey's popularized. I should be more careful when stating these facts, thanks for the heads up RTR.
If you're going to store water, I think it's a good idea to have something in the tub to aerate the water, like a powerhead, pump or airstone. A heater isn't a bad idea, either.
My water utility uses chloramine, so my water has ammonia in it. My aging tubs all have a modest biofilter that has established itself, so I can use plain dechlorinator, which frees ammonia that is quickly scavenged by the bacteria in the tub. Saves a bit of money over more expensive stuff like Amquel.
HTH,
Jim
My water utility uses chloramine, so my water has ammonia in it. My aging tubs all have a modest biofilter that has established itself, so I can use plain dechlorinator, which frees ammonia that is quickly scavenged by the bacteria in the tub. Saves a bit of money over more expensive stuff like Amquel.
HTH,
Jim
I have been doingthis for a few weeks now and it works great. The only problem i have is that the PH of the stored water raises quite a bit once it has been stored for a few days. The PH of my tank water is 6. something, the PH of my tap water is 7. something and the stored water is 8. something. This is not a problem for my current tank but will be once i start keeping Stingrays which is why i wanted to store water in the first place. Any ideas why my PH raises so much once i store it ???
Check the KH of the water on both tank and storage water. If the KH of your stored water is similar the ph change wont be as big of a concern. Are you adding Co2 to your tank? Ph changes in a reasonably small amout is no reason to be concerned. Could you tell us the exact ph value?