Is well water bad??

[invisible1130]

Is well water bad for fish tanks? I read somewhere that you should not use well water (not even with water conditioners), so if that is the case and you have well water, what should you do? I have well water and I have several tanks that are doing great! I use Aquasafe for a conditioners. I read this in the book "Aquariums for dummies". What does everyone else think???

[liv2padl]

I read this in the book "Aquariums for dummies" well, the book is aptly named then, since anyone who would believe that well water is problematic is a ... well, a dummy. there's absolutely NOTHING wrong with well water. i've been using it myself for over 40 years with no problems as have tens of thousands of other hobbyists.

[EDEN AQUARIUM]

Like city water you should test the ph, hardness, and kh. Its not much different from city water. I prefer my well water which is rich in minerals.

[mykidsmylife]

I use well water. With my tanks I couldn't imagine hauling water for them.

My water straight from the tap test better than city water around here.

[IceH2O]

It depends on what type well system you're talking about.

My parents neighborhood is on a well system but they have some type of mini water treatment system that adds chlorine and what not. May as well be city water but they're outside city limits and the pipes don't run that far out.

I'm on an individual well and the water that comes out of the ground is "as is". No chlorine and what not.

I don't need to worry about chemicals. Just fresh water, I don't use any type of dechlor.

Once a year we usually get a thing in the mail for a free analysis of our water. I might actually do it this yr.

[JoeRags3]

Is well water bad for fish tanks? I read somewhere that you should not use well water (not even with water conditioners), so if that is the case and you have well water, what should you do? I have well water and I have several tanks that are doing great! I use Aquasafe for a conditioners. I read this in the book "Aquariums for dummies". What does everyone else think???
I've read the same book and said to myself the guys have GOT to be kidding!! I use well water and haven't had ANY problems with it, When I first started the hobby I sure as heck wasn't goin to spend time collecting rain water or buying jugs of spring water. You will be fine!

[misscrosson]

yup, my water is also well water... and I've yet to have any problems!

[patoloco]

I use to buy books in Amazon, and when I was choosing my saltwater encyclopedia, I ran across the Saltwater Aquariums for Dummies. There was about a 9 to 1 bad reviews ratio on that book.

Some buyers reviws for the Aquariums for Dummies book, by Maddy Hargrove, Mic Hargrove:

"Fast track to killing fish and getting burned out"
"A bit disappointed, redundant, 2.5 stars"
"Worst book ever"
"Very incomplete"
"Not quite a book, more like notes for a book"
"Don't be misled by this book! "
"Condescending, inacurate and redundent,, "
"For beginners, ONLY"
"More like---Aquariums Written By Dummies"
"Thumbs down! Way down!"
"Good intentions but misses"
"Not quite ready for prime time"

As read in the amazon.com page for this book.

[jwddboy]

The water should be fine. I would suggest that if you really want to use it then you put chlorine remover in it and also filter it through activated carbon and anything else you can. It will possibly contain toxins and other things like acids and sulfur. As much as you can filter it the better. And make sure it isnt stagnant. I used rainwater for a while until realising that the pH was totally wrong so make sure you test it after you have filtered and dechlorinated it.

Last thing: make sure the water isnt too cold (preferably warm it beforehand) when you put it in. A large temperature fluctuation could get them stressed and start a disease, but a little bit of temporary temperature change can make them think its just raining. Note: This can also make em start to breed if they think the natural rains are starting.

All in all the water is probably fine. Just be cautious.

Need anything else. Just ask.

[RTR]

Why on earth would you add a chlorine remover to water without chlorine? If the water is suited to human consumption, it is suitable for tanks. It may be better than area municipal water, or may be worse, but that you cannot tell without an analysis of the particular well's output.

Fitto the carbon filtration.

Ditto the temperature - houses with wells are no more excluded from having heaters than are houses on municipal systems.

If I may ask, where did all that mis-information come from? Not from the already cited book, I hope.

[jwddboy]

I have a well nearby that is used as a backup supply system in case of low water reserves. The water is treated with chlorine (hence dechlorinator) and when tested shows toxins and minerals harmful to fish (hence the activated carbon) just because of where I live. As you have said yourself, its hard to know weather the water is ok for the fish or not, Its better to be safe than sorry especially if you have a filter with carbon in it already!

No idea where "if its ok for us to drink its ok for them" came from! Our immune systems are so much more complex than theirs and so we can safley drink chlorine, for example, in much higher doses than any fish.

Also, the water does not have to be heated at all but I find it is much less stressful to my fish (specially any of the discus for example) if it is.

[Rbishop]

Thumbs up on "well" water, Ice. My community has seven wells that supply the system and they add chlorine. My house is on our own well and is chlorine free. The system wells are quite deep (200 ft) and they run about 7.2 pH and ours is quite shallow at 60 feet, and runs at 6.8. Guess their extra depth helps filter out some of the acidic issues of our pine trees.

jwddboy...I can't support the better to be safe than sorry perspective. Unless the water testing, regardless of source, indicates a negative component for your fish that you need to remove, use the water. If I just used stuff to be safe...I would have a dozen or so bottles of additives, that I probably couldn't afford, and be doing nothing but mixing up a chemical stew.

[TKOS]

If you doubt your well water then have it tested. Most municipalities will do it, sometimes for a small fee. Unless it is high in troublesome things like arsenic then I wouldn't worry about it.

Oh and jwddboy - chlorine doesn't hurt people as we have no gills. Fish can drink it with no problem, they just can't breathe it.

[mykidsmylife]

If you want to test your water take it to the nearest towns water treatment plant and they will usually test it for you for a small fee.

If you have children, all pediatrician offices will test your well water for the safety of your kids. Our was tested several times that way. I think it cost around $30.

I am very comfortable with our well water, for the fish, for drinking, for our kids safety.

If in doubt....have it tested.

[invisible1130]

I use to buy books in Amazon, and when I was choosing my saltwater encyclopedia, I ran across the Saltwater Aquariums for Dummies. There was about a 9 to 1 bad reviews ratio on that book.

Some buyers reviws for the Aquariums for Dummies book, by Maddy Hargrove, Mic Hargrove:

"Fast track to killing fish and getting burned out"
"A bit disappointed, redundant, 2.5 stars"
"Worst book ever"
"Very incomplete"
"Not quite a book, more like notes for a book"
"Don't be misled by this book! "
"Condescending, inacurate and redundent,, "
"For beginners, ONLY"
"More like---Aquariums Written By Dummies"
"Thumbs down! Way down!"
"Good intentions but misses"
"Not quite ready for prime time"

As read in the amazon.com page for this book.

I'm so glad you posted this on here, (and thanks to everyone else that posted too), because a lot of what I read in that book was VERY contradictory to what everyone on the boards were saying. And I would definately trust you guys over that book because you guys are the ones that actually HAVE the fish and HAVE the experience. When I read about "collecting rainwater" I was like...What the...!!!

[patoloco]

When I read about "collecting rainwater" I was like...What the...!!!

Rainwater can be collected as a source of soft acidic water. However, it can be contaminated by industrial pollution, debris fron the roof and pipes, etc...

If you decide to collect rainwater, i'd recommend using a wide non metallic bucket to collect it directly from the sky, not from the down pipes. Also, don't take it from the first rains. Wait till the rainy season is strong and several rains have come down. This will snsure there is less dust floating in the air.

After that, it should be filtrated using activated carbon or any other chemichal filtetrio to ensure a good quility for the fish.

NOTE: after typing all this I'd go out and buy a Reverse Osmosis unit if I neded softer water for my fish. :P