Using rain water in freshwater aquarium

[fishy100]

Using rain water in freshwater fish aquarium. Is it safer than tapwater?

 

[Rbishop]

You could never collect enough rainwater to do a full maintenance routine for most folks. And even if collected straight from the sky it can harbor bad things. Most test kits won't even test for it.

 

[myswtsins]

Tap water rarely changes day to day, rain water can vary drastically. Rain water can have all sorts of nasty things in it or be the purest water on earth, depends on so many things that we have no control over. If you live in a rural area the rain is usually safer than in urban areas but still uncertain. If you ran the water through a micron and/or carbon filter before use though I think you can eliminate most things but at the point it'd be easier (and safer) to just use RO water. I considered rain water for a minute but didn't seem to be worth it. Gotta collect it, store it, keep it moving and clean, transfer it, filter it.... Nah. BUT some people get lucky and it's easy free water.