Rain Water

[tpb31]

So, I am a newb to the hobby and I have an 80 Gallon reef tank. So far I haven't been able to get an RO/DI system in the house though, so I either buy gallons of distilled water or go to my buddies house and fill up my containers in thier places.

Today, we had a downpour, which is unusual for So Cal. But it made me think. Can I use the rain water? It wouldn't be that hard to create a funnel into a collection bin or one of my 5 gallon containers.

So my question to you guys is, can I use the rain? It would be convenient (as in I don't have to go to the store or my buddies house), cheap, and good for the So Cal water tables. What are your guys thoughts?

On a side note, I should have taken a sample and tested the parameters, but I didn't If it is still raining when I get home I might just do that.

[m2434]

IMO no way...

[MrRoo]

Rain is just as polluted . Especially here in SoCal with the all the pollution.

[tpb31]

Well I did call my wife and she put out a bucket. So I am going to measure the water parameters to quench my curiosity.

But thinking more about it, the term "acid rain" comes to mind...which as MrRoo says Rain is polluted.

[MrRoo]

Your water may test clean for ammonia, nitrates and nitrites but its all the pollutants/bacteria that are going to get into your water. You see that yellow cloud that is over us at times, would you want to drink/live in water that comes out of that?

[jamest0o0]

No No No, this isn't good for any animals including humans. Let alone creatures that live in water!

[jthao]

run a TDS with that water..... I bet you'll get 100s on the reading.

[seanb1]

rainwater works great on aquariums, i used it for 10 years raising discus, they are highly unforgiving fish, wont tolerate bad water at all.

there are certain parts of the united states that have acid rain, just do a search on the subject.

if i lived on the coast, i wouldnt worry at all about storms coming from offshore.

rainwater will test 1-10 in a heavy downpour, after the air has been cleansed of dust and airborn particles like pollen.

dont ever collect water that has ran off a roof or tree or anything really, except what you use to trap it. i always used a very large tarp, big enough to cover a houses roof, and had it funnel into a large barrel then had pvc pipe running to barrels in my basement, a heavy downpour with a large tarp will fill 4 55 gallon barrels in a short time.


test its ph, it should be 6.5-7.

theres nothing wrong with rainwater, where do you think rivers and lakes get theier water from?.

[seanb1]

Originally posted by jthao
run a TDS with that water..... I bet you'll get 100s on the reading.

ill bet you get somewhere in the area of 40, when the air has been cleaned of airborn dust the water could read 1-10.

[jamest0o0]

Freshwater fish in general are more forgiving than SW fish and especially inverts. Don't do it IMO.

[ricks]

Ahhhh, let's see, $10,000 worth of coral...

$300.00 for a quality RO/DI...

Seems like a no brainer????

Happy Reefing

[seanb1]

.

[seanb1]

Originally posted by jamest0o0
No No No, this isn't good for any animals including humans. Let alone creatures that live in water!

those must be some pretty nice ro/di units that god installed on all the lake rivers and oceans on whatever planet your living on.

[jamest0o0]

Nice way to prove your point by insulting me! Like said before freshwater fish are MUCH hardier than SW fish/inverts. And I know you have heard bigger=better before, this applys to larger bodies of water as well. Oceans also have their natural ways to filter water.

In the end it goes down to, do you really want to take the chance of crashing your tank that costed you thousands over a bucket of rain water? Not saying it will happen, but why risk it?

[george81]

Originally posted by jamest0o0
Nice way to prove your point by insulting me! Like said before freshwater fish are MUCH hardier than SW fish/inverts. And I know you have heard bigger=better before, this applys to larger bodies of water as well. Oceans also have their natural ways to filter water.

In the end it goes down to, do you really want to take the chance of crashing your tank that costed you thousands over a bucket of rain water? Not saying it will happen, but why risk it?

well put! you hit the nail right on the head.

there is a difference between 1000's of gallons which have been ecological stable for 1000's of years and a closed system comprising of 80 gallons.

[size=large]Comment like this have no place on Reef Central, make your point without the insults.[/size]

to the original poster, this is a great place that has a ton of good info unfortunately there is about double that in bad info here from people like seanndenise1 who dont care about the health and success of you re tank, but rather getting thier post count up...
if you are dead set on using rain water do the animals a favor dont set up a saltwater aquarium at all.

[ClarionAngel]

Just google acid rain and ask yourself if thats what you want in your tank.

[hawkeyes]

i would say there is a pretty big difference between rain water collected in heavily populated areas (SoCal) and sparsely populated areas (here in Iowa). IMO no 2 rainstorms will produce the same water chemically speaking.
sure it's cheap, but are you willing to risk it to save $$$?

[Flipper62]

WOW....I'm sorry, I just scrapped my old RO/DI unit & bought a new Ocean Reef +1 from the filter Guys for $199.99

$199.00 for a RO/DI unit...Vs loosing $1000.00 or more in fish & corals...Hhhmmm NOT worth taking the chance to me

Kinda reminds me of the guy that drives 40 miles to save 2 cents a gallon on a gallon of gas....BUT this is just my opinion

[MrRoo]

Ohh and just to let you guys know small bodies of water that get lots of runoff of dirty rain water kill off the fish in that body of water....

[Michael]

you only need to consider the crap our automobiles and industrial funnels are pumping out every day all over the world, i have heard that if you collect water after about 5 mins of aheavy downpour its ok to use for your freshwater tanks, personally i would not consider it on my marine tank, imo the original poster wanted to know if it was ok to use, id say get a ro-di machine-MUCH SAFER

[meco65]

Flipper62
Did you say you scrapped a old RO/DI. Did you toss it out.

[meco65]

If any one else has one to srap I sure do need one.

[tpb31]

Well, I collected a bunch of rain water, I am going to test it tonight just to see if I can come up with anything. I am not going to use it in my tank, so don't worry guys!!!

One of these days down the road I will get an RO/DI system. Right now my wife and I just bought a new house and our money is being used on other things right now...plumbing, new roof...etc. But I am planning on getting one around mid July.

On a side note, I do have to say, I haven't been here that long, but I am already noticing the same trend I have noticed in alot of other forums I have been in, I guess to sum it up in one word: immaturity. Hey, I started this thread to ask a question, we were all beginners at one point, we all had question and we all have our own thoughts on things. Why is it that we have to be insulting and belittle others when they think differently than you? Maybe instead of being an @$$ you could post what you think and why in a nice tactful manner. That way more people can see your point of view and understand why you think that.

[acrodave]

it rains in the ocean. and they get run off

[kau_cinta_ku]

not to start anything, but the rain we got last night here in NW iowa tested at 136ppm TDS. didn't test for anything else though. but I also agree, nothing beats a good quality RODI filter. at least with an RODI filter you know your not putting anything but H20 into your system and guessing what else is in the rain water