Source
r/Aquariums•
MacStylee

Anyone use rainwater?

I've been doing this for a while and it seems to work out reasonably well for me. I rigged the guttering in the house to empty into a series of bins. Whenever I need water for changes, I just pull it from the bins.

And then I dump the water from the tanks into the garden / potted plants around the place.

Sometimes there are dry spells, and the fish have to put up with fewer changes, but generally it's OK.

In the summer I'll chuck pieces of wood that I am sinking, or even some plants. Sometimes if I leave the water for a day or two I'll get mosquitoes laying on it, which the fish munch happily.

I'm sort of pleased with how the whole thing has been going. Has anyone else set something like this up?

Posted Mar 28, 2012, 3:10 PM UTC

823
so_then_I_said•

If it's working, great!
I'm a little wary to use runoff from the roof because I don't know what kind of minerals are coming off of the shingles or if there could be traces of roof tar. I use rain water from a container open to the sky.

7
NISPOMSPEC•

Shingles are made with a lot of different oils.

3
MacStyleeOP•

Well... so I thought about this. If the roof has been dry for a while, I will chuck the first barrel/ 1/2 barrel.
I feel that any soluble crap is more or less gone at this point, and I keep the rest.

I feel that the amount of stuff that actually dissolves is more or less negligible anyway. But, minus that first blast of water it's really at very low levels.

2
atomfullerene•

I'm pretty sure I've read that if you use rainwater for a garden, it's best to do exactly, that...disregard the first flush, use the rest. So spot on...

2
Rosc•

Don't forget to check your local laws before doing this. Depending on where you live, it may be illegal for you to collect rainwater.

7
pink_mango•

Really? There are places where it is illegal to collect rain water? Why on earth would that exist

8
TwoDeuces•

Because how are corporations supposed to sell you water if you have your own? Dummy!

Edit: Nooo Really. I want to know what dick hole is downvoting all of us for questioning this?

4
Karmakazee•

This is normally the case in western states. It's called prior appropriation. The theory is that the first property owner in time in a watershed to make beneficial use of a water source has the right to water draining onto their land--even before it reaches the rights holder's land. Thus, if a farmer downstream from you has been irrigating his crops from rainwater runoff coming from land you subsequently purchase, he can sue you for collecting that water, which under the state law belongs to him.

3
entotres•

I remember seing a youtube film once about an old lady who collected rainwater in a barrel in her yard. (It was in some desert state) and some news agency reported that it was illegal to do so without a permit. Something about the law was made because water was once so scarce in the area. (Which makes no sense I know.) But really, I remember seeing this a while back.

I don't think there is much to worry about though, sounds more like sensationalism tbh. But it exists.

Let me see if I can find it. Give me a couple of minutes...

EDIT: Well that took about 5 seconds. Here you go

1
pink_mango•

That's hilarious. What a weird thing to make illegal

1
aumanchi•

This person is correct, it can be illegal, but I'm sure nobody will even care unless you're doing it on a huge scale.

Edit: source http://www.naturalnews.com/029286_rainwater_collection_water.html

4
framauro13•

Sooo.... like a Bond Villain who plans on drying out the Earth by stealing all the rain?

5
TheBIGSUMO•

Weird, what reasons would they have for being against collecting rainwater?

2
SmokeNLark•

...What? I mean, I guess I could see where it is highly discouraged in places that high acid rain. But I can't see how it would be illegal.

2
NISPOMSPEC•

Fantastic idea... too bad it doesn't rain salt water.

7
dan2737•

That would actually be pretty bad if you think about it...

8
aaabballo•

Hahaha. It would

2
c0lin46and2•

This could be better than even RO water. And I live in Oregon so it shouldn't be too difficult to procure. Only problem is, I live in an apartment so I can't use your method.

1
porksmash•

Highly doubtful. It will be picking up all sorts of crap from the roof and gutters. Organic material will be decomposing and anything inorganic that may come from deposits on the roof or from the shingles themselves could be poisonous. Rainwater is also typically acidic:

The pH of rain varies, especially due to its origin. On Americas East Coast, rain that is derived from the Atlantic Ocean typically has a pH of 5.0-5.6; rain that comes across the continental from the west has a pH of 3.8-4.8; and local thunderstorms can have a pH as low as 2.0.

1
MacStyleeOP•

Well... I generally keep soft water acid tanks anyway.

1
IAmPigMan•

Just make sure you check the pH of the water, and you might want to consider adding some salt or minerals to it. If the water is completely demineralized (which rainwater should be, in theory) your fish will have trouble osmoregulating. It can lead to early kidney failure and bloat.

1
MacStyleeOP•

I thought about this too, funnily enough.

So I chuck some driftwood into the barrels to let it become soaked and sink. Sometimes this driftwood has been in the sea, so I figured that should be enough for the little guys.

2
Fishtails•

I wouldn't use rainwater from the gutter since it goes across the roof, which has all all sorts of unsavory stuff on it. But rain from a run barrel, I'd say just depends on where you live.

0