17 replies to this topic

[Josh Blaylock]

So I'm thinking of getting a rain barrel and using that for aquarium water.  Is anyone doing this, and can you provide feedback?

 

I have a few concerns:

#1.  Water getting stagnant

#2.  Contaminates from the roof

#3.  Pumping system to fill the tank.

 

Any thoughts on this.  For a pump, I suppose any inline pump would work, and use a garden hose, as long as it's strong enough to pump it the distance.  For #2, I feel like if you're not pumping from the very bottom of the barrel, you won't pickup any of the roofing materials. 

[littlen]

You'd look fancy with one of these in your backyard:

 

[Moontanman]

So I'm thinking of getting a rain barrel and using that for aquarium water.  Is anyone doing this, and can you provide feedback?

 

I have a few concerns:

#1.  Water getting stagnant

#2.  Contaminates from the roof

#3.  Pumping system to fill the tank.

 

Any thoughts on this.  For a pump, I suppose any inline pump would work, and use a garden hose, as long as it's strong enough to pump it the distance.  For #2, I feel like if you're not pumping from the very bottom of the barrel, you won't pickup any of the roofing materials. 

 

I've found that growing Azolla on the surface of the stored water keeps it fresh and clean...

[gerald]

Depends on your roof materials and age.  some shingles have algae/fungus-inhibitors (copper, zinc, etc).  I would test it for a couple months on some expendable fish.  I have rain barrels and use it to some extent in tanks, but not much since my tap water is very soft anyway.  Mine are on the north (shady) side of the house.

[mattknepley]

My trash can rain barrel is not used for water to harvest, it is mostly in place to prevent run-off from the roof from carving a big honkin' crater in the back yard. We live in a mill village in a good old brick house built in 1925. Like many of the mill houses, our roof is the original slate tile. (Plus whatever else they may have treated/processed the slate with back then, and has dropped out of the sky on it, or collected and grown on it in the last 92 years; I don't want to know.) I do not use the water for fish tanks, but it supports gambusia and Redbreast Sunfish long-term. My 100g stock tank pond also receives roof run off, though not as much, and it supports vaarious darters, Greenfin, Yellowfin, and Dusky Shiners; Flat Bullheads and Blackbanded Sunfish very well. Eastern Mudminnows,however, can't seem to make it but a couple days in there. Soooo, if the water of dubious quality rolling off my roof will support those fishes, I bet you have a pretty good chance of being able to use rain water, too. I would think a simple bubble aerator or cheapie Sun-Sun current generator would turn over water enough to prevent stagnation.

[gerald]

I would trust old slate more than I'd trust modern asphalt.  Mine's an old mill village house too, 1904.  The original wood shingles are visible in the attic, but were covered over with plywood and asphalt shingles probably in the 70's. 

[Matt DeLaVega]

I wouldn't hesitate.

[Matt DeLaVega]

I take that back because I have been to Josh's house, I know that he does not live directly across the street from farm fields that get sprayed, in which case I wouldn't use water from a rain barrel, we never drank our cistern water growing up for this same reason.

[UncleWillie]

The only other thing that should be mentioned is that rain can be quite acidic (low pH).  A friend used crushed coral in the bottom of his rain barrel to help with this, but this was all just trial and error and there were no hard numbers to back this up.

[Josh Blaylock]

The only other thing that should be mentioned is that rain can be quite acidic (low pH).  A friend used crushed coral in the bottom of his rain barrel to help with this, but this was all just trial and error and there were no hard numbers to back this up.

 

How about limestone?  I have an abundance of that.  I understand it's often used as a PH buffer.

[gerald]

That'll work too, or oyster shell, or pelleted lime for lawns.  Rainwater is often acidic, but it's a very weak acid and it takes very little carbonate or bicarbonate to neutralize it.  The carbonate buffering already present in your aquarium may completely negate rainwater's acidity as soon as you add it to the tank anyway, if you're changing not more than half the tank volume.

[Josh Blaylock]

So I haven't bought a rain barrel yet, but I've been collecting rainwater in 5gal buckets when the opportunity arises (it rains).  I've been topping off my tanks with this water and I've noticed a few things.

 

#1.  The fish seem to like it.  They are move active and colorful after adding the rainwater.

#2.  The rainwater seems to always have a yellowish tint, any reason for that?

[Matt DeLaVega]

Pollen on your roof. Leaves in your gutters. Those come to mind as possibilities.

[Michael Wolfe]

depending on how quick you are to get it from outside to inside, I would bet that the fish are loving the free meals that are showing up as well!

[Josh Blaylock]

Pollen on your roof. Leaves in your gutters. Those come to mind as possibilities.

 

I was thinking it may be pollen.  I shouldn't have too many leaves in gutters due to where the trees are in relationship to my house.

[Moontanman]

 

I was thinking it may be pollen.  I shouldn't have too many leaves in gutters due to where the trees are in relationship to my house.

 

All the rain water I collect, even in free standing containers simply catching rain as it falls is slightly brown. Not sure why... 

[Matt DeLaVega]

Dust, pollution etc.? I will have to take notice.

[Josh Blaylock]

 
All the rain water I collect, even in free standing containers simply catching rain as it falls is slightly brown. Not sure why... 

Yeah, mines kinda brown/yellowish

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