Using tap water

[gofish0924]

I'm sure that titled alarmed you all - i'm not using tap water anymore.

but i used to use tap water that had been sitting for a few weeks until chlorine and so forth evaporated.

and he was fine with it. i just switched to spring water after doing some reading. was it just a matter of time before he got sick or could he have been really ok w/the tap water?

[bettons]

Well, At first I used spring water because I tought it was better, but then I was spending too much money on spring water, so I started doing some research on my tap water and now I use it. look up in google for the anually water report of the area where you live. I live in New York city and tap water only contains chlorine so I use any kind of conditioner that gets rid of chlorine and heavy metals. Also let water age for about 48 hours in addition with the conditioner to make sure any impurities such as any left chlorine residue evaporates, and its all set, or at least that's what I do and my fish are very healthy.

[sawcat]

I've had my betta for over a year and a half and he's been on tap water almost the whole time.

You can look up the water report, go to your city or county's government site and it should be posted under the water department's section. They usually distribute them yearly to the public as well, via the mail or something.

[accountingchick]

gofish0924 said:

I'm sure that titled alarmed you all - i'm not using tap water anymore.

but i used to use tap water that had been sitting for a few weeks until chlorine and so forth evaporated.

and he was fine with it. i just switched to spring water after doing some reading. was it just a matter of time before he got sick or could he have been really ok w/the tap water?

You even have to be careful with spring water. I was going to use it until I tested the ph levels in the bottle that I bought, which was at 8.4 so I just use tap water because my fiancee and friends work at a local environmental laboratory and they test the local water frequently so I know exactly what is in my city water and I know that it is safe.

[gofish0924]

hmmm...interesting...so i guess our water's not so bad. i'm in DC and there was concern this past year about lead in the water. we got warned and the booklets and stuff. i will have to test it and see.

[amanichen]

gofish0924 said:

hmmm...interesting...so i guess our water's not so bad. i'm in DC and there was concern this past year about lead in the water. we got warned and the booklets and stuff. i will have to test it and see.

If you're using a water conditioner then it should deal with heavy metals.

[gofish0924]

i didn't use anything. just let it sit for a week or two.

[accountingchick]

gofish0924 said:

i didn't use anything. just let it sit for a week or two.

I believe that letting the water sit out for a couple of weeks only removes the chlorine, not the metals. I will have to talk to my experts to make sure that I am 100% correct, but I think I am. If anyone knows differently please say so.

[amanichen]

accountingchick said:

gofish0924 said:

i didn't use anything. just let it sit for a week or two.

I believe that letting the water sit out for a couple of weeks only removes the chlorine, not the metals. I will have to talk to my experts to make sure that I am 100% correct, but I think I am. If anyone knows differently please say so.

*cough*
s94779296.onlinehome.us/website/Fish/articles/tap_water_conditioning.html

*cough*

[gofish0924]

oh no, i got him off tap water as soon as i read about it. i'm not doing it anymore. b/c he did fine w/the tap water, i was just wondering how that could be. guess he's just tough.

[accountingchick]

amanichen said:

*cough*
s94779296.onlinehome.us/website/Fish/articles/tap_water_conditioning.html

*cough*

It looks like one of our HB experts has given you a link to the 100% correct answer. Thank you wise one (amanichen). hehe

[gofish0924]

hi all, so i finally got a fancy water testing kit and tested the water in the tank and the tap water that i had let sit for a few weeks. here are the results:

spring water pH=7.4 - 7.8 amonia=1.0 nitrite=0 nitrate=10
aged tap water pH=7.4 - 7.8 amonia=1.0 nitrite=0 nitrate=20

so it seems my tap water should be good to use as long as i use something to condition it for chlorine and metals, right?

amonia's a little high in both cases but from what i read it seem like it's better to leave it alone.

thanks for your help!

[Rachel]

gofish0924 said:

hi all, so i finally got a fancy water testing kit and tested the water in the tank and the tap water that i had let sit for a few weeks. here are the results:

spring water pH=7.4 - 7.8 amonia=1.0 nitrite=0 nitrate=10
aged tap water pH=7.4 - 7.8 amonia=1.0 nitrite=0 nitrate=20

so it seems my tap water should be good to use as long as i use something to condition it for chlorine and metals, right?

amonia's a little high in both cases but from what i read it seem like it's better to leave it alone.

thanks for your help!

Hmm...you got an ammonia reading right out of the tap and from the spring water? If you detect ammonia, this is not something to just leave alone, as it is harmful to fish. What test kit are you using (brand)?

Did you check out your city's water report? If you're going to use your tap water, be sure to check this out and then use water conditioner appropriately (chlorine vs. chloramine). You can see if your local report is online here: yosemite1.epa.gov/ogwdw/ccr.nsf/America?OpenView&Count=700.

[gofish0924]

i will have to check what test kit it is. i thought i read a posting about how it may be worse to mess with the amonia levels. is 1.0 high? i thought it was strange that they were both almost completely identical. but i rinsed and dried the tubes completely before i did the second set of tests.

[twoluvcats]

you want your ammoina to be 0 at all times...its rather shocking its coming out of your tap at 1.0...ammonia is what KILLS your fish, any at all is problematical, and can be deadly.

What kind of test kit is it...does it have 1 bottle of drops, or 2 different bottles?