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hey guys,i asked about rainwater a while back,and got bombarded with replys saying it was no good,dirty,rainwater caught nasty pollutants as it falls to earth,then they would end up in the tank killing your fish,or making them ill!
so after this i didnt bother trying it!
well ive red a few posts on this site,and a couple of members have been having great sucsess with rainwater,the fish have responded well to it,its even caused sevral fish to spawn!
i also use another fish site and 1 member there swore by it,he said he collects it throo a system that he built(very cheep and easy too)then he ages it,dosent use any chemicals then adds it to his tank,id probly still want to use atleast a buffer,to keep my ph level.
but im really thinking od whipping up a little catchment system,then giving a go!so im a bit confused,im thinking its more of a personal prefrence.
how many of you guys use rainwater?
do you think it would do any harm trying it on my mixed cichlid tank?

though ive never done it ive always wondered since ive heard others who have had great success with it.it wouldnt do anymore harm than kill the fish but if you have a few extras,something that breeds like rabbits such as convicts,it wouldnt really hurt.

Collecting rainwater varies too much to compare what someone else does.
It depends on your location city or country.
Type of storage unit even its age.
Location as to which direction the rain comes from does it come over a very populated area or from a water catchment area.
How it is collected by that I mean roof type and age.
In some circumstances it would pay to have a run off before you started collecting the water.
Being pure (that if it is) you would possibly have to add different minerals etc to make it suitable for fish.

I used it several times and I am 75klm from Melbourne City center and it caused a few deaths so never again.

Another example a relation lived over 100 miles from the city center and 90% of the roads were all brown dirt and dusty, the roof was old, the tank was old, birds and possum's were always on the roof and the water was impossible to drink it had to be boiled first and even then it tasted muddy. No city pollution there just the location and water collection

Think of this two houses side by side one has an old cement tiles a concrete tank and the other has every thing set up corectly to store drinking water and a filters it before it comes into the house. Which one would you use?
Not a hard decision but both collect water same time and location.

Have a look in [link=My Profile] http://www.fishprofiles.com/forums/member.aspx?id=1935[/link] for my tank info
Look here for my
Betta 11Gal Desktop & Placidity 5ft Community Tank Photos

Keith

Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
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mmmm thanx keith,anyone else got any pros and cons!

We're on tank water now, the fish were raised on brisbane city water, and later had bore water, now rainwater.

*shrug* they're fine. Not sure what to say We switched them over through two sets of 50% water changes. Even though they'd been on rainwater water changes at our old house for about a year.

Havent had a problem with it, fish seem fine, Dont have a need for carbon the water looks fine in the tank, tastes fine in the glass. All we do is run it through a brita filter for ourselves, but it's also just fine straight from the tap.


^_^

What sort of fish are being kept with the rainwater?
Also, im quite interested to know what pH it is when it falls?
Is this the water from those HUGE towers you showed a picture of?

Ya mez, the water comes from those tanks... I'll test the ph of the water next time it falls and compare it to what's in the tanks.

We've got silver dollars, clown loaches, yoyo loachs, wcmms, a blue ram, and some kribs

In the office tank we've got an upsidedown cat, and a perspicax, we add rift salts to that tank.


^_^

ok thanx.
well im going to catch some,just in one of my waterchange containers.
then ill do some tests on it,to check ph ,etc,etc!
if the test results are ok then ill give it a go.

Hi,
The problem with using rain water is that the rain can
become contaminated as it falls to earth, or by the
surfaces it runs across as it travels to the collection
point, and there it can be contaminated if it's not
covered (protected).

Here in the States, many times the rain falls through
clouds of gases from industry stacks and becomes
contaminated with the various particles that make up the
smoke or smog. Here, in places the rain is actually turned
acidic ("Acid Rain" ) and is not healthy for use in our
aquariums.

If the catch area is not protected from animal contamination,
such as bird droppings or four footed critters wading and
eliminating in it, then you should not use it either.

Those that are using it, live in areas where the rain is
not contaminated, and they protect it after it is trapped.
Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

so even if the tests i do return good results,the water could still have nastys in it?...mmmmm now im starting to have second thoughts.
the guy who swore by the rainwater,once i seen his babies and pictures of mum and dad,i was convinced,and they were raised in rainwater,what i mite do is ask him,where he lives,city or country...

If you are just doing buckets, you might want to put the buckets out after it has been raining for a little while first. The initial water will collect most of the dust/pollen/etc and stuff from the air, which you don't really want in your tanks.

I know many people on rainwater tanks now, and the fishkeepers tend to use either 50-100% on water changes. There doesn't seem to be a big difference in death rate. One in particular has more success with rainwater because the local water pipes are very old. She calls her normal water supply "finrot on tap", and it is quite appropriate.
Those who use collected water, either as standard water change water or for triggering spawning, uses some sort of carbonate source in the tank or filter.

Are you in a major city or industrial area?

What system are you thinking of using to catch it? House roof and storage tank?

For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

i live in the city,we have had a down pipe,from our roof replaced about 4 months ago,as it was rusty and no good anymore,so i was going to put my water catchment filter on this down pipe,just over half way down,then the run off into my plastic barrels.
i had a look at it yesterday,it will be pretty easy to set up.
the roof where the gutters are,they are fairly clean!

some peole mite consider this a waste of time,as the tapwater here is pretty much spot on for the fish i keep.
but as i said b4,the results this guy has gotten from rainwater,are just great,oh and i found out he lives in the city too.also calla you were spot on,he also does exactly what you said,he puts he plastic drum under his catchment system,after it has been raining for 15 mins,or rains heavy and fast.