If you want to learn more about water parameters check out these videos! pH and Your Aquarium: ruclips.net/video/d9N-JliqsJg/видео.html Water Hardness in Your Aquarium: ruclips.net/video/xRYdtvakfv0/видео.html Here is an entire playlist containing videos related to water parameters: ruclips.net/p/PL79yWtqvNd3Uo2hsUai-Zhkc-O8_2j4IC Also, our new shirts can be found at: www.primetimeaquatics.com/merch For the latest in the fish room check us out on Instagram primetime_aquatics
I have kept Bluegill, but only had success when they were in a 55 gallon and had I kept them longer they would have been better off in a 75 gallon. They get quite large (typically 6") and are actually very aggressive when kept in captivity.
I started mixing rain water with my tap water when I started keeping chili rasboras, and it's been working great. I also have ember tetras, cherry shrimp, and cappuccino spike snails in this same mix, and they have all been thriving. I think it's a great alternative for people who don't have an RO/DI system.
Assuming the air where you’re from is relatively clean, rain water is basically RO water or distilled water. Use it the same way you would use RO or distilled water. Distillation involves the evaporation and condensation of water, and that is exactly how rain is formed as well.
I literally was about to ask your thoughts on this as I've been using rainwater for about 3 months now with no negative health issues at all for any of the fish. My reason is to get better water parameters for growing live plants. Before, my tank always had a ph of 8 to 8.2 and GH and KH off the scale. Ive gradually added rainwater of 50 litres to a 400 ltr tank every 2 days, and after a couple of months my tank seems to have stopped reducing the parameters. I now do 50 ltrs a week. The tank seems stuck on PH 7, GH 60-80 and the KH around 50-60 mark. As an extra my nitrates were always pretty high but now at around 10PPM or less. Whatever is in there is being consumed by the plants. So I would say ,as of yet it's been positive but do keep it monitored closely.
Our tap water in the midlands in the UK is similar to yours regarding hardness - unless you eliminate evaporation completely (I lose 1" per week from my 80G), or do 100% water changes, the aquarium water will slowly get harder and harder. I've started using rainwater recently to balance it back to where it should be out of the tap.
Same. 18 dgh where I am in the East Mids. I just keep Central American cichlids now and they love our water. Those hard water marks on the glass are a pain in the arse though aren't they?
Finally someone does a video about this. I work in the industry and have alot of customers who are on rainwater tanks (myself included) or have small tanks to catch rainwater. All seem to think that rainwater is perfect for fish. When i explain to them the issues they will face (as i do) they seem to think im a nutter. Then wonder why their fish keep dying when overnight the tank goes from 6.8 to 5
Usually collect rainwater to water my orchids and always thought about using it for doing water changes. Very helpful video, think I’ll continue with the tap water and conditioner 🤓
Thanks for the great information. Question, in nature fish live on rain water but is that different due to its environment, soil etc? What about those who keep outdoor ponds and built-in tanks which freely receive rain water? Once I kept a Snakehead at my balcony and it rained heavily. This Snakehead was a baby and was quite shy, but that day the tank was flooded with rain water. I went to look at it, the Snakehead was so active he looked so happy and interactive. He just had that fresh mood coming from him. That made me think about mixing rain water a lot or keeping outdoor tanks / ponds with only rainwater.
What he says about rainwater and pH fluctuations is extremely true. I manage 10 aquariums with varying substrates and stock levels. Using the same batch of water that tested at 7.0, within 2 weeks every single tank tested different, ranging from a pH of 5.5 to 7.5. The higher pH tanks all had either play sand substrate or landscaping marble decorations. The lower ones had aquarium sand or no substrates. This made moving my fish between tanks impossible. I am currently experimenting with a system where I collect 50 gallons of water in a rain barrel, filter it with a canister filter, then test and buffer with my tap water (8.5+ pH and VERY calcium rich) to get 7.5 pH, which is what my live-bearers prefer. Edit: I will also be adding salt to the new water to combat parasites and bacteria and relieve fish stress.
Great video! I got my first new tank last Tuesday. I’m currently trying to cycle it with algae wafers. I got a Top Fin 20 gallon tank with the purpose of creating a little nano community of tetras, shrimp, snails in a planted tank... the only problem I have been having is high temperature 80 F and a pH of 7.8- 8.0 and hard water and I’ve heard not many fish do well with those water parameters. I haven’t gotten fish cause I fear they’ll die... Loved this video. Been binge watching and learning from you all week.
Low hardness especially means that fish loose more electrolytes just "breathing" the water. This triggers them to express more active transporter channels in the gill tissue, which may take a few days. Some fish don't have that ability at all. From that explanation though, it's amazing that some tetras can go from relatively hard tap water to soft water without much fuss and start spawning almost immediately. Maybe they need the shock and stress to motivate them?
I have used rainwater successfully for my planted 75g with most tropical fish more so for the rainbow fish like threadfin which require a much lower ph and gh range.
I've been using rain water in my cement pond built in the 60s and aquarium for years. The cement seems to balance things a bit but I have some algae issues but with learning more from these videos and others I will have better control next year. Starting mixing hard well water in my aquarium and that seems to help a lot since I keep 3 Shubunkins in both pond and 75 gal aquarium overwinter with mystery snails to control algae now. More plants in both is the plan.
I have done this for soft water fish in the past. Particularly Betta. It works well and some fish do better with it. I live in a hard water area and I leave out a 220L barrel to collect rain water. I put some muslin on top to prevent any nastiness getting in. I live quite a few miles away from any industry, so I'm not sure I would risk it if I was close to a lot of manufacturing or where there is a risk of excessive emissions. Another challenge you have is getting the water to the required tank temperature, especially if you live in a temperate country like me.
I have never used tap water for my aquariums. I have been using rainwater for years now. I have water tanks. My water in Cape Town, South Africa comes from Table mountain. It is very good water.
5.5 for rainwater. Are you in an acid rain area? Or did it run through acidic material (bird poop?) on the way to the collection bowl? What would be interesting is if everyone watching this posted their rainwater pH values here so we could compare around the country. Use a bowl set out in rain, it doesn’t take much water. Southern Californians (like me)... may have to wait until December... or later. Then Professor Jason can compile his thesis and present it for publication... or make a video... Since we are stuck at home, are there any science - fish projects like this you can assign us? I think they might make for interesting videos.
Hey! Nope, just collected it right out of the sky in a bowl. That is pretty typical for rainwater across the country. Acid rain can actually drop it into the 4's!
Rain water is all I have. My PH is 5.3. I put a bowl of coral rubble in most of my tanks. My plants and fish look good. Because we don't get much rain I probably over plant my tanks because I can't water change as often as I'd like to.
I live in Australia, in a rural area, and my only water source is rainwater. The ph has always been consistently neutral, between about 6.8 and 7.2 here. I learned the hard way with waterborne parasites and lost a couple of prize fish before I realised what was happening. I now run my aquarium fill water through a special inline filter, designed for rv use by b.e.s.t. filters here in Australia... and the water comes out literally the same as ro water. I keep mainly Parachromis, such as Dovii, Jags, and Friedrichsthalii, so I use Seachem American Cichlid Salt to remineralise and buffer the water.
Thanks a lot for this video! I wanted to try a rainwater tank for a betta, but it definitely changed my mind. I may end up try half rain water or a less and see i those parameters would work. Hawaii's rainwater must be different from your rainwater since we are further from most heavy industrial pollutants, but we do have a volcano which could put sulfur into our rainwater... Time to experiment!
My tap water is very soft, so the rain water here would be very similar to the stuff I already use. If I had hard water it would be very different. I could see how it would matter depending where you live though.
My concern with collecting rain water from my roof is what it might pick up making it’s way to collection. Can the chemicals in shingles be picked up by water? What about insects and other critters in the gutters?
Hii i have a problem and need your help i had purchased a 3 feet aquarium last month it's set up fish added everything done but i didn't think how would i cover my back ground now it's set up i don't want to empty it or move it to paint the back glass can u plz suggest something in which i can make my background black without moving it
The easiest thing to do, and this is how Joanna covers all of her tanks, is with paper. You could get some colored construction paper and slip it back there and then tape it to the top, sides and bottom (as far as you can reach). They also sell the tank backgrounds and with two people you might be able to get it taped into place without having to move the tank?
I’m just figuring that it would be great to introduce ammonia and wait for it to become nitrates and really boost that beneficial bacteria bc it’s literally waist
So, I have known some old school people who have done that. I would say the fastest way is to either add cycled media into a tank from another tank or buy some Fritzyme 7 and you can add a small number of fish immediately.
Thanks I’ll just do what you said instead. I’ve never had fish but want to get started and been watching ur channel and aquarium co-op for about 2 days now.. going to keep watching y’all’s videos though before I do anything.
@PrimeTimeAquatics, I have a bucket that was initially clean when I left it outside 6 months ago. It collected rainwater while out there and eventually turned green and spontaneously grew some little white critters about the size of a grain of sand that swim around in the water and have gotten so thick in the bucket that you can see the water moving even at night. Is it safe to take a turkey baster full of this water and squirt into my aquariums?
Well, for us with no municipal water, who have catchment water in Hawaii, our water is acidic and soft. I behave to add minerals to get acceptable parameters.
Another great video!!! Have a a question ? What about small ponds( like a whiskey barrel size)? If I start it with tap water like yours and we get a large rainstorm soon after how would that effect the fish? Thanks 😊
Great question - yes, that would decrease the pH and water hardness. Believe it or not, this is a big problem for fish farms in Florida when it rains a lot. It throws off the water parameters for a lot of their outdoor breeding ponds.
The TDS coming out of my tap is 44. It's basically rain water. I use bags of crushed coral in the filters for the livebearers and neocaradina. My shellies have crushed coral as a substrate. Every tank has plants or pothos hanging out. I guess I need to get more South American fish!
Two of the channels I watch are Team Aquascape and Greg Wittstock the Pond Guy. They often set up systems to harvest rainwater to offset evaporation. In your opinion, based on the facts you're working with, good or bad. Or is it completely different since ponds are exposed to the elements 24/7 already?
Great question! Ya, ponds are a whole different story because the water is basically remineralized as it comes into contact with rocks and other Earthly products. :-)
I don’t think you have to boil it since it’s mostly sterile when it hits your collection container (unless it’s running off a roof or something). If that were the case I might boil it.
If you have a small 10 gallon (or less) tank you could probably leave it outside during a rain storm and not have to worry about where the rain is coming from.
I'm collecting rain water now and was going to test the water myself because I'm getting a group of 5 Ivanacara adoketa soon. The guy I'm getting them from has them in low pH and soft water. If my rain water doesn't show values for water hardness is there something I can do to change that to make it usable? I'm from northern Indiana and my water runs 8.0-8.2 out of the tap and I'd really like to be able to breed these when they mature.
You could start playing with a mix of rainwater and your tap water before the fish get there? Maybe start with a 50/50 mix and gradually work your way to increasing rainwater (or distilled water) until you reach the desired parameters. It may be hard to achieve at first and can be a little bit of a headache once living things are introduced. They also sell remineralization solutions too.
Just to be clear since it isn't in this video, there is nothing wrong with using rainwater at all, ever. There are only problems in how you collect it, store it, or use it. Those problems come about through lack of understanding, preparation, and such. The question should be, what are the advantages to using Rainwater/RO/Distilled over tap water. This usually comes down to controlling and knowing what exactly is in your water (RO/Distilled/Rainwater remineralized) vs only a general idea, and likely to change seasonally (tap). For some species its essential, for others, the benefits are more limited, but in all cases using Rainwater/RO/Distilled remineralized is definitely safer and better than using tap, just how much better for your situation is the question, and is it worth the extra hassle and effort.
I thought I made it clear that using rainwater requires remineralization. I also said if using straight rainwater it would be highly problematic when trying to stabilize water parameters.I also mentioned rainwater can be useful when keeping soft water fish provided remineralization occurs.
@@PrimeTimeAquatics It's easy to get the impression that you think using rainwater in aquariums is bad when you name the video "Using Rainwater in Your Aquarium: A Great Way to Destroy Your Tank?"
@@PrimeTimeAquatics It probably has something to do with "where" the water is collected. My experience is in a small country town in Australia - minimal pollution and coming off a colorbond roof. A really good thing to know would be the TDS of the water. For example my water has a TDS of around 8ppm.
@@PrimeTimeAquatics really enjoying content of you channel. I have a small Livestream talkshow every Monday "Late Night Talk" where I invite different guests every time. It would be my honour if you would be my guest at some point :) If not, of course I understand it... Thank you again and enjoy the rest of your day! :)
that took me back years ago when i was breeding and selling discus as a student (1980s), rainwater is what i used, ro units were the price of a small car then, it worked well for me, got me through first few years in college. did not do well for plants though. great video as always
I already tried construction paper but the fish splash water it goes in between the paper leaves had water stains and also damages the paper to the poin it gets torn any other suggestion plz
Depends on how the dehumidifier is maintained. If it is maintained (no fungal or excess bacterial growth) it can be used, but you would have all the same issues mentioned in this video with no GH and KH.
It's basically like using rainwater since it will have zero water hardness and low pH. I know people who do it, but you have to make sure there is no contamination in the collection tank.
I always wondered myself. I did a one tank test thru the summer last year. Used quite a bit, probably 25percent with WC. Never saw any kind of change. They were all pretty tough type fish so maybe that's why.
Great question! It usually has the same parameters as rain water. However, depending on the maintenance of the dehumidifer the water can be used in a tank more safely regarding low risk of bacterial contamination.
an interesting add-on to what you are saying is, that even pure water will quickly become acidic as it absorbs CO2 from the atmosphere, regardless whether or not the rain was "acid rain" or not. illustrates the importance of having buffers in the water.
It makes sense as of why the parameters of rain water is so low. It hasn’t gone though anything except for hitting your roof and into a container which means it hasn’t gotten any minerals or such to change the levels.
Wait 30 minutes before collecting the rain water, the water is prolly already clean at that point. If rain did not even last 30 minutes its not worth collecting.
I use only rain water for my discus. Specially when breeding. Only thing i agree on in this video is, you need to be certain that your water dont get contaminated on the way down to your container
The bottoms of lakes are lined with natural rocks and sediments that over time dissolves in the water contributing to the KH amd GH. If you use 100% rain water in your aquarium it is void of the minerals that is needed by fish and plants to survive. I used to do this before I knew what I was doing. My fishes even so called "soft water" once keeps dying.
Actually well water is very different form rain water because as the rainwater goes through the ground it combines with all kinds of minerals and usually winds up being considerably harder with a higher pH. I wish I had a well. :-)
@@PrimeTimeAquatics LOL Put a small clipper on your keychain so when you feel the slightest rough edge or anything you would normally bite at, clip it off right away so you won't have anything to bite or pick at. That's what I do. Or I guess you could just wear a mask 24-7 ;)
A lot of guys won't like this, but you could put a layer of clear acrylic or hard gel on your nails, and buff gently or put a matte top coat on if you don't want shiny nails. You just have to do this long enough to break the nail biting habit. Until salons are open, I would recommend hard gel as your easiest DIY version, look for a builder in a bottle type. You'll need a nail lamp, can get decent ones off Amazon for around $35.
If you want to learn more about water parameters check out these videos!
pH and Your Aquarium: ruclips.net/video/d9N-JliqsJg/видео.html
Water Hardness in Your Aquarium: ruclips.net/video/xRYdtvakfv0/видео.html
Here is an entire playlist containing videos related to water parameters: ruclips.net/p/PL79yWtqvNd3Uo2hsUai-Zhkc-O8_2j4IC
Also, our new shirts can be found at: www.primetimeaquatics.com/merch
For the latest in the fish room check us out on Instagram primetime_aquatics
I have kept Bluegill, but only had success when they were in a 55 gallon and had I kept them longer they would have been better off in a 75 gallon. They get quite large (typically 6") and are actually very aggressive when kept in captivity.
I live in Australia and ive used rain water for all my fish and i have 7 or 8 tanks and ive never had a problem
but the rainwater you use is in the faucet right it means it already filterd
Yes mine is already filtered our rain water in our house tanks, are 7.4 ph, not 5 like you suggested
@@missedtheeggmcintyre417 dunno what filter your using but my rain water is 5.8 in South Aus
I started mixing rain water with my tap water when I started keeping chili rasboras, and it's been working great. I also have ember tetras, cherry shrimp, and cappuccino spike snails in this same mix, and they have all been thriving. I think it's a great alternative for people who don't have an RO/DI system.
Is there any thing you do to the rainwater before you add it to your tank?
@@SerpentVenom25filter it
Assuming the air where you’re from is relatively clean, rain water is basically RO water or distilled water. Use it the same way you would use RO or distilled water. Distillation involves the evaporation and condensation of water, and that is exactly how rain is formed as well.
I literally was about to ask your thoughts on this as I've been using rainwater for about 3 months now with no negative health issues at all for any of the fish. My reason is to get better water parameters for growing live plants. Before, my tank always had a ph of 8 to 8.2 and GH and KH off the scale. Ive gradually added rainwater of 50 litres to a 400 ltr tank every 2 days, and after a couple of months my tank seems to have stopped reducing the parameters. I now do 50 ltrs a week. The tank seems stuck on PH 7, GH 60-80 and the KH around 50-60 mark. As an extra my nitrates were always pretty high but now at around 10PPM or less. Whatever is in there is being consumed by the plants. So I would say ,as of yet it's been positive but do keep it monitored closely.
Our tap water in the midlands in the UK is similar to yours regarding hardness - unless you eliminate evaporation completely (I lose 1" per week from my 80G), or do 100% water changes, the aquarium water will slowly get harder and harder. I've started using rainwater recently to balance it back to where it should be out of the tap.
Same. 18 dgh where I am in the East Mids. I just keep Central American cichlids now and they love our water.
Those hard water marks on the glass are a pain in the arse though aren't they?
Finally someone does a video about this. I work in the industry and have alot of customers who are on rainwater tanks (myself included) or have small tanks to catch rainwater. All seem to think that rainwater is perfect for fish. When i explain to them the issues they will face (as i do) they seem to think im a nutter. Then wonder why their fish keep dying when overnight the tank goes from 6.8 to 5
Thanks for sharing your opinion!
Good subject! I will add about 10% rainwater to some of my aquariums when I'm conditioning those fish for outdoor ponds.
Usually collect rainwater to water my orchids and always thought about using it for doing water changes. Very helpful video, think I’ll continue with the tap water and conditioner 🤓
Definitely. Rainwater can be great for bringing down hardness and pH, but you have to be very careful.
@@PrimeTimeAquaticswhat for
Thanks for the great information. Question, in nature fish live on rain water but is that different due to its environment, soil etc? What about those who keep outdoor ponds and built-in tanks which freely receive rain water? Once I kept a Snakehead at my balcony and it rained heavily. This Snakehead was a baby and was quite shy, but that day the tank was flooded with rain water. I went to look at it, the Snakehead was so active he looked so happy and interactive. He just had that fresh mood coming from him. That made me think about mixing rain water a lot or keeping outdoor tanks / ponds with only rainwater.
What he says about rainwater and pH fluctuations is extremely true. I manage 10 aquariums with varying substrates and stock levels. Using the same batch of water that tested at 7.0, within 2 weeks every single tank tested different, ranging from a pH of 5.5 to 7.5. The higher pH tanks all had either play sand substrate or landscaping marble decorations. The lower ones had aquarium sand or no substrates. This made moving my fish between tanks impossible.
I am currently experimenting with a system where I collect 50 gallons of water in a rain barrel, filter it with a canister filter, then test and buffer with my tap water (8.5+ pH and VERY calcium rich) to get 7.5 pH, which is what my live-bearers prefer.
Edit: I will also be adding salt to the new water to combat parasites and bacteria and relieve fish stress.
Great video! I got my first new tank last Tuesday. I’m currently trying to cycle it with algae wafers. I got a Top Fin 20 gallon tank with the purpose of creating a little nano community of tetras, shrimp, snails in a planted tank... the only problem I have been having is high temperature 80 F and a pH of 7.8- 8.0 and hard water and I’ve heard not many fish do well with those water parameters. I haven’t gotten fish cause I fear they’ll die... Loved this video. Been binge watching and learning from you all week.
Fish can adjust as long as the parameters are consistent and you’re not chasing numbers and making changes
They should be fine. I worried about the ph as well and I was so close to having neon tetras breed in what was possibly 8.5 PH! So close!
Low hardness especially means that fish loose more electrolytes just "breathing" the water. This triggers them to express more active transporter channels in the gill tissue, which may take a few days. Some fish don't have that ability at all. From that explanation though, it's amazing that some tetras can go from relatively hard tap water to soft water without much fuss and start spawning almost immediately. Maybe they need the shock and stress to motivate them?
I have used rainwater successfully for my planted 75g with most tropical fish more so for the rainbow fish like threadfin which require a much lower ph and gh range.
I've been using rain water in my cement pond built in the 60s and aquarium for years. The cement seems to balance things a bit but I have some algae issues but with learning more from these videos and others I will have better control next year. Starting mixing hard well water in my aquarium and that seems to help a lot since I keep 3 Shubunkins in both pond and 75 gal aquarium overwinter with mystery snails to control algae now. More plants in both is the plan.
I have done this for soft water fish in the past. Particularly Betta. It works well and some fish do better with it.
I live in a hard water area and I leave out a 220L barrel to collect rain water. I put some muslin on top to prevent any nastiness getting in.
I live quite a few miles away from any industry, so I'm not sure I would risk it if I was close to a lot of manufacturing or where there is a risk of excessive emissions.
Another challenge you have is getting the water to the required tank temperature, especially if you live in a temperate country like me.
I have never used tap water for my aquariums. I have been using rainwater for years now. I have water tanks. My water in Cape Town, South Africa comes from Table mountain. It is very good water.
I have well water but never get any proper knowledge about it. Hopefully you can do one about well water one time. Ty for your videos 😊
Great idea! Well water can be highly variable depending on where you live. Some people have very hard well water, while other people it isn't as bad.
Thank you Great amount of information like always! If anybody was thinking about getting a rain barrel going they may want to reconsider
5.5 for rainwater. Are you in an acid rain area? Or did it run through acidic material (bird poop?) on the way to the collection bowl? What would be interesting is if everyone watching this posted their rainwater pH values here so we could compare around the country. Use a bowl set out in rain, it doesn’t take much water. Southern Californians (like me)... may have to wait until December... or later. Then Professor Jason can compile his thesis and present it for publication... or make a video...
Since we are stuck at home, are there any science - fish projects like this you can assign us? I think they might make for interesting videos.
Hey! Nope, just collected it right out of the sky in a bowl. That is pretty typical for rainwater across the country. Acid rain can actually drop it into the 4's!
Rain water is all I have. My PH is 5.3. I put a bowl of coral rubble in most of my tanks. My plants and fish look good. Because we don't get much rain I probably over plant my tanks because I can't water change as often as I'd like to.
Can gold fish live in rain water (shubunkins) ..in your water ph levels
My rain water is 7.3
I live in Australia, in a rural area, and my only water source is rainwater. The ph has always been consistently neutral, between about 6.8 and 7.2 here. I learned the hard way with waterborne parasites and lost a couple of prize fish before I realised what was happening. I now run my aquarium fill water through a special inline filter, designed for rv use by b.e.s.t. filters here in Australia... and the water comes out literally the same as ro water. I keep mainly Parachromis, such as Dovii, Jags, and Friedrichsthalii, so I use Seachem American Cichlid Salt to remineralise and buffer the water.
Sounds like a nice setup!
Thanks a lot for this video! I wanted to try a rainwater tank for a betta, but it definitely changed my mind. I may end up try half rain water or a less and see i those parameters would work. Hawaii's rainwater must be different from your rainwater since we are further from most heavy industrial pollutants, but we do have a volcano which could put sulfur into our rainwater... Time to experiment!
If you do it, just start slow and see how it is impacting the tank.
My tap water is very soft, so the rain water here would be very similar to the stuff I already use. If I had hard water it would be very different. I could see how it would matter depending where you live though.
My concern with collecting rain water from my roof is what it might pick up making it’s way to collection. Can the chemicals in shingles be picked up by water? What about insects and other critters in the gutters?
Ya, all that stuff could wind up in the water.
hmm, do you think boiled rainwater might be good for topping off aquariums from evaporation?
I think that is a possible solution. :-)
That was really fascinating, thanks for the information.
My guy thanks for the video I was thinking of using rain water, water in Chicago kind of expensive LoL.
Glad I could help. :-)
Hii i have a problem and need your help i had purchased a 3 feet aquarium last month it's set up fish added everything done but i didn't think how would i cover my back ground now it's set up i don't want to empty it or move it to paint the back glass can u plz suggest something in which i can make my background black without moving it
The easiest thing to do, and this is how Joanna covers all of her tanks, is with paper. You could get some colored construction paper and slip it back there and then tape it to the top, sides and bottom (as far as you can reach). They also sell the tank backgrounds and with two people you might be able to get it taped into place without having to move the tank?
Awesome! I just use PH meter and TDS meter to see the adjustments in my apisto tanks when I add in rain water. I want that product!
Great video. ..I love the science and tech of our hobby. Have a great night.
Thank you!
If before you get fish can you pee ur tank a little to start the nitrogen cycle as long as you wait and test the water with ur test strips ?
I’m just figuring that it would be great to introduce ammonia and wait for it to become nitrates and really boost that beneficial bacteria bc it’s literally waist
So, I have known some old school people who have done that. I would say the fastest way is to either add cycled media into a tank from another tank or buy some Fritzyme 7 and you can add a small number of fish immediately.
Thanks I’ll just do what you said instead. I’ve never had fish but want to get started and been watching ur channel and aquarium co-op for about 2 days now.. going to keep watching y’all’s videos though before I do anything.
@PrimeTimeAquatics, I have a bucket that was initially clean when I left it outside 6 months ago. It collected rainwater while out there and eventually turned green and spontaneously grew some little white critters about the size of a grain of sand that swim around in the water and have gotten so thick in the bucket that you can see the water moving even at night. Is it safe to take a turkey baster full of this water and squirt into my aquariums?
I probably wouldn't? Although I know some people who would. Haha
Why wouldn't you? Also, what would the little white critters be?
Well, for us with no municipal water, who have catchment water in Hawaii, our water is acidic and soft. I behave to add minerals to get acceptable parameters.
As alway great Jason. Again exactly what I was looking for. Thnx
Another great video!!! Have a a question ? What about small ponds( like a whiskey barrel size)? If I start it with tap water like yours and we get a large rainstorm soon after how would that effect the fish? Thanks 😊
Great question - yes, that would decrease the pH and water hardness. Believe it or not, this is a big problem for fish farms in Florida when it rains a lot. It throws off the water parameters for a lot of their outdoor breeding ponds.
Hello I’m in Orlando and have a 20 gallon goldfish tank i was thinking about using rain water what you think.
Might wind up being a little too soft for them?
The TDS coming out of my tap is 44. It's basically rain water. I use bags of crushed coral in the filters for the livebearers and neocaradina. My shellies have crushed coral as a substrate. Every tank has plants or pothos hanging out. I guess I need to get more South American fish!
Heck ya! Take advantage of that water with the South American fish! :-)
Two of the channels I watch are Team Aquascape and Greg Wittstock the Pond Guy. They often set up systems to harvest rainwater to offset evaporation. In your opinion, based on the facts you're working with, good or bad. Or is it completely different since ponds are exposed to the elements 24/7 already?
Great question! Ya, ponds are a whole different story because the water is basically remineralized as it comes into contact with rocks and other Earthly products. :-)
I live in England 🇬🇧, south/East Essex, what if you boil rain water? Would that be OK for fish/Axolotls/Turtles?
I don’t think you have to boil it since it’s mostly sterile when it hits your collection container (unless it’s running off a roof or something). If that were the case I might boil it.
If you have a small 10 gallon (or less) tank you could probably leave it outside during a rain storm and not have to worry about where the rain is coming from.
Very interesting 🤔 I have never heard of anyone using rain water and it was never a thought for me.
And now it never will be....haha :-)
Especially if you're breeding neocaridina shrimp
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Oops 💀💀💀💀💀💀💀
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And it would be quick .
I'm collecting rain water now and was going to test the water myself because I'm getting a group of 5 Ivanacara adoketa soon. The guy I'm getting them from has them in low pH and soft water. If my rain water doesn't show values for water hardness is there something I can do to change that to make it usable? I'm from northern Indiana and my water runs 8.0-8.2 out of the tap and I'd really like to be able to breed these when they mature.
You could start playing with a mix of rainwater and your tap water before the fish get there? Maybe start with a 50/50 mix and gradually work your way to increasing rainwater (or distilled water) until you reach the desired parameters. It may be hard to achieve at first and can be a little bit of a headache once living things are introduced. They also sell remineralization solutions too.
Just to be clear since it isn't in this video, there is nothing wrong with using rainwater at all, ever. There are only problems in how you collect it, store it, or use it. Those problems come about through lack of understanding, preparation, and such. The question should be, what are the advantages to using Rainwater/RO/Distilled over tap water. This usually comes down to controlling and knowing what exactly is in your water (RO/Distilled/Rainwater remineralized) vs only a general idea, and likely to change seasonally (tap). For some species its essential, for others, the benefits are more limited, but in all cases using Rainwater/RO/Distilled remineralized is definitely safer and better than using tap, just how much better for your situation is the question, and is it worth the extra hassle and effort.
I thought I made it clear that using rainwater requires remineralization. I also said if using straight rainwater it would be highly problematic when trying to stabilize water parameters.I also mentioned rainwater can be useful when keeping soft water fish provided remineralization occurs.
@@PrimeTimeAquatics It's easy to get the impression that you think using rainwater in aquariums is bad when you name the video "Using Rainwater in Your Aquarium: A Great Way to Destroy Your Tank?"
Thought about this 45 minutes ago and this video uploaded 1 hour ago..
I was reading your mind. It's ok I have a license. Haha
Goodness how long was the rainwater standing? - Soon after rain acidic is normal, but it stabiles to around 7 after 24 hours. In my experience anyway.
Sorry but that's not a standard. Parameters will be different everywhere depending what it picks up on way to collection
I think it was in the container for at least a couple days.
@@PrimeTimeAquatics It probably has something to do with "where" the water is collected. My experience is in a small country town in Australia - minimal pollution and coming off a colorbond roof. A really good thing to know would be the TDS of the water. For example my water has a TDS of around 8ppm.
@@jeffreyklima7612 You are absolutely correct. But from where I am water that acidic is quite highly polluted water.
@Prime Time Aquatics Very useful video, thank you very much! :)
Thank you!
@@PrimeTimeAquatics really enjoying content of you channel. I have a small Livestream talkshow every Monday "Late Night Talk" where I invite different guests every time. It would be my honour if you would be my guest at some point :) If not, of course I understand it... Thank you again and enjoy the rest of your day! :)
I've used rain water in my aquarium for many yrs, we have filters on our big house tank, no harms to tropical fish
that took me back years ago when i was breeding and selling discus as a student (1980s), rainwater is what i used, ro units were the price of a small car then, it worked well for me, got me through first few years in college. did not do well for plants though. great video as always
Great for discus - bet they LOVED that! :-)
I already tried construction paper but the fish splash water it goes in between the paper leaves had water stains and also damages the paper to the poin it gets torn any other suggestion plz
Can you use the water of your dehumidifier??? it should be like aro right?
Depends on how the dehumidifier is maintained. If it is maintained (no fungal or excess bacterial growth) it can be used, but you would have all the same issues mentioned in this video with no GH and KH.
@@PrimeTimeAquatics οκ THANKS
I have guppies and plattys in my tank can i use rain water for them as ive just used tap water that ive treated
I think you would have to re-mineralize it since they both prefer harder water with a higher pH.
@@PrimeTimeAquatics thanks i appriciate u getting back to me so quickly i appriciate that
Do you have any recommendations for a 200 gallon
Stocking? If I had a tank that big I would probably do a colony of Vieja. :-)
Anyone else water changing right now
Me! Haha
@@PrimeTimeAquatics a water change in ur fish room is like a full time job
Everyday now with fry in the fish room lol
Yes 😂
Can I use humidifier water in my fish tank
It's basically like using rainwater since it will have zero water hardness and low pH. I know people who do it, but you have to make sure there is no contamination in the collection tank.
Is there a tool I can use to check dissolved oxygen in the water as well ?
There is, but they tend to get expensive.
Prime Time Aquatics I was curious because I believe my plants are “pearling” but I’m unsure... I too am simply curious 🤓
I am using well water..I use prime conditioner while water change.....
Interesting vid, p.s my husband is so jealous of your beard 😆
Haha. Thanks! :-)
Interesting video. 🤔
Good idea
What about dehumidifier water? I guess it depends on what I need.
I always wondered myself. I did a one tank test thru the summer last year. Used quite a bit, probably 25percent with WC. Never saw any kind of change. They were all pretty tough type fish so maybe that's why.
Great question! It usually has the same parameters as rain water. However, depending on the maintenance of the dehumidifer the water can be used in a tank more safely regarding low risk of bacterial contamination.
So in the wild the fish tell God to replenish the lakes, rivers, and oceans with tap water 🚿
In the wild it doesn't matter because the waterways are often lined with rocks that break down and provide the water hardness necessary for the fish.
What of you use just a little rain water to lower your PH
Sure - just have to test and see what the rainwater does to your pH and KH.
Rain water is good, just add a lil bit of kH to get the pH you desire GH has nothing to do with pH.
What if the rain is direct through my tank like no roofs, no anything, my tank is placed in a garden
Should I boil it to kill off microbes ?
You can, if it was collected from a roof. If it fell straight into a container it's probably not as necessary.
@@PrimeTimeAquatics sweet thanks for the reply
GH powders are much cheaper than replacing fish... and less hassle.
I see this question everywhere!
I do the opposite actually. I put fish tank water in my rain water barrels to use on the garden
That's a great way to give plants the nutrients they need!
Birds poop in lakes and rivers where fish are found? I would be more concerned about chemicals on a roof than animal waste, right? Or no?
Definitely!
Interesting
I only have rain water and never have problems with it over years
an interesting add-on to what you are saying is, that even pure water will quickly become acidic as it absorbs CO2 from the atmosphere, regardless whether or not the rain was "acid rain" or not. illustrates the importance of having buffers in the water.
Rainwater will have different parameters everywhere. Who knows what rainwater picks up on it's way to collection
The rainwater I collected came directly from the sky to the bowl. :-)
It makes sense as of why the parameters of rain water is so low. It hasn’t gone though anything except for hitting your roof and into a container which means it hasn’t gotten any minerals or such to change the levels.
Most roofs have asphalt shingles ,,,, very bad for living things ..
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Best topic ever, im out there collecting water daily,,,, we call it liquid gold baby! Im only happy when it rains ☔ tetra breeders unite!
Oh ya! Good stuff for you. :-)
I live in LA and I'm sure the rain here is waaaay too acidic for any poor fish to survive
I bet you are right!
Wait 30 minutes before collecting the rain water, the water is prolly already clean at that point. If rain did not even last 30 minutes its not worth collecting.
I use only rain water for my discus. Specially when breeding. Only thing i agree on in this video is, you need to be certain that your water dont get contaminated on the way down to your container
Rain water is great for discus since they are soft water, low pH fish.
Not to mention the pollution that rain gets in the sky..acid rain is still a thing.
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Just think of it, if you can't use rainwater in your aquarium, then how come there are a lot of fishes in the ocean, rivers and lakes? duh 🙃
Ya, but those natural water ways have natural rock deposits contributing GH and KH. We just have to add it if we use rain water.
Really
where is the problem? you can remineralize the rain water to the exact needs of your fish,
Very true, but many people wouldn't think to do that.
"LLUvia acida" les dice algo?
Rain water for my Nepenthes.
Ill buy your beard
Nice :-)
Rainwater dangerous, I guess rain ruins lakes
The bottoms of lakes are lined with natural rocks and sediments that over time dissolves in the water contributing to the KH amd GH. If you use 100% rain water in your aquarium it is void of the minerals that is needed by fish and plants to survive. I used to do this before I knew what I was doing. My fishes even so called "soft water" once keeps dying.
I have a well so thats basically rain water anyway lol.
I know, not exactly.
Actually well water is very different form rain water because as the rainwater goes through the ground it combines with all kinds of minerals and usually winds up being considerably harder with a higher pH. I wish I had a well. :-)
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Still have to use chemicals
If you live in a heavily polluted area rainwater will make your fish mutate 😁
Yep...acid rain...lol
Well you do filter the rain water duh
Fish don’t care
I live off grid rain water is the best
So rainwater for your south american blackwater tanks LOL
There you go! :-)
you need to stop biting your nails 😂. i used to do the same few months ago. stoping is quite hard.
I can't man! I'm an addict. :-)
@@PrimeTimeAquatics LOL Put a small clipper on your keychain so when you feel the slightest rough edge or anything you would normally bite at, clip it off right away so you won't have anything to bite or pick at. That's what I do. Or I guess you could just wear a mask 24-7 ;)
A lot of guys won't like this, but you could put a layer of clear acrylic or hard gel on your nails, and buff gently or put a matte top coat on if you don't want shiny nails. You just have to do this long enough to break the nail biting habit. Until salons are open, I would recommend hard gel as your easiest DIY version, look for a builder in a bottle type. You'll need a nail lamp, can get decent ones off Amazon for around $35.
My friend, stop biting your nails... It will be good for you body. 🙏👍Just saying..
Talk to much
Well, it is a video about someone explaining the pros and cons of using rainwater. I could try using a picture book next time. 😀