Using Rain Water in Aquariums?

chriscoli

chriscoli

Administrator
Very cool, Matt!

Not to dig up past issues from this thread, but...

I wen to one of the Montgomery County rainbarrel workshops and for $10, I got to go home with one of those recycled white soda syrup barrels, prepped, and with all of the parts to start using it as a rainbarrel that day. Mine smelled like fruit, so I strongly suspect it had a former life carrying Fanta. I've been enjoying it very much for the past 2 summers.

BUT, last summer I thought I'd use some of the water for my tanks and when I checked the pH just for giggles it was at pH 9!!!! I checked my meter...yep, the meter's ok. The TDS was also waaaay higher than my tap water, too. So, I decided that maybe this isn't the best thing for my tanks.

This lead me to three thoughts:
1. the rain at my house is really really full of funky stuff...
2. our new roof shingles are tainting the water...
3. the mosquito dunks change the pH...

I suspect #1 is unlikely.

#2 is possible since apparently we got a "bad batch" of shingles and they need to be replaced (still under warranty). All of the grit is washing off of them.

#3 During our rainbarrel workshop, we were told not to bother trying to screen off the water from mosquitos, since they had found that the mosquitos can lay their eggs in your gutters....the eggs get washed in (through the screen) during the rain...and you still get mosquitos in the barrel anyhow. They 100% recommend the mosquito dunks or bits. I keep meaning to test this out (it wouldn't be hard) but does anyone know if the dunks change the pH?
 
mchambers

mchambers

Former CCA member
Interesting. I'll check the ph of my rain water next spring, when I reconnect the barrels.

I would think new shingles are likely to leach something, so I'd go with #2.

As to #3, I haven't tested it. I can tell you that I've only seen mosquito larva in a rain barrel (last fall) once, and I've had at least one barrel for a decade.
 
mscichlid

mscichlid

Founder
DO NOT USE MOSQUITO DUNKS!!!!!!! The rainbarrell worshop is geared to folks who collect water for their gardens.
 
chriscoli

chriscoli

Administrator
What's the alternative, Fran? I've seen drops containing Bt (Bacillus thuringensis) for birdbaths that might work, too...

No mosquito control is not an option.
 
Tony

Tony

Alligator Snapping Turtle/Past Pres
Bump on an old thread. :)

In the fall I picked up two barrels from the Pepsi plant. Each has two small holes (probably 3.5" diameter) in the top, with plastic plugs that easily screw in and out.

The other day, I took them out, washed them off and out again and started looking at what I had. I'm planning something like this:

232323232%7Ffp63593%3Enu%3D34%3C7%3E846%3E257%3EWSNRCG%3D353267544%3A348nu0mrj


(Sorry for the out-of-focus picture of my crappy pencil drawing, lol)

I was planning on using standard fish tank bulkheads at the connection at the bottom with 1" diameter PVC. After thinking about it more (and rereading this thread), I'm thinking I should probably check out the Uniseals. I thought I could get away with using the standard bulkheads because I have a barrel I got from Franny that uses them. When thinking more about it though, that barrel is thinner material and probably conforms to the bulkhead pressure better.

So I was wondering about access to the barrel. Right now, I plan on cutting one hole, approximately 4"x6" in the top of the barrel on the right and the same size hole on the side of the left barrel. These holes will accommodate the supply and overflow pipes (corrugated plastic deals you get from Home Depot for extending your downspouts). Is this sufficient for cleanout or should I cut a bigger hole? Should I cut the top all the way off? If I do, just stretch screen over it? I feel like cutting the whole top off would seriously reduce the rigidity of the barrel.

Regarding the screen, where is the best place to put it for a trap? I can see stretching a mesh sock over the input quickly clogging up...

Or should I just accept the fact that crap will get into it, cut the top off and periodically clean out the leaves and junk out of the barrels? I assume you'd then want a strainer on the inside of each bulkhead, right?

So, anyone else need some Uniseals?

Thanks in advance.
 
chriscoli

chriscoli

Administrator
Tony, you are welcome to stop by and take a look at mine...it's also made out of the pepsi barrels. I've got the spigot (drain) connected right into the threaded hole on the bottom and it's lifted up on cinderblocks to allow for the plumbing underneath.

One thing that the folks who came up with the design of mine said....make sure you use an overflow size that's large enough. Lots of people were having issues during downpours where the overflow wasn't able to take care of the volume coming in from the gutter.

I have a strainer on mine http://www.aquabarrel.com/product_downspout_filters_Barrel_Topper.php but a lot of small stuff and gunk still gets through so I have to clean it out periodically. Usually this involves emptying the barrel, tipping it on its side, and hosing it out through the hole on top, and/or the overflow on the side.

I also have a downspout diverter on mine so in the fall it's easy to drain, and leave in place during the winter http://www.aquabarrel.com/product_downspout_diverter_y.php

So, all that being said...I checked the pH of my rainbarrel water without the mosquito dunks about a week ago and it's still nearly 9.0. We've been having some issues with our relatively new roof "degranulating" but the installation company (of course) says it's normal. We're seeking a second opinion.

Also, rain barrel water can stagnate and go anaerobic very quickly (within a few days), so keep an eye on it. A quick "sniff test" will tell you a lot about how it's doing.
 
Tony

Tony

Alligator Snapping Turtle/Past Pres
Thanks a lot Christine. :)

Nice hardware, but pricey. :s

You bring up a good point.... I need to check the pH of my water. We also got a new roof last year. :(

Maybe I should reexamine getting my RO setup running again....
 
mchambers

mchambers

Former CCA member
I use this diverter on one of my two rain barrels:

http://www.cleanairgardening.com/gawadoat.html

My other, newer, and better rainbarrel and I diverter is the RiverSafe Rain Barrel, shown on page 3 of the list of approved barrels on this page:

http://dcgreenworks.org/programs/ra...e/rain-barrel/installation-construction-mgmt/

I'm just showing these to you so that you get some ideas.

The first diverter doesn't have a screen on it, but not much gets in the barrel, because the hose coming up is pretty narrow, and leaves tend to get caught. Every fall, I drain it and get the gunk out of the bottom.

The second barrel had a screen (a mesh bag), but it came off last fall, and one of my chores this weekend is to recover it (it's in the barrel) and clean out the barrel.

The ph out of my barrels isn't as low as I would have expected. Our roof is about 6 years old.

I definitely would not cut the top off. I think it would cause structural issues. But you deal with structures a lot more than I d0.
 
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