Collecting water from gutters

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bobblehead27

Piranha
MFK Member
Apr 15, 2010
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Tampa Area
Would the rain from my roof be acceptable water to use in a tank? I'd put a screen before the collection to stop any debris from entering, but didn't know if the water itself would be contaminated by the shingles
 
I use and have used rain water off the roof all the time.
That said........I used one barrel to settle out solids, just take, and/or took the water from the lower one for my tanks in the states.

Here in Panama I live in the middle of nowhere so pollutants aren't a concern
And its not always the stuff you can see, that could be a problem, but the invisible chemical stuff that could be the most harmful.
How is air quality in Houston? Smog laced with chemical pollutants, or not?
You may want to do a pH test on the rain water, if the rain is acidic it could be good for some fish, and not good for others.
What species of fish are you keeping? If Amazonian species, a little acid in the rain could be fine.
If Central American, or rift lake African, a little acid in the rain could be "not" so healthy.
 
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I use and have used rain water off the roof all the time.
That said........I used one barrel to settle out solids, just take, and/or took the water from the lower one for my tanks in the states.

Here in Panama I live in the middle of nowhere so pollutants aren't a concern
And its not always the stuff you can see, that could be a problem, but the invisible chemical stuff that could be the most harmful.
How is air quality in Houston? Smog laced with chemical pollutants, or not?
You may want to do a pH test on the rain water, if the rain is acidic it could be good for some fish, and not good for others.
What species of fish are you keeping? If Amazonian species, a little acid in the rain could be fine.
If Central American, or rift lake African, a little acid in the rain could be "not" so healthy.
Thank you, I will research the air quality since I am fairly close to a couple airports I am a bit nervous about that.

They would be going into apistos tanks probably. I have both the tanks up and running with guppies for 4 months now, but haven't pulled the trigger on the main fish yet.
 
Would the rain from my roof be acceptable water to use in a tank? I'd put a screen before the collection to stop any debris from entering, but didn't know if the water itself would be contaminated by the shingles

I hope so, I've been using it exclusively for almost 20 years.

Don't know what air quality is like in Houston though, I wouldn't expect it to be too horrible.
 
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Thank you, I will research the air quality since I am fairly close to a couple airports I am a bit nervous about that.

They would be going into apistos tanks probably. I have both the tanks up and running with guppies for 4 months now, but haven't pulled the trigger on the main fish yet.

You'll probably have to pump that water slowly through a Reverse Osmosis System just to be sure.
 
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