cycle w/ lake/river water

[bluewater2006]

My office/tank is next to the Rainbow river , a crystal clear spring fed river, in florida. I am cycleing my 180ga tank and used half well water and half river water. Anybody tried this and how well did it work? Also when I do water changes I plan to use the river water as a replacement.
Do plant help cycle time? Best type?

2weeks into cycle
Tank: 180 Gal, pool sand
Filter Fx5
Fish: 3 Blue gill, 12 shiners. I know... too many fish too soon.
Future: 1 Large bass, 1 bowfin.

 

[Oddball]

I'd be inclined towards implimenting some type of micronic filtration for any water from a wild source. I don't care how "clear" it appears. I've done alot of diving and snorkeling in these spring fed waters around Florida. While the water appears to be clear, tell-tales show way too many unwelcome hitchhikers can be introduced to the aquarium if not filtered out. These include water mites, amoeboids, cyanobacteriae, leeches, mussel larvae, and many other potential pathogens that can cause serious harm to an aquarium. The water used should be filtered down to 1 micron and, preferably, sterilized with UV.
Also consider that the above will render the water safe from living pathogens and not aid in making the water safe from chemical contamination (commercial waste, agricultural waste/runoff, rain runoff, heavy metals, etc.). While river levels may be tolerated by fish, in the aquarium, these levels can easily reach dangerous proportions such as from water replenishment of evaporated losses. The chemicals remain and build up as new water is added without removing old water.

 

[Dr Joe]

My office/tank is next to the Rainbow river , a crystal clear spring fed river, in florida. I am cycleing my 180ga tank and used half well water and half river water. Anybody tried this and how well did it work? Also when I do water changes I plan to use the river water as a replacement.
Do plant help cycle time? Best type?

2weeks into cycle
Tank: 180 Gal, pool sand
Filter Fx5
Fish: 3 Blue gill, 12 shiners. I know... too many fish too soon.
Future: 1 Large bass, 1 bowfin.

Like Oddball says.

Unless your willing to put up with these little things.

Plumb the river and have 100% W/C's.
Maybe you could just put a wireless camera in the river and webcast

Who builds an office next to such a great place?

And is there room for my camper?!

Dr Joe

.

 

[bluewater2006]

Good point about build up...

I Will see how it cycles and check the water samples. I did run the water through the FX5 as a sump and then piped it into the tank. Not sure if it helped or not.

But the river is a great source of water... could be one of the cleanest in florida.. and the city water smells like rotten eggs. forking out the dough to get 60 gal of destilled water is to expensive!!

 

[RadleyMiller]

your best bet would be to buy an R/O unit

 

[Dr Joe]

your best bet would be to buy an R/O unit

Hhmmm, an RO unit for native fish...interesting. But it is obvious you've never seen this beautiful river.

Bluewater2006 where is your office located? I've done a\lot of camping at the old/new rainbow river campground over the years, it's our favorite place, the river is fantastic.

Dr Joe

.

 

[CHOMPERS]

So the water is kid tested, Dr. approved? Sounds like a winner. If you are located close to the spring, there is a point in the river where the fish do not go beyond in approaching the spring. This is because there is not enough O2 for them to survive. At that point, the little uglies do not survive either. That would be the best place to get your water.

 

[bluewater2006]

We are on Pennsylvania ave. it's about two block away from the bridge. It's not water front... I wouldn't get any work done if it was...

Here's our web site... www.Bluewaterdrafting.com

 

[Dr Joe]

Nice location, you can walk to the river on your 3hr lunch hour and catch us all some bowfins...Please

Except milkman407 he's going to be gone a long time.

Hey CHOMPERS...did you see bluewaterr2006's sig line...luv it .

Dr Joe

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[RadleyMiller]

Hhmmm, an RO unit for native fish...interesting. But it is obvious you've never seen this beautiful river.

Bluewater2006 where is your office located? I've done a\lot of camping at the old/new rainbow river campground over the years, it's our favorite place, the river is fantastic.

Dr Joe
.

I live in Delaware. Our water is green. Anyone hear of DuPont? They have factories on the river, so does the electric company, and sewage treatment, and the land fill. Look at a satellite view of Delaware, the water is brown and green. It's gross. Even the clear water has dissolved substances in it. Most places we cannot eat fish from because of PCBs, dioxin, mercury, heavy metals, and parasites. The Chessy isn't much better. They have pfiesteria.

So the water is kid tested, Dr. approved? Sounds like a winner. If you are located close to the spring, there is a point in the river where the fish do not go beyond in approaching the spring. This is because there is not enough O2 for them to survive. At that point, the little uglies do not survive either. That would be the best place to get your water.

Fish not living in rivers, sounds like Delaware.

BTW, snakes are awesome!