Rain Water for water changes?

[jandj88]

Does any one use rain water for any part of their fish tank processes? My angels seem to enjoy the water changes with rain water.

 

[HighBackRTG]

I've thought about it to help get them into the breeding mood. Sadly, the rain water here in NYC is a tad bit acidic and would probably hurt them more than it would help.


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[eklikewhoa]

Some places get bad run off in the rain water and contaminants, I would much prefer to age/make my own water in a controlled environment.

 

[jandj88]

Well I catch the rain in five gallon buckets. I also melt snow during the winter.

 

[jabsthetank]

Isn't rain water acidic? Cichlids do like acidic water.

 

[Gill Blue]

south american cichlids prefer the lower pH. never try this with african cichlids unless you've got a LOT of buffering capability. they need the hardness of minerals in their water that rain doesn't have.

 

[HighBackRTG]

Isn't rain water acidic? Cichlids do like acidic water.

An acidity of ~6 is nice. However, like the previous poster said, sometimes rain water contains a lot of contaminates. When I said "a tad bit acidic", I meant to say that the average ph of rain water in NYC is about 4.5. That's a little too low and why buffer it when you can get tap at ~6-6.5.


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[jandj88]

I live in the country so I have a well so most of the water comes from there. My angels love it. The Dempseys like it. The Blue gouramis seem to thriving in it to. Got a batch of around 200 betas out of a bucket of rain water. Maybe the rain is not that bad here.