Dehumidifier Water - Anyone Use It?

[dogofwar]

I run a couple-month-old GE 70 quart dehumidifier in my garage fishroom. It works great and pulls the humidity down to a pleasant (55% or so) level. It also produces lots of water (which I collect in a bin and have been pumping out into the yard).

I really don't like to waste this much water and was wondering if I could use it to top off tanks or for water changes.

My main concern is that there is copper or other metals in the water. I tested for a couple of weeks with a piece of polyfilter. It would have turned green or some other color if there had been copper or some other contaminant in it. It did not (it stayed white).

What are the parameters of water from the dehumidifier?

Anyone use water from a dehumidifier?

Thanks,
Matt

 

[Pat Kelly]

I have used it in the past just to top off one tank. I used the water once or twice per week with no problems. I don't test water so I can't speak about parameters. Now I am piped straight out of the room. I hated having to empty it all the time.

 

[mchambers]

I routinely use it. Lots of folks on the interwebs will tell you how dangerous it is (copper, molds, evil microbes, etc.), but few people have tried it. It's never a big percentage of water in any particular tank, because the dehumidifier doesn't generate that much water. Like you, I tested it with polyfilter and it didn't turn any color.

No less a planted tank authority than Tom Barr has used it:

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/8...4-using-dehumidifier-water-2.html#post1646262

 

[finzz]

If it's no harm to the fish, then what would stop a person from tapping into the dump line from a heat pump or a/c unit all summer and plumbing the drain water into a holding tank for water changes? (I still say the best water falls out of the sky for free).

 

[Rasta Fish]

I tried it
more that just a top off though (30℅) in a 20H heavy stock juveniles killed alot of them
So my personal experience I would not use it again

 

[mchambers]

If I was going to use it to a significant degree, I would test more thoroughly.

 

[mchambers]

I tried it
more that just a top off though (30℅) in a 20H heavy stock juveniles killed alot of them
So my personal experience I would not use it again

That's not good. What kind of fish? Soft water fish or hard water fish?

 

[dogofwar]

What model / brand of dehumidifier? Any other details?

Matt

I tried it
more that just a top off though (30℅) in a 20H heavy stock juveniles killed alot of them
So my personal experience I would not use it again

 

[finzz]

I'd be willing to bet that the age of the unit will make a difference. When new and clean, the copper and solder on the coils will be much more likely to add metals to the drain water. Once the coils have a coating of slime on them, I would think that the water coming off them would be pretty safe.

 

[dogofwar]

From what I understand, the water that comes out of the dehumidifier is in essence distilled water + whatever contaminants are in the air + whatever biology is in the basin you're collecting it in + whatever heavy metals are potentially coming off of the coils.

Testing the water with polyfilter revealed no heavy metals (e.g. copper). Whatever is in the air is already being pumped into tanks via air pumps...and with aquariums we intentionally don't sterilize water (with chlorine, etc.) before adding it, so the bacteria, etc. in the tub I'm using to collect it (a 27g tub from Home Depot that I used to store / age water) shouldn't be an issue for aquarium use. I definitely wouldn't drink the water without chlorination.

The water is quite different in chemistry than tap (basically pH 7.0 without 0 hardness or alkalinity), so it would not be good for hard water loving fish.

Here's the plan. Gonna fill the tub with it... keep a chunk of polyfilter in the tub... and try it on some soft water fish.

Will report back on the results...good or otherwise.

Anyone else have any experience?

Matt

 

[JLW]

Matt, here's the thing ...
How many gallons of water are you pulling out of it per week? Pure and simple gallons.

I can get a 5-gallon jug filled up with perfectly pure water at the water store for something like $4. I can also take advantage of the reasonably good water that comes out of my tap plus a little dechlorinator. I can also set up a rain-barrel outside. All of these have negligible risks.

The water from your dehumidifier can container heavy metals. It can contain pathogens. It can contain dust. Maybe it won't, maybe it will... but there are plenty of incidents of people who have had problems with it.

What are your pet fish worth to you?

If you're using the water from your dehumidifier, AC, whatever to water plants, the lawn, etc., you're not wasting it.

 

[lkelly]

Matt, here's the thing ...
How many gallons of water are you pulling out of it per week? Pure and simple gallons.

I can get a 5-gallon jug filled up with perfectly pure water at the water store for something like $4. I can also take advantage of the reasonably good water that comes out of my tap plus a little dechlorinator. I can also set up a rain-barrel outside. All of these have negligible risks.

The water from your dehumidifier can container heavy metals. It can contain pathogens. It can contain dust. Maybe it won't, maybe it will... but there are plenty of incidents of people who have had problems with it.

What are your pet fish worth to you?

If you're using the water from your dehumidifier, AC, whatever to water plants, the lawn, etc., you're not wasting it.

Recent pic of Matt, perhaps taken in Uruguay:

 

[dogofwar]

My garage fishroom has many nice attributes...but a sink isn't one of them (I have a hose rigged to provide water for water changes but I need to turn it on from downstairs)... and the dehumidifier provides water that I otherwise need to get rid of on a daily basis.

Worth some water testing and an experiment with some fish that aren't pets yet

Matt

Matt, here's the thing ...
How many gallons of water are you pulling out of it per week? Pure and simple gallons.

I can get a 5-gallon jug filled up with perfectly pure water at the water store for something like $4. I can also take advantage of the reasonably good water that comes out of my tap plus a little dechlorinator. I can also set up a rain-barrel outside. All of these have negligible risks.

The water from your dehumidifier can container heavy metals. It can contain pathogens. It can contain dust. Maybe it won't, maybe it will... but there are plenty of incidents of people who have had problems with it.

What are your pet fish worth to you?

If you're using the water from your dehumidifier, AC, whatever to water plants, the lawn, etc., you're not wasting it.

 

[dogofwar]

Looks I can't pull off #3,123: a shirtless vest

Recent pic of Matt, perhaps taken in Uruguay:

 

[FishEggs]

I have a used laundry tub sink available if you want it.

 

[dogofwar]

Hmmm... might need to take you up on that...

I have a used laundry tub sink available if you want it.

 

[mchambers]

The water from your dehumidifier can container heavy metals. It can contain pathogens. It can contain dust. Maybe it won't, maybe it will... but there are plenty of incidents of people who have had problems with it.

Other than Craig's report, I haven't seen any cases where anyone actually had problems with dehumidifier water. Where have you seen them?

 

[finzz]

Other than Craig's report, I haven't seen any cases where anyone actually had problems with dehumidifier water. Where have you seen them?

I used to use it, but after getting advice of possible contamination, I stopped (then stopped using the dehumidifier anyway). I never had a bad reaction from any of my soft-water fish; some of which were pretty delicate. However; this doesn't mean it won't happen the first time someone tries it, so be careful!

 

[mchambers]

I used to use it, but after getting advice of possible contamination, I stopped (then stopped using the dehumidifier anyway). I never had a bad reaction from any of my soft-water fish; some of which were pretty delicate. However; this doesn't mean it won't happen the first time someone tries it, so be careful!

I've used in tank with red cherry shrimp, who are very sensitive to copper, and never had a problem. But I agree that you should be careful.

 

[finzz]

Hmmm... might need to take you up on that...

Matt; I don't know if you've got a drain in your fish room, but instead of tearing up the concrete to install one, I used a little hillbilly engineering and came up with an alternative. I roll it over by the fish room door, raise the wheels, and unroll the hose through the family room, out the back door and down the hill in the back yard. All I paid for were the hose and a few fittings to hook it up, the rest were castaways: old stenographer's table and a utility sink. It ain't pretty but it works.