I've been collecting rain water passively through some plastic totes on my balcony. I have tiny holes drilled (less than 1cm diameter) on the top to have water drain down but keep bigger bugs out. I'm assuming smaller bugs can work their way down if they want to. Thank for the input!
How Long is Rain Water Good?
- Thread starter Cal
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Becca
Members
Forever? I mean, if you're worried about stagnation you can always put an airstone in your bin for a day or two before using it...
CSnyder00
Bearded Wonder
I like this idea with the small holes to separate solids. You could also drill bigger holes and use some filter floss to separate out solids.
That’s exactly what I was worried about~! Thanks for the info!
Btw, at what point (days? weeks? months?) would you say... yeah~ it hasn’t rained in a while, I should probably throw an air stone in....
I noticed that the TDS for rain water is like 50. Lol, really close to RO. Do you remineralization or cut with tap?
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Becca
Members
For Caridina shrimp (tiger, bee) I remineralize it using a pre-mixed "shrimp salt" up to about 120-130 TDS. For other tanks I mix with tap. For a select few I just use straight rain water (e.g., if I'm trying to spawn licorice gouramis - now known as setting them up in suicide booths :-( ).
We siphon a barrel or two each week into a trash bin in our lower level to use in weekly water changes. I don't actually think I've ever added an air stone unless I'm trying to cycle water for something specific. It gets plenty of action when we use the sump pump to pump it out to the tanks. I think I once added a sponge filter when the water smelled kind of off, but that was only an issue once.
chriscoli
Administrator
I think it really depends. My rainbarrels used to go stagnant very quickly and they weren't in locations where I could easily add an airstone. So I would give it the sniff test and if it seemed off, I'd release it back to the yard. I've seen where some people pre-filter with carbon as well. Too much work for me, but if I were using it for something special I might do it.
Keep an eye out for mosquitoes, they can get into very small places and their eggs can wash through to even smaller places. Mosquito dunks will easily keep them at bay.
Keep an eye out for mosquitoes, they can get into very small places and their eggs can wash through to even smaller places. Mosquito dunks will easily keep them at bay.
CSnyder00
Bearded Wonder
Won’t most fish polish off mosquito larvae readily?
mchambers
Former CCA member
Yes, but if the water is sitting in a tote without fish, you could have a breeding problem.
CSnyder00
Bearded Wonder
Ah I see.
