Can rain water be used for making saltwater? Pic of my tank.

robert0862

robert0862

Member
Can rain water be used for making saltwater? I've never done this but was wondering. I have a RO unit but the water is so bad I can't keep filters for it. Also here is a pic of my tank. Its 16 months old. I'm just getting started so I need lots of advice. Any pros in here looking for a good student? I take advice well. Feel free to tell me what you think. I have plenty of rock almost ready to go.
 
fishkid2

fishkid2

Member
i want that yellow gagorain.
i would not see y we could not use rain water if it is pure sort of like ro water
 
autofreak44

autofreak44

Active Member
there is stuff like acid rain and that would deffinately kill stuff in your tank, so i wouldnt risk it unless you somehow distilled it or pumped it through your ro system
 
robert0862

robert0862

Member
I thought if anything the pH might be wrong. I might mix up 5 gal and test it. See what it looks like. I'll let you guys know the outcome.
 
saltfish123

saltfish123

Member
i just finnished my earth science class and my teacher told us that when it rains everything that was in the sky (dust, sand , volcanic ash, etc) comes down w/ the rain..... rain is the atmosphere's way of cleaning itself... so think of what was in the sky before it rained ( pollution).... if you think that your sky is clean of pollution, clouds can not for without a condensation nuclei (dust) in which water droplets condense onto... so coming down with the rain is pretty much everthing that was in the sky before it rained.... that is why the atmosphere seems to be clean after it rains..... so i would not do it because your going to put pollution (dust, dirt) from the atmosphere into your tank.
You would also have to look out for acid rain and would have to filter out impurities if you had to use it.
 
codylowe

codylowe

Member
But it also rains over the ocean and there doesn't seem to be a problem to that... I am not saying it is ok to use since the ocean is so much bigger than an aquarium, but it was just something i thought about.
 
nigerbang

nigerbang

Active Member
I have to guess that it would be a terrible idea..Acid rain, no telling what else could be in that water..
 
dbmtrman

dbmtrman

Member
Whether you could use rain water depends on many variables. Depending on where you live and if there are sources of pollutants, such as power plants or industrial centers. As has been mentioned, the rain removes any pollutants from the air. Pollutants do effect the quality of water in the ocean. Certain areas that receive large amounts of pollution have had fish and coral die off.
IMO if you were to use rainwater, you'd have to make sure you only collected the water, after it had been raining for a period of time. Most of the pollutants would be washed down after the first 15 minutes or so, then after that the water should be ok. However, depending on where you live, collecting rain on a regular basis may be hard.
 
robert0862

robert0862

Member
as to where I live, I'm high in the mountians of east Ky. come on guys, no hillbilly jokes ok. lol. there is no industrial centers anywhere close by. like I said, I have never done this. I just thought I would throw the idea out there and let people kick it around alittle. thanks for the replies all.
 
hagfish

hagfish

Active Member
No way. And it doesn't matter where you live. Clouds move pretty fast and there's no telling where the water comes from. Plus rain is unpredictable. Sometimes you need water fast and you need water almost every day for topoffs.
If your RO unit is incapable of filtering your water even when it has new filters than I think you've got a piece of junk RO filter. I would consider upgrading. Or, I would make sure there isn't some malfunction that could be fixed.
 
stumpyfish

stumpyfish

Member
I've was a consultant in the filtration (albeit air filtration) industry for a while. I can tell you that most pollutants in the air can be removed by mechanical filtration with the exception of ozone. At my cabin in central NY, which is just north of lumber yard which pumps out alot of pollutants, I set up 3 55 gallon drums with a submersible pond filter in each one with fine filter media and activated carbon, and the quality of the water is better than in my house. If you think about it, anyone who is using well-water in their house is using rain water since they draw the water table and that comes from rainwater unless there is a natural spring. I'd first collect a sample of your rain water and just test it and see what you have to work with, could be a cool and possibly more green way to go about getting your water. Just my $.02
 
slowburn222

slowburn222

New Member
Originally Posted by stumpyfish
I've was a consultant in the filtration (albeit air filtration) industry for a while. I can tell you that most pollutants in the air can be removed by mechanical filtration with the exception of ozone. At my cabin in central NY, which is just north of lumber yard which pumps out alot of pollutants, I set up 3 55 gallon drums with a submersible pond filter in each one with fine filter media and activated carbon, and the quality of the water is better than in my house. If you think about it, anyone who is using well-water in their house is using rain water since they draw the water table and that comes from rainwater unless there is a natural spring. I'd first collect a sample of your rain water and just test it and see what you have to work with, could be a cool and possibly more green way to go about getting your water. Just my $.02
Like I said... just test it and see what you have on your hands.
 
robert0862

robert0862

Member
no doubt rain water is cleaner than my city water or well water. with well water you have farm run off and raw sewer, copper, iron, etc... a big no no. I have done alot of research on this. pros and cons are a tie. I think its possible. I think I will try it. I can't lose more than what I have already. you guys wish me luck ok. Oh! the person that said you wanted my yellow sea fan, stand by. I might be sending it to you. lol. Lets go where on man has gone before shall we? I hope...LOL
 
garnet13aj

garnet13aj

Active Member
I definitely see what people are saying about pollutants, but the rain is going to be different in different areas. So I would think if you let a bucket sit out there and collect some water, you could test it and see what's in it, if it seems to come out clear, that would be a good sign if nothing else.
 
poop_head

poop_head

Member
I wouldn't suggest it either. Like Hagfish suggested it doesn't matter what is around you. Up there the wind is moving pretty fast. Here in areas of utah the water is bad cause of miners mining out in Nevada with stuff like mercury and crap that goes in the air/clouds and carries over here to Utah and then we have to deal with it. I'm not saying it won't work but you never know if there will be any crap in it that your not testing for. Just to big of a risk IMO.
 
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