troy mcclure
Member
My friends have well water. They cant seem to keep SW or FW fish alive for long. I have both and try to help. Can it be the water or is it just them ? <img src="graemlins//confused.gif" border="0" alt="[confused]" />
Using well water
- Thread starter troy mcclure
- Start date
steamboat1569
Member
I used to live on a horse ranch, and it had well water. I believe that this is definitely worse than even tap water. I would not suggest that anyone use well water unless it was used with an in line RO/DI. Ask them if they ever got that smell of rotten eggs when they turn their tap on.
That is sulfer.
That is sulfer.
steamboat1569
Member
Before I get carried away. Is your friend's water, or yours, hooked to any filtration devise?
I don't mean like a drinking water, under the sink thing. Is there any filtration hooked to the main pump?
I don't mean like a drinking water, under the sink thing. Is there any filtration hooked to the main pump?
troy mcclure
Member
I dont know but Ill ask. Is there anything else I should ask? I know they use water softener. They only drink bottled water. 
troy mcclure
Member
I have tap water and use water conditioner for both fw and sw tanks with no problem. <img src="graemlins//angel.gif" border="0" alt="[angel]" />
steamboat1569
Member
Originally posted by Troy McClure:
<strong>I dont know but Ill ask. I know they use water softener. They only drink bottled water. </strong><hr></blockquote>
I figure that if they won't drink their own well water, the fish and other creatures, will like it even less.
Also, I would get a water report from your local water company. You may not have problems now, but you will in the future.
Conditioners do not do the job for tap water.
<strong>I dont know but Ill ask. I know they use water softener. They only drink bottled water.
</strong><hr></blockquote>I figure that if they won't drink their own well water, the fish and other creatures, will like it even less.
Also, I would get a water report from your local water company. You may not have problems now, but you will in the future.
Conditioners do not do the job for tap water.
steamboat1569
Member
By the way, welcome to swf.com. I notice your profile is rather short. Tell us a little about yourself and your set up. How long have you been doing this hobby? I'm interested.
troy mcclure
Member
OK you asked for it. I kept a 55g cichlid tank for over a year. I decided to take the SW challenge and set up a 55g SW tank too. My Tank has been set up since 1-27-02.I have CC, submersible heater,Emperor400,Seaclone skimmer,dead coral decorations and GE aqua rays blue lighting.I keep a Yellow Tang,Tomato Clown,Saddle Clown, a Bicolor Psuedo,med Hermit,several snails and dwarf hermits.Im planning to switch to a sandbed and some base rock with some live rock to seed it all.I plan to get some mushroome and polyps down the road for the reef look. <img src="graemlins//angel.gif" border="0" alt="[angel]" />
steamboat1569
Member
Sounds great! I too, have a 55 gallon with crushed coral. I am builing my own 80 gallon tank, and it is going much too slow. I am going to make it a deep sand bed and move the reef in my 55 to the 80 gallon. I will get rid of the crushed coral and start an aggressive tank in the 55.
broomer5
Active Member
One person's well water could be perfect, and another person's well water could be full of harmful pesticides, insecticides, nitrogen compounds, phospates or leaching fertilizer run off from farms, fecal bacteria from faulty leaking septic systems, any of a number of toxic organic or inorganic chemicals .... and the list goes on and on.
So to say that well water is good or bad all depends. You can't say if one well is producing good quality clean water until the water is "tested" .... period !
Everything else up to that point in speculation at best.
Troy,
If your friends can't even keep some simple freshwater fish alive for very long, I would suspect the well water first.
Have them take a sample to their county water department or local water testing laboratory.
If the well water tests out okay ..... maybe you could get them some books as a gift
So to say that well water is good or bad all depends. You can't say if one well is producing good quality clean water until the water is "tested" .... period !
Everything else up to that point in speculation at best.
Troy,
If your friends can't even keep some simple freshwater fish alive for very long, I would suspect the well water first.
Have them take a sample to their county water department or local water testing laboratory.
If the well water tests out okay ..... maybe you could get them some books as a gift
troy mcclure
Member
I agree with you broomer. This is their first experience with well water and they think its better than municipal water. They dont drink that either.I keep asking them where do they think well water comes from? <img src="graemlins//confused2.gif" border="0" alt="[confused2]" />
cap'n pete
Member
It sounds like you already know the answer to the question, you just wanted a second opinion. As already pointed out, well water can be hazardous to humans, not alone sensitive fish! If your friends insist on using it they must get at least a good RO unit.
Give them this argument--- If they buy a $200 RO unit, they will have their money back within a year because of the money saved from not having to buy water for them to drink. RO units installed properly (not just in the garage for the fishies) also increases the value of their home!
If the water isn't good enough for them to drink, what makes them think it's good enough for their poor fish to live in!
Give them this argument--- If they buy a $200 RO unit, they will have their money back within a year because of the money saved from not having to buy water for them to drink. RO units installed properly (not just in the garage for the fishies) also increases the value of their home!
If the water isn't good enough for them to drink, what makes them think it's good enough for their poor fish to live in!