hey its been raining for 3 days is rain water a good source?
Note.
Not of the roof collected in a plastic drum,cleaned with vinegar and rinsed
guy at the fish store said it might be ok?

No, it isn't. Just check the pH to see a reason why.

If you want another good reason, pay several hundred dollars for an environmental lab to test it for various metals. Then pay several thousand dollars to test it for long-chain organic molecules from gasoline/oil combustion.

I would avoid using that LFS as a reliable source of information.

LOL... that is a deffinate no if I ever heard one.

Water must be getting expensive...

Acid rain is delicious! Ignore the scientists!

I saw survivor man make his own urin into drinkable water - maybe if I apply the same technique?

I think that was Bear Grylls, I believe survivor man was cancelled because it was too realistic lmao.

hmm k lol i wont take his advice

No. It's not.

Remember the hype about acid rain back in the 70s 80s.
Rainwater can absorb NOs to make nitric acids on the way down.

And sulphur, SOs, too.

um, through distillation? yeah, that's possible.

Well, there is nothing really in urine that is not in Gatorade except sugar(unless the urinator is diabetic).
You really 'could' drink urine straight, with no ill effects.
Unless the urinator had a bladder or kidney infection.

Just hope they did not eat asparagus, though.

Or std like chlamydia, or gonorrhea.

urine has a specific gravity around 1.020 to 1.025..... if you drink enough of it i bet it would have ill effects...

That's high SG for human urine.

1.010 is normal.

I think that would be the easiest water change ever.

Bickering over the SG of piss... And I thought I was a dork!

guess i only deal with heavy drinkers



my lab manual says 1.015-1.030 is normal range, 1.010 or lower from high fluid intake....and up to 1.060 if there is disease present...

and naturally youll have higher SG if your sample is the first pee pee of the day...

This is kindof amusing because my tap water is from my systern which comes from rain water off my roof...I run this through my ro/di mix with salt into the reef...I think my tank is quite a testament to whether you can use rain water. I realize that the op is likely talking using it straight without any treatment. But still. As a plus my water has a ph of 6.0 and TDS sits at around 010ppm BEFORE the RO membrane.

So you aren't using rain water, you are using RO/DI.

"I use urine in my reef! I pee into a reservoir and when it is full enough, I run it through my RO/DI rig."

Also, TDS won't tell you anything about the non-charged organics in the water.

Im not arguing with a chemistry guy at all, just saying that it is rain water and I use it in my reef. Can you elabrate on what non charged organics are and what potential risks they pose? Always looking to learn from you. No sarcasm meant.

I would say depending on where your at. Here in florida we have 3 oclock rain showers every day. We get strong east winds and the atlantic evaporates and gives us our 30 min shower. I would think this is ok. But if your in new york or LA I wouldnt even stick my tounge out while its raining let alone put it in a tank.

Remind me never to borrow your refractometer

Non-charged organics would fall under the heading of "products of inefficient hydrocarbon combustion", i.e. exhaust from vehicles. As far as concrete risks... How does intact benzene sound?

Generally, I would avoid adding such things to my reef if possible, but the good news is that your RO membrane will easily exclude them. It will also easily exclude most anything else that actually does show up in a TDS reading.

How far are you from major roads or cities? If you are way out in the boonies, some of these risks can be avoided but you'll still have the problem of inconsistent quality. You never know what is in your rain barrel, whereas you can be fairly certain what is in your RO/DI reservoir.

The same thing goes for tapwater. It is perfectly fine for reef use in some areas of the USA, but not most others (according to responses I have seen online). There is no reason a person can't try their tapwater, but it isn't something you want to recommend to everyone... Especially those who don't understand or will skim over nuance.

As most of these "can I use this water instead" posts go, the answer is, "Don't skimp on the water." Since you, chrishayes, are running RO/DI, you aren't skimping but I wouldn't want someone to think that it is generally advisable to use rainwater straight out of the barrel or cistern.

thank you and as always, your intellect is refreshing. I live 40 miles North of Columbus which is a large city. I am in the country next to a state park and lake. min 5 acre lot sites. I like your style...