AndrewP Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 I am moving to a rural property where the only water on offer is tank water from rain or bore water from an underground spring. I use seachem buffers and salt. Just wondering if anyone knows can I expect things to run smoothly or as has been suggested is it problematic raising the ph and hardness to desired levels. My knowledge tells me I might need to use a bit of extra Kh aka tang buffer but everything should be fine but some recent advise states things could be harder than it seems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sloory Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 G'day Andrew,Id say with the rain water you'll prob go through more buffers like you said.But when it comes to bore water be careful and test the hell out of it first! Bore water can vary massivley from bore to bore.I've heard of some unlucky people paying to have a bore drilled only to find the water is not usable for anything!!I hope this is not the case for you mate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buccal Posted January 6, 2013 Share Posted January 6, 2013 Rain water lacks a lot of essentials other than water buffers provide.It's been tried by pcs members.What was found also was that rains water chemistry changes through out the year making it very hard to judge for treatment.If you don't have heavy farming or mining in your area, it betters your chances for good bore water.I'm quite sure it's affordable to have scheme water from the appropriate source trucked in to fill a rain tank or a bought water storage tank if your fish keeping is important to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shon982 Posted January 6, 2013 Share Posted January 6, 2013 I use rain water for my tanks and just add buffers and salt every now and again and by the results of breeding and all that, there's no dramas at all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Surtac Posted January 6, 2013 Share Posted January 6, 2013 I have always been in rural areas & have had to adapt to various sources for my water supply (dam,river,creek, tank & bore)You wiil need to have all your sources of water tested & calculate the necessary supplements to achieve the conditions you need.Spring water in my experience would be your best option.Bore water & spring water are very diifferent & whichever source you use you will need to test for heavy metals and dissolved solids before use in your aquarium. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krellious Posted January 7, 2013 Share Posted January 7, 2013 How far away is a council water supply? If rural i assume you may have a ute? Get a 1m cubed container and try to fill that up when in 'town' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewP Posted January 8, 2013 Author Share Posted January 8, 2013 Thanks for the replies all. The bore is used to water stock on the property an has done so for many years without issue. its been tested before and found to be stock safe. I have personally seen the water which has no smell or colour but alas I think getting it tested would be good housekeeping as far as fish safety goes. I assume I see my council for that. No ute but have a 4wd and trailer so one of those water cubes might be the go. When I first move my tank and fish out there I won't have much choice other than the rain tank or the bore so will prob go the rain tank and get the bore tested. I want to get this done before stocking with livestock anyway. I use Cichlid salt and feed good quality foods so I'm not to worried. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Link2Hell Posted January 9, 2013 Share Posted January 9, 2013 Andrew DPI do water testinghttp://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/aboutus/services/das/wateryou can also have a look at NSW health depthttp://www0.health.nsw.gov.au/publichealth/environment/water/drinkwater_nsw.aspa friend that is in Bega had a bore drilled and ran his Tang room on the water withgreat success ..................... but it needs to be tested1000 lt palleted tanks are the go if you want to store water but make sure it's was food gradecontents as plenty around but have had glues and other stuff in them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewP Posted January 9, 2013 Author Share Posted January 9, 2013 Awesome cheers. Great info/advice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooder Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 I use all rainwater for my two tanks, although i have concrete tanks. this buffers the water from like 6.5 or so to 8.5 which is perfect for tangs, so i leave mine alonethe best thing for tangs when it comes to water, is dont change it too much.its awesome for me because i have access to a concrete tank and a poly one which means i get both paremeters! SA tank incoming.....BTW: Long time no post, great to see familiar posters... (shon, krellious etc.) :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sloory Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 I use all rainwater for my two tanks, although i have concrete tanks. this buffers the water from like 6.5 or so to 8.5 which is perfect for tangs, so i leave mine alone the best thing for tangs when it comes to water, is dont change it too much. its awesome for me because i have access to a concrete tank and a poly one which means i get both paremeters! SA tank incoming..... BTW: Long time no post, great to see familiar posters... (shon, krellious etc.) :D Nice! that's a good tip with the concrete tank. I wonder, do all concrete tanks do that or does it depend on the mix that each company mixes with? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooder Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 They have to be a certain mix for the strength, slabs are at 20 mpa and they dont have as much cement in them. tanks must be stronger at like 40 - 50 so there wouldnt be too much difference... concrete is made of sand, stone and the cement, which is limestone crushed and burnt in a furnace with coke added and there are certain different mixes obviously. limestone is highly alkaline and a buffer, sand is a buffer and a lot of stones are aswell. that is what makes your concrete tank a buffer, and ideal for tangs because as we all know it can be a pain keeping stocks up of buffers and salts. after reading up a bit, rain falls at an average of 5.6 -/+ depending on the area of course. thats a huge difference from 6 to 8 or higher.i have to give a warning though. if you live in a large city such as sydney / melbourne etc the water could rain contaminated with toxic nasties that may not be too good. im not really sure though as i have never tested city water for heavy metals or things. just taking precautions (i could be very wrong, who knows?)hope this helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewP Posted January 11, 2013 Author Share Posted January 11, 2013 Thanks mate all tanks on the property are cement. I have two for rain water and one for bore water. Maybe I could turn one into a giant tang tank!!!!!!!!!!My fish are all tangs so the alkaline water could be useful. Will have to breakout the test kits when we move. 150 acres near Tamworth. Whole point is to get as far away from the city as possible ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cooder Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 Thats the go, i hate the city lol. It depends on the bore but i found the bore on my property was around acidic to neutral.I also use coral reef sand so it acts as a second buffer, that helps too... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ant Posted January 11, 2013 Share Posted January 11, 2013 I had used rain water in the past with sechem buffer and (clean) shell grit mixed in with substrate. I also use to put a bag of clean shell grit in the canister filter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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