Water Quality Thread
12 Feb 04
Hi everyone: After about a year into this wonderful hobby I am making
plans to expand my collection. I will be asking a lot of questions
in the next few months. I wondered if everyone would offer their
thoughts on water. I am growing more confused about this issue as I
plug along. I began with RO(Culligan). Many people said its one of
the best. Then suddenly I heard from a reputible breeder that this
in fact is not recommended. She recommended distilled or spring.
Yet, another herper also accomplished scientist said no distilled,
only spring. I don't think rain water is practical for me. So will
you whom have dealt with this issue longer, and been breeding
successfully discuss the water issue. Thank you, Maggie Chen
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Maggie
Distillation and RO produce the basically the same thing, very pure water, but use different techniques to produce it. (Distilled water is a little more pure than RO). The concern is that this water is TOO pure, being stripped of all dissolved solids, which could cause problems with osmoregulation (the organisms ability to regulate water content). This is much more of a concern for the tadpoles though. "Spring water" is usually just tap water that has been filtered with activated carbon, and sometimes sterilized with UV. This removes organics and heavy metals (and pathogens with UV) but does not remove the majority of dissolved solids, which is why it is the recommended water type.
Justin Pierce
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Hi,
I'm going to have to disagree. In Las Vegas, I typically use RO water only with my vent eggs. For my tincs and azureus, I usually use RO water with a little peat. I use RO with peat for my tads. However, if I am having a problem with the fungus of the day, I use milli-Q water which is an 18 ohm water (typical RO is 2 Ohm). This is as pure as you're gonna get. When someone first suggested it, I (comparative physiologist with a very biochemical/molecular slant) thought it'd be osmotic hell for the little guys. The only thing that seems to have an issue with it is the fungus. Claussen can chime in here but the water in bromeliad axils isn't exactly physiological saline. I've used aged tap water in the past (Boulder and Denver) but like the RO more. Plus, if you've ever seen the precipitant from Vegas water...
Regards,
Frank
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This really needs to be included in the FAQ which is why I've left the entire thread uncut. In addition to what Justin said, the "dangers" of using RO or distilled water are WAY overblown. Yes, if you try to raise a tadpole in a clean vessel with only pure water you are asking for trouble. Many people use mulch with their tads which pretty much eliminates any potential problems because pure water is so reactive it quickly dissolves minerals from the mulch. You can also use products like RO Right or even just a pinch of compost or soil to restore dissolved solids to pure water. Spraying vivaria with pure water is NOT a problem and has the benefit of not leaving many deposits on the glass or building up salts in the soils.
Rainwater should be used with great caution. Intuitively it is a "clean" water source but rainwater happens to be a major input of nitrogen into natural ecosystems. Even areas with very good air quality can have toxic levels (to a tadpole) of nitrogen in the rainwater. This doesn't even consider heavy metals etc. from pollution. It's useful to remember that rainwater that collects in pools and streams in nature has already trickled over, and/or percolated through, substrates containing nutrient hungry microbes and plant roots and therefore gets filtered very quickly in nature. For detailed information about rainwater chemistry in the U.S. you can visit the National Atmospheric Deposition Program site at: http://nadp.sws.uiuc.edu/
Brent
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