Since my well water here in Ohio is too hard to economically make RO, I use lots of rain water in the fish room. As over an 1.5 inch of rain has fallen in the last 36 hours, I couldn’t be happier, and neither could the fish for that matter!
It seems as though ever time I mention that I use rain water in the fish room on one of the on-line forums all hell breaks loose. It’s just second nature to me as I’ve been using it for almost 50 years now with great success I might add.
My yardstick for the quality of the rain in my area is the Mad River fishery. Mad river is reportedly one of the best rivers in the state of Ohio for trout fishing, (Mad River Fishing Report). My logic is, if one of the best fishing rivers in the state is only about 1 mile from me, how bad could the rain really be? If it was as toxic as all the naysayers report, how are all these native fish thriving in it?
The Skeptical Aquarist has a great post on rain water, (click here…). I especially like his observation, “…there’s no market incentive for any hobby professional to recommend rainwater for tropical fishes…”. Being a bit skeptical on my own, I’m wondering if some of this could be a source for the bap rap rain gets in the forums.
At any rate, if you’re like me and your local water is too hard to economically make RO, check out the rain falling in your area. You may find that it will work just fine in your fish room.