Safe to consume fish-ready water?

[Gfishery]

I'm jealous of the extra clean water my goldfish get during a water change.
How safe is it for a human to drink water treated with TetraAqua's AquaSafe, or Seachem's Prime?

I figure drinking water with no chlorine or chloramines can only be a good thing for humans, but I don't know what else they add in
there that may cause a problem for humans.
Would the chemical they add to promote the Slime Coat for fish be a problem for humans?

[Elaine T]

Gfishery wrote:
> I'm jealous of the extra clean water my goldfish get during a water change.
> How safe is it for a human to drink water treated with TetraAqua's AquaSafe, or Seachem's Prime?
>
> I figure drinking water with no chlorine or chloramines can only be a good thing for humans, but I don't know what else they add in
> there that may cause a problem for humans.
> Would the chemical they add to promote the Slime Coat for fish be a problem for humans?
>
>
Well, I've gotten the occasional mouthful from a siphon hose with no
ill-effects, but I wouldn't drink treated water on purpose. My AmQuel
treated stuff tastes bitter.

I love my Pur water filter pitcher, though. It removes chlorine and
other pollutants and makes very good-tasting drinking water. Probably
be good water for fish too, but I haven't tried it.

--
__ Elaine T __
><__'> http://eethomp.com/fish.html <'__><

[Ben]

Elaine T wrote:
> I love my Pur water filter pitcher, though. It removes chlorine and
> other pollutants and makes very good-tasting drinking water. Probably
> be good water for fish too, but I haven't tried it.

If it's anything like the Britta, they say not to use it for aquarium water.

[Elaine T]

Ben wrote:
> Elaine T wrote:
>
>> I love my Pur water filter pitcher, though. It removes chlorine and
>> other pollutants and makes very good-tasting drinking water. Probably
>> be good water for fish too, but I haven't tried it.
>
>
> If it's anything like the Britta, they say not to use it for aquarium
> water.
>
That's good to know - It's a lot like Britta. Guess fish and people
have different needs even in purified water.

--
__ Elaine T __
><__'> http://eethomp.com/fish.html <'__><

[Gill Passman]

"Elaine T" > wrote in message
. com...
> Ben wrote:
> > Elaine T wrote:
> >
> >> I love my Pur water filter pitcher, though. It removes chlorine and
> >> other pollutants and makes very good-tasting drinking water. Probably
> >> be good water for fish too, but I haven't tried it.
> >
> >
> > If it's anything like the Britta, they say not to use it for aquarium
> > water.
> >
> That's good to know - It's a lot like Britta. Guess fish and people
> have different needs even in purified water.
>
> --
> __ Elaine T __
> ><__'> http://eethomp.com/fish.html <'__><

Wouldn't fancy it myself....

[blove]

I use Jungle Start Right as a conditioner and on the back it says not for
use on food fish. Aint no ingredients on the bottle tho.


"Gfishery" > wrote in message
...
> I'm jealous of the extra clean water my goldfish get during a water
> change.
> How safe is it for a human to drink water treated with TetraAqua's
> AquaSafe, or Seachem's Prime?
>
> I figure drinking water with no chlorine or chloramines can only be a good
> thing for humans, but I don't know what else they add in
> there that may cause a problem for humans.
> Would the chemical they add to promote the Slime Coat for fish be a
> problem for humans?
>
>

[Ray Martini]

I would imagine it would be the same as using RO/DI water for freshwater
fish. RO/DI water has no buffering capacity, no nutrients, and a pH lower
than 5. You have to prepare RO/DI water for use in the freshwater aquarium
with some A&H (there I go again!).


"Elaine T" > wrote in message
. com...
> Ben wrote:
>> Elaine T wrote:
>>
>>> I love my Pur water filter pitcher, though. It removes chlorine and
>>> other pollutants and makes very good-tasting drinking water. Probably
>>> be good water for fish too, but I haven't tried it.
>>
>>
>> If it's anything like the Britta, they say not to use it for aquarium
>> water.
>>
> That's good to know - It's a lot like Britta. Guess fish and people have
> different needs even in purified water.
>
> --
> __ Elaine T __
> ><__'> http://eethomp.com/fish.html <'__><

[Elaine T]

Ray Martini wrote:
> I would imagine it would be the same as using RO/DI water for freshwater
> fish. RO/DI water has no buffering capacity, no nutrients, and a pH lower
> than 5. You have to prepare RO/DI water for use in the freshwater aquarium
> with some A&H (there I go again!).
>
I'd be amazed if Pur/Britta pulls that many ions out of the water. I
thought it was mostly carbon with just a bit of ion exchange. I'll have
to test it for GH and KH.

--
__ Elaine T __
><__'> http://eethomp.com/fish.html <'__><

[winddancir]

I think why they say not to use the Brita or some thing like that is those things take EVERYTHING out of the water. Including vital minerals, like calcium.
I would also not drink the fish water that you have treated. I know some of them say they won't harm you if you do... but the aftertaste might suck!
I'm pretty sure most of us have gotten the occasional gulp of fish water, and the ones I've had are yuck! I spit it out in the dirty water bucket.

[Ray Martini]

I'm interested in the results Elaine, please post.


"Elaine T" > wrote in message
. com...
> Ray Martini wrote:
>> I would imagine it would be the same as using RO/DI water for freshwater
>> fish. RO/DI water has no buffering capacity, no nutrients, and a pH lower
>> than 5. You have to prepare RO/DI water for use in the freshwater
>> aquarium with some A&H (there I go again!).
>>
> I'd be amazed if Pur/Britta pulls that many ions out of the water. I
> thought it was mostly carbon with just a bit of ion exchange. I'll have
> to test it for GH and KH.
>
> --
> __ Elaine T __
> ><__'> http://eethomp.com/fish.html <'__><

[Gfishery]

"Elaine T" > wrote in message . com...
> Ben wrote:
> > Elaine T wrote:
> >
> >> I love my Pur water filter pitcher, though. It removes chlorine and
> >> other pollutants and makes very good-tasting drinking water. Probably
> >> be good water for fish too, but I haven't tried it.
> >
> >
> > If it's anything like the Britta, they say not to use it for aquarium
> > water.
> >
> That's good to know - It's a lot like Britta. Guess fish and people
> have different needs even in purified water.

I use filtered water from my tap (city water) for my aquarium.
The filter is a faucet-mounted unit from GE, and removes a couple of things (I don't recall exactly what it removes).
I treat that water with Seachem's Prime, let it stand for a couple of days, then introduce it into the aquarium.

I probably wouldn't try drinking anything with additional water conditioners.
The human stomach relies on Hydrochloric acid to aid in digestion, and I think any attempt to buffer or increase the Ph would not be
a good thing for us.
I wonder what detoxifying nitrites and nitrates in the human digestive system would do, but it was just the chlorine and chloramine
I was trying to remove.

Maybe the Slime Coat would help cure peptic ulcers. But that's just a wild guess :)

[Elaine T]

Ray Martini wrote:
> I'm interested in the results Elaine, please post.
>
>
> "Elaine T" > wrote in message
> . com...
>
>>Ray Martini wrote:
>>
>>>I would imagine it would be the same as using RO/DI water for freshwater
>>>fish. RO/DI water has no buffering capacity, no nutrients, and a pH lower
>>>than 5. You have to prepare RO/DI water for use in the freshwater
>>>aquarium with some A&H (there I go again!).
>>>
>>
>>I'd be amazed if Pur/Britta pulls that many ions out of the water. I
>>thought it was mostly carbon with just a bit of ion exchange. I'll have
>>to test it for GH and KH.
>>
>>--
>> __ Elaine T __
>> ><__'> http://eethomp.com/fish.html <'__><
>
>
>

Using my Mardel 5 in 1 test strips

Tapwater
KH 180 on test strips, 140 according to water company
GH 240 ppm
Nitrate < 20, but registers (It's 4 ppm on a Seachem kit)
Nitrite 0
pH 7.8-8.0

Pur Plus Pitcher with cartridge about half used
KH 80 ppm
GH 120 ppm
Nitrate 0
Nitrite 0
pH 6.8

Distilled water control for test strips
KH 0
GH 0
Nitrate 0
Nitrite 0
pH - strip says not to read at low KH

So it seems to take about half the hardness and alkalinity out of my
water, removes nitrates, and drops the pH quite a bit. It also removes
all odors and "off" flavors including the strong chlorine smell and
slight metallic taste from my tapwater. I don't see how this water
would be bad for fish. Maybe it removes too much buffering capacity
from softer water supplies.

--
__ Elaine T __
><__'> http://eethomp.com/fish.html <'__><

[Ozdude]

"Elaine T" > wrote in message
. com...
> So it seems to take about half the hardness and alkalinity out of my
> water, removes nitrates, and drops the pH quite a bit. It also removes
> all odors and "off" flavors including the strong chlorine smell and slight
> metallic taste from my tapwater. I don't see how this water would be bad
> for fish. Maybe it removes too much buffering capacity from softer water
> supplies.

Thanks for posting the figures.

I think these filters remove a fair bit, if not all, the magnesium and
sodium in the water and I think that's possibly why you see a hardness drop.

Oz

--
My Aquatic web Blog is at http://members.optusnet.com.au/ivan.smith

[anemone]

and besides....it probably tastes like crap!!!!!!
"Gfishery" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Elaine T" > wrote in message
> . com...
>> Ben wrote:
>> > Elaine T wrote:
>> >
>> >> I love my Pur water filter pitcher, though. It removes chlorine and
>> >> other pollutants and makes very good-tasting drinking water. Probably
>> >> be good water for fish too, but I haven't tried it.
>> >
>> >
>> > If it's anything like the Britta, they say not to use it for aquarium
>> > water.
>> >
>> That's good to know - It's a lot like Britta. Guess fish and people
>> have different needs even in purified water.
>
> I use filtered water from my tap (city water) for my aquarium.
> The filter is a faucet-mounted unit from GE, and removes a couple of
> things (I don't recall exactly what it removes).
> I treat that water with Seachem's Prime, let it stand for a couple of
> days, then introduce it into the aquarium.
>
> I probably wouldn't try drinking anything with additional water
> conditioners.
> The human stomach relies on Hydrochloric acid to aid in digestion, and I
> think any attempt to buffer or increase the Ph would not be
> a good thing for us.
> I wonder what detoxifying nitrites and nitrates in the human digestive
> system would do, but it was just the chlorine and chloramine
> I was trying to remove.
>
> Maybe the Slime Coat would help cure peptic ulcers. But that's just a
> wild guess :)
>
>

[Nikki Casali]

Elaine T wrote:

> Ray Martini wrote:
>
>> I would imagine it would be the same as using RO/DI water for
>> freshwater fish. RO/DI water has no buffering capacity, no nutrients,
>> and a pH lower than 5. You have to prepare RO/DI water for use in the
>> freshwater aquarium with some A&H (there I go again!).
>>
> I'd be amazed if Pur/Britta pulls that many ions out of the water. I
> thought it was mostly carbon with just a bit of ion exchange. I'll have
> to test it for GH and KH.
>
The last time I checked, my Britta filter cut the TDS by half. I have a
high GH and KH, so it may be more effective on softer water. I also read
once that these filters use zinc and that higher levels of zinc will be
found in the "purified" water.

Nikki

[Deepseafisher]

wrote:
> I use Jungle Start Right as a conditioner and on the back it says not
> for use on food fish. Aint no ingredients on the bottle tho.



The not for use on food fish does not necessarily mean anything. By
saying that, they only relieve themselves from liability from people who
do use it on fish that are used for food. An example of this is
Southdown (a.k.a. Oldcastle Sand) that is used in Reef aquariums. It
says on the packaging "not for aquarium use", but it is probably the
best sand one can use on a reef aquarium. They are just trying to cover
themselves legally, I'm sure.



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