Coliform Contamination

[Ross Vandegrift]

Hello everyone,

Got a phone call today from the Water Authority - our well water
is contaminated with coliform bacteria. It's easy enough to handle my
consumption - I stop, or boil it first.

Searching google didn't really come up with any articles about
how this could affect my fish. I have two tanks of freshwater
tropicals, one of which is medium planted, one of which is now just a
rocky tank. Does anyone have any idea what I can expect from the tanks
or what I can do to handle it?

I don't know how long it's been contaminated this year, but all
inhabitants of both tanks seem pretty much fine. There's been a bit of
BGA growing in the planted tank, but I suspect it's due to nutrient/CO2
imbalances (I'm finishing up the process of slowly bringing the plants
back to life).

Thanks for tips anyone!!




--
Ross Vandegrift


A Pope has a Water Cannon. It is a Water Cannon.
He fires Holy-Water from it. It is a Holy-Water Cannon.
He Blesses it. It is a Holy Holy-Water Cannon.
He Blesses the Hell out of it. It is a Wholly Holy Holy-Water Cannon.
He has it pierced. It is a Holey Wholly Holy Holy-Water Cannon.
He makes it official. It is a Canon Holey Wholly Holy Holy-Water Cannon.
Batman and Robin arrive. He shoots them.

[Bob Stone]

snip:

The water authority should have told you that you can treat the well
with chlorine to eliminate the contamination. Boliing water should
only be a very short term solution. If you have a repeated problem it
can be cured by installing a UV filter in the line very similar to the
ones that we use on fish tanks.

If this contamination has been present for a while its entirely
possible that your systems ( and those of the fish as well ) have
become accustomed to it. Some people never display a reaction to this
type of bacteria while I'm led to believe others are more sensitive to
it.

Did the water company speculate as to the cause of the contamination?
In some geographic regions its quite common...in others it will be
more likely after a particularly wet winter. Normally this is a result
of decaying vegatative material in the vicinity of the well. It can
also be indicative of an improperly fitting well cap that has let
moisture enter the well from the surface.

There is a wealth of information on this topic on the internet.

We had a house that we lived in for 5 years that had a repeated
problem with coliform bacteria. We installed the UV filter. It was
cheaper than getting a well company to come do the chlorination
repeatedly.

[Ross Vandegrift]

On 2004-02-13, Bob Stone > wrote:
> The water authority should have told you that you can treat the well
> with chlorine to eliminate the contamination. Boliing water should
> only be a very short term solution.

They indicated that a packet with all kinds of treatment information was
on the way in the mail, but they wanted to call us and warn us of the
immediate problems. The bioling was a short term solution.

> If you have a repeated problem it
> can be cured by installing a UV filter in the line very similar to the
> ones that we use on fish tanks.

It has happened once in the past - I'll keep that in mind.

> Did the water company speculate as to the cause of the contamination?
> In some geographic regions its quite common...in others it will be
> more likely after a particularly wet winter. Normally this is a result
> of decaying vegatative material in the vicinity of the well. It can
> also be indicative of an improperly fitting well cap that has let
> moisture enter the well from the surface.

It's more than likely just the wet winter - I live outside Philadelphia
in a rural farming community. We've had a particularly wet winter,
after a particularly wet year and half or so. The lady from the water
authority mentioned this as the most likely cause on the phone.

> There is a wealth of information on this topic on the internet.
>
> We had a house that we lived in for 5 years that had a repeated
> problem with coliform bacteria. We installed the UV filter. It was
> cheaper than getting a well company to come do the chlorination
> repeatedly.

Thanks so much for the tip! I'll definitely look into it!
There's always someone on rec.aquaria.* who know all about water quality
questions!


--
Ross Vandegrift


A Pope has a Water Cannon. It is a Water Cannon.
He fires Holy-Water from it. It is a Holy-Water Cannon.
He Blesses it. It is a Holy Holy-Water Cannon.
He Blesses the Hell out of it. It is a Wholly Holy Holy-Water Cannon.
He has it pierced. It is a Holey Wholly Holy Holy-Water Cannon.
He makes it official. It is a Canon Holey Wholly Holy Holy-Water Cannon.
Batman and Robin arrive. He shoots them.