Water authority alerts?

[Jenene]

I have this question after viewing the process in the ER section of trying to find the source of the issue causing the deaths of Eric's (Clawhammer's) beautiful fish. Eric- that was devastating to watch and it must have been awful not having any idea what was causing it. What a nightmare...Thank heavens Al brought out his FBI brain and saved the day. I am so relieved that everyone else is on the mend and it was caught in time that the cause was the silicone in the baffles. That thread will surely save some others down the road. It is so sad that your two biggest fish did not make it through.

Anyway, while Al was working through possible scenarios he mentioned that after the water authority works on pipes in the area they sometime flush them with a sanitizing agent that can negatively impact the fish? Did I understand that correctly? Is there a notice that they are required to put out before they do this or any other work to customers in the area that may impact water quality? Is there some kind of warning list we can be put on? Maybe I am being paranoid or naive but what about people with health issues or babies whose formula is made with it or people with very preciously sensitive and expensive fish?

I am just hoping there is something or someone out there to prevent us from doing a water change with contaminated water and not even realizing it until the fish are belly up. There would be no way of knowing otherwise. I guess my signature is right on in that case.

Hoping someone out there can enlighten me-

[Willie]

I had this happen when the main water pipe in front of my house was replaced about 10 years ago. Immediately afterwards, I lost two tanks of discus fry, two breeding pairs and a ton of angelfish. After a week of losses, I went to a 100% R/O system and the problem went away.

Something is added to the water to seal new pipes. I don't know what it was and how long the treatment last. I ended up relying on R/O for 3 - 4 years before going back to tap.

Willie

[Jenene]

I had this happen when the main water pipe in front of my house was replaced about 10 years ago. Immediately afterwards, I lost two tanks of discus fry, two breeding pairs and a ton of angelfish. After a week of losses, I went to a 100% R/O system and the problem went away.

Something is added to the water to seal new pipes. I don't know what it was and how long the treatment last. I ended up relying on R/O for 3 - 4 years before going back to tap.

Willie

Oh yikes! That scares the crap out of me Willie! I guess that if we knew in advance we could save some water like I do in my aging barrels- stop feeding like we were on vacation and do minimal changes. If it happens in front of us at least we could know. But if they do it down the road around the corner we would not unless they tell us. I guess that is what I am hoping to hear that they would tell us first. By your experience even though it was awhile ago I am thinking that would not happen.

That is awful that you lost all those fish. Losing one fish is bad enough but breeding pairs, fry and angels would put me in a very bad place. I am always inspired to see people recover from that and start over. That takes a lot of soul searching.

Thank you for letting us know so we can be aware of that potential issue as well as the one Al mentioned. Before I had discus I would never have had a thought about it.

[Lido]

I live in sunny, beautiful Southern California. Most people don't realize it is a desert and ALL of our water is imported from other areas. We have terribly old infrastructure and work is constant on our piping and water systems in my area. I use very little tap water, kind of like Willie i've experienced too many "random" problems over the years with it. It just becomes one of those "OMG MY WHOLE TANK IS GOING TO DIE" moments once every few years. I use R/O or at minimum i have an inline filter that i use to remove the chloramine and heavy particulate/metals.

I am not suggesting this is good for anyone, or everyone. It just seems to be more successful for me.

[Clawhammer]

Thanks for starting this thread Jenene, and the kind words of sympathy. The lack of information about the change in my water source definitely exacerbated the stress of that day. Luckily I knew about the water source change from SimplyDiscus member RogueDicus. I have since set up a couple Google Alerts about local water quality. A Google alert searching the news on a daily basis and brings back stories related to the search term.

The Google alert would have been good for my current situation as this events were in the news. The original water source (Bull Run Reservoir, perfect discus water btw) was found to have a parasite that Portland had been exempt from treating, so they switched to ground water. The pH went from 6.6 to 8.0 (approx) and is much harder. It has a sulfur smell. Definitely something that I want to know about as soon as possible in order to ease them into the new water, and ease them back once they revert to Bull Run.

Before this, we have had a wildly out of the ordinary winter, with tons of snow and the related water main breaks. One day I did a water change and the tank was completely cloudy after adding 10 gallons of new water. Turns out it was sediment from the pipe repair that was harmless, but it was quite alarming.

[Lido]

Thanks for starting this thread Jenene, and the kind words of sympathy. The lack of information about the change in my water source definitely exacerbated the stress of that day. Luckily I knew about the water source change from SimplyDiscus member RogueDicus. I have since set up a couple Google Alerts about local water quality. A Google alert searching the news on a daily basis and brings back stories related to the search term.

The Google alert would have been good for my current situation as this events were in the news. The original water source (Bull Run Reservoir, perfect discus water btw) was found to have a parasite that Portland had been exempt from treating, so they switched to ground water. The pH went from 6.6 to 8.0 (approx) and is much harder. It has a sulfur smell. Definitely something that I want to know about as soon as possible in order to ease them into the new water, and ease them back once they revert to Bull Run.

Before this, we have had a wildly out of the ordinary winter, with tons of snow and the related water main breaks. One day I did a water change and the tank was completely cloudy after adding 10 gallons of new water. Turns out it was sediment from the pipe repair that was harmless, but it was quite alarming.

Sorry Eric, I wasn't trying to marginalize your experience. I'm really sorry about your rough day. I just had one too bud.

[Clawhammer]

Sorry Eric, I wasn't trying to marginalize your experience. I'm really sorry about your rough day. I just had one too bud.

Not at all! Thanks for the kind words, sorry to hear you went through a rough day too... I hope all goes well in Cali the balance of this winter / spring, I know you guys are getting 10 years of rain at once over there and hope it doesn't cause any problems for your discus!

[Jenene]

Thanks for starting this thread Jenene, and the kind words of sympathy. The lack of information about the change in my water source definitely exacerbated the stress of that day. Luckily I knew about the water source change from SimplyDiscus member RogueDicus. I have since set up a couple Google Alerts about local water quality. A Google alert searching the news on a daily basis and brings back stories related to the search term.

The Google alert would have been good for my current situation as this events were in the news. The original water source (Bull Run Reservoir, perfect discus water btw) was found to have a parasite that Portland had been exempt from treating, so they switched to ground water. The pH went from 6.6 to 8.0 (approx) and is much harder. It has a sulfur smell. Definitely something that I want to know about as soon as possible in order to ease them into the new water, and ease them back once they revert to Bull Run.

Before this, we have had a wildly out of the ordinary winter, with tons of snow and the related water main breaks. One day I did a water change and the tank was completely cloudy after adding 10 gallons of new water. Turns out it was sediment from the pipe repair that was harmless, but it was quite alarming.

Whoa...you guys have all given us some really valuable information. Thank you so much- Eric I will set up a Google Alert for my area as soon as I get done with this note. That is really helpful for the big issues.

I am just really surprised that we are working so hard to keep our fish healthy with clean water and the "powers that be" can really do a lot of damage- unintentional but devastating. I was walking with a neighbor this morning and saw that 4 houses down from me they are working on their water pipes!!! The yard is all dug up and the pvc is sticking out and capped off. I think since this is a feeder and not the main I should be okay but I will be flushing the pipes thoroughly before I fill my barrels and maybe make a call today. Seems like a band aid but what else can we do?

Anyway Eric, I am keeping my fingers crossed that your remaining fish come around and recover their full health soon and so thankful for Al and the moderators that keep an eye out for things that need attention quickly. The ph is a big jump. My water is at 8.0 but stable (knocking on a big piece of wood right now) but like what has happened to you- things can change fast.

I appreciate you guys sharing your information so we can try to avoid those "Oh Crap!" moments or at least be aware that it can happen and go from there.

[DatDiscusDude]

You could also reach out to your local water supply company and see what they offer and how they can help you. Some places have their own alert system online or via phone where they will call you. Some, will even add you to an emergency list if you tell them you have something as mentioned above... Babies, elderly, skin conditions, or precious pets.

I was moving from the city to another area 5 years ago and used to do direct to tap water changes with zero issue. I was really worried once I moved what I would face. I called my water company and ended up speaking to the president who assured me that he was an avid aquarist that kept African rift lake cichlids and had been for years and we talked water and fish for a half hour. He added me to all the lists I mentioned and I have felt very safe and secure since.

Sometimes you simply just have to ask for what you want... You would be surprised!

[Jenene]

You could also reach out to your local water supply company and see what they offer and how they can help you. Some places have their own alert system online or via phone where they will call you. Some, will even add you to an emergency list if you tell them you have something as mentioned above... Babies, elderly, skin conditions, or precious pets.

I was moving from the city to another area 5 years ago and used to do direct to tap water changes with zero issue. I was really worried once I moved what I would face. I called my water company and ended up speaking to the president who assured me that he was an avid aquarist that kept African rift lake cichlids and had been for years and we talked water and fish for a half hour. He added me to all the lists I mentioned and I have felt very safe and secure since.

Sometimes you simply just have to ask for what you want... You would be surprised!

Thanks for that DatDiscusDude (could not type that without cracking up- very cute) Got the call in- talked to a lot of friendly, curious customer service reps that asked for pics I haven't gotten to a fish keeping admin yet. Waiting for a call back from the treatment plant guy. Maybe he likes fish

[Jenene]

Update on my call- So the head guy from our water treatment plant called me back this morning and he does like fish. He was actually very informed about what fish keepers need to worry about- not quite to the extent that we do- but he gets it.. I breathed a sigh of relief as he answered my questions. I am lucky to be in an area that has a strong delivery system, they never add chloramine and if they were to do a large repair they cap it off, fix it and flush it with super chlorinated water before uncapping it and putting it back online. He said there is no alert system in place here- he pointed out that if something went really wrong we would most likely know about it the same time he did. So I know it is not a perfect system but I do feel better. I went in and read the quality report myself as well.

So thank you again for all your ideas and suggestions. I think everyone can be a little proactive. I am sure many areas have a more unstable issues to keep an eye on.