Using Rain Water??

[TURQ64]

Acid rain in New England is a very big deal; I used to erect coal fired powerplants, and those we built without SO2 scrubber's really did in the lakes and rivers....haven't heard much lately, but I think that's because most of the damage is already done....

[Scott293]

Well, there's a few mis-stated facts and such coming down 'with the rain'...O.K., I'm 62, tried rainwater when I was a pup, and pollution was lower, and it didn't work out well. I also have relatives and neighbors who used a cistern all their lives..All have some nerve related disorder or another, which eventually put them in the grave. One of my wife's farming uncle's from Parkinson's, and my father-in-law from early onset Alzheimer's...As for the R/O can that's getting kicked around, I have two, and buying my third soon...a zillion filters down the road, I pay around 9 or 10 bucks each for the carbon blocks and small micron prefilters, and for my DI, 34 bucks....that's 52 yankee frogskins by my math, not 250.00, although they get changed at different intervals, so it's really 9 bucks here, 34 bucks there....I use/waste around 4,000 gallons a month right now for my fish, which is an added 40 bucks a month.

Well Turq64, maybe you can help me find where to get my filters, because the best price I have found on the RO filter is $149 and the two carbon filters at $49 each. The unit that I have is CMRO-3TFC, and it's only a 24 GPD unit. I can get all of the facts you like

[Scott293]

Acid rain in New England is a very big deal; I used to erect coal fired powerplants, and those we built without SO2 scrubber's really did in the lakes and rivers....haven't heard much lately, but I think that's because most of the damage is already done....

Interesting, I have erected coal fired power plants also.

[Scott293]

Scott

I live a mile from the Steel Mill where I work and wouldn't think about collecting rain water for fish. You will need to look way outside your neighborhood for pollutants.
Yes I'm sure after a long rain it might be better but what will keep the drum clean and protected until then? Save $5 on water and risk hundreds in fish?
You might live in a good area... Good Luck in whatever you choose. Keep it for the plants and see if they live...

Tito

Hi Tito, I would plan on the drum being black food grade. Black to keep out the sun light. Also I would connect the drain spout directly to the top of the drum with a trap above it that could be cleaned out easily. The trap would catch gravel or leaves and such that would come from the gutters. I would probably use a screen count similar to the screens in your windows. After a rain I would drain the barrel. The only oxygen available to the drum would be from the top of the spout which in my case is 2 stories up. I wouldn't use an open topped drum. It would also have an over flow near the top which would go into my storm drain where it is currently connected. Or it could go out onto the ground. That would be another source for oxygen to the drum outside. If I could easily cut off the oxygen to the drum I would but that would be a bit ridiculous running out in the rain to open the valves after I notice that the gutters are over flowing. I could possibly use a trap door type valve that would open with head pressure maybe but I don't know if all of that would be needed if the drum was just emptied after a rain. It would just sit there dry. Still it's not complicated

[TURQ64]

about the filter replacements; most all are fairly interchangeable. I'm not familiar with your unit, but I'd bet a buck that it will take most replacements, and that the membrane is made by the company that makes most of them, and then lets the retailer put their name on them. Other than the DI replacement, I can also find a suitable replacement for the pre-filter and carbon block at Menard's, Home Depot, etc...BTW, if you know this already or not, but you can install a 50 or 90 gal. membrane in yours, as long as you change out the restriction valve in the reject line...

[Elite Aquaria]

Scott I sell RO units and filters.

[brewmaster15]

I think alot has to do with where you live and how you collect it... I did it a few years back...but I filtered it well thru carbon, and collected it from my old worn out roof tiles...I would not use water from new asphalt roofing.....I tried it for several months as being on a well...RO is a risk to your water supply.

I know we have some members in some parts of the world where thats their main source of water...I remember some old posts.

But hey I know this is off track...I was looking for a rain collector I had seen online a few years back and came across this...

http://www.naturalnews.com/029286_ra...ion_water.html

(NaturalNews) Many of the freedoms we enjoy here in the U.S. are quickly eroding as the nation transforms from the land of the free into the land of the enslaved, but what I'm about to share with you takes the assault on our freedoms to a whole new level. You may not be aware of this, but many Western states, including Utah, Washington and Colorado, have long outlawed individuals from collecting rainwater on their own properties because, according to officials, that rain belongs to someone else.

As bizarre as it sounds, laws restricting property owners from "diverting" water that falls on their own homes and land have been on the books for quite some time in many Western states. Only recently, as droughts and renewed interest in water conservation methods have become more common, have individuals and business owners started butting heads with law enforcement over the practice of collecting rainwater for personal use.

Check out this YouTube video of a news report out of Salt Lake City, Utah, about the issue. It's illegal in Utah to divert rainwater without a valid water right, and Mark Miller of Mark Miller Toyota, found this out the hard way.

After constructing a large rainwater collection system at his new dealership to use for washing new cars, Miller found out that the project was actually an "unlawful diversion of rainwater." Even though it makes logical conservation sense to collect rainwater for this type of use since rain is scarce in Utah, it's still considered a violation of water rights which apparently belong exclusively to Utah's various government bodies.

"Utah's the second driest state in the nation. Our laws probably ought to catch up with that," explained Miller in response to the state's ridiculous rainwater collection ban.

Salt Lake City officials worked out a compromise with Miller and are now permitting him to use "their" rainwater, but the fact that individuals like Miller don't actually own the rainwater that falls on their property is a true indicator of what little freedom we actually have here in the U.S. (Access to the rainwater that falls on your own property seems to be a basic right, wouldn't you agree?)

Outlawing rainwater collection in other states
Utah isn't the only state with rainwater collection bans, either. Colorado and Washington also have rainwater collection restrictions that limit the free use of rainwater, but these restrictions vary among different areas of the states and legislators have passed some laws to help ease the restrictions.

In Colorado, two new laws were recently passed that exempt certain small-scale rainwater collection systems, like the kind people might install on their homes, from collection restrictions.

Prior to the passage of these laws, Douglas County, Colorado, conducted a study on how rainwater collection affects aquifer and groundwater supplies. The study revealed that letting people collect rainwater on their properties actually reduces demand from water facilities and improves conservation.

Personally, I don't think a study was even necessary to come to this obvious conclusion. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that using rainwater instead of tap water is a smart and useful way to conserve this valuable resource, especially in areas like the West where drought is a major concern.

Additionally, the study revealed that only about three percent of Douglas County's precipitation ended up in the streams and rivers that are supposedly being robbed from by rainwater collectors. The other 97 percent either evaporated or seeped into the ground to be used by plants.

This hints at why bureaucrats can't really use the argument that collecting rainwater prevents that water from getting to where it was intended to go. So little of it actually makes it to the final destination that virtually every household could collect many rain barrels worth of rainwater and it would have practically no effect on the amount that ends up in streams and rivers.

It's all about control, really
As long as people remain unaware and uninformed about important issues, the government will continue to chip away at the freedoms we enjoy. The only reason these water restrictions are finally starting to change for the better is because people started to notice and they worked to do something to reverse the law.

Even though these laws restricting water collection have been on the books for more than 100 years in some cases, they're slowly being reversed thanks to efforts by citizens who have decided that enough is enough.

Because if we can't even freely collect the rain that falls all around us, then what, exactly, can we freely do? The rainwater issue highlights a serious overall problem in America today: diminishing freedom and increased government control.

Today, we've basically been reprogrammed to think that we need permission from the government to exercise our inalienable rights, when in fact the government is supposed to derive its power from us. The American Republic was designed so that government would serve the People to protect and uphold freedom and liberty. But increasingly, our own government is restricting people from their rights to engage in commonsense, fundamental actions such as collecting rainwater or buying raw milk from the farmer next door.

Today, we are living under a government that has slowly siphoned off our freedoms, only to occasionally grant us back a few limited ones under the pretense that they're doing us a benevolent favor.

Fight back against enslavement
As long as people believe their rights stem from the government (and not the other way around), they will always be enslaved. And whatever rights and freedoms we think we still have will be quickly eroded by a system of bureaucratic power that seeks only to expand its control.

Because the same argument that's now being used to restrict rainwater collection could, of course, be used to declare that you have no right to the air you breathe, either. After all, governments could declare that air to be somebody else's air, and then they could charge you an "air tax" or an "air royalty" and demand you pay money for every breath that keeps you alive.

Think it couldn't happen? Just give it time. The government already claims it owns your land and house, effectively. If you really think you own your home, just stop paying property taxes and see how long you still "own" it. Your county or city will seize it and then sell it to pay off your "tax debt." That proves who really owns it in the first place... and it's not you!

How about the question of who owns your body? According to the U.S. Patent & Trademark office, U.S. corporations and universities already own 20% of your genetic code. Your own body, they claim, is partially the property of someone else.

So if they own your land, your water and your body, how long before they claim to own your air, your mind and even your soul?

Unless we stand up against this tyranny, it will creep upon us, day after day, until we find ourselves totally enslaved by a world of corporate-government collusion where everything of value is owned by powerful corporations -- all enforced at gunpoint by local law enforcement.

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/029286_ra...#ixzz1HqJS4OpY

Never thought I'd see something like that!

-al

[Scott293]

Well Thanks Al!

Now I want rain water even more. I feel like I'd be getting a tax break or something from the government. But I am sure that in the desert it's a different story. Water/rain is much more scarce there than it is here in Ohio. They may only get enough for a few water changes per year.

By the way, my fish are loving your freeze dried black worms. Thank You
Scott

[Scott293]

Scott I sell RO units and filters.

I see that Dan. Sorry about the talk of hi ro costs. I can see where I will be buying my next RO unit. I may be getting one soon for drinking water. And besides, even if I could use rain water I would still use RO when there is no rain. I don't have room to store thousands of gallons of rain water. Your prices are good. Maybe the unit that I purchased is an older model. How could they stay in business though when they keep their prices so high? I'm thinking baybe there are some after market filter replacements out there for the model that I have. Do you have any filter replacements that would fit a CMRO-3TFC? ...Scott

[brewmaster15]

By the way, my fish are loving your freeze dried black worms. Thank You
Scott

My pleasure Scott, Thank you for your Business, I'm glad they are a hit with the fishes!

-al

[William Palumbo]

Scott, you mention Guppies raised outside. Some of the best and most colorful Killies I ever had were raised outside. I don't really contribute it to rainwater, as I did to the continuous live food and sunshine...Bill

[Scott293]

Yes Bill I believe that also. I wouldn't think that the rain water contributed much to that. Hey Bill I just spoke with a chemist who graduated from OSU and is now making more money just 2 years out of college than I ever have. He works for Shell oil. He happens to be my daughters boyfriend/fiance'. I just discussed this with him and he says he did a study on rain water in college which showed that high acid water is very uncommon but it does happen. He also said that it's the "only thing" in rain water that would harm fish. He said that all he would do is check the ph. He said rain does not capture pollutants in the air except sulfur and something else which when combined with the correct oxygen produces the acidic water. He said all he would do is check the PH to be safe. Then I told him of capturing it from the roof through the downspout. He said now that would worry me. He said the reason that would worry him is because of the dust and sediment that settles on the roof. So a good half hour rain to wash the roof then turn it to the drum. So there would need to be a way to bypass the drum until the roof is cleaned off which is what my Aunt would do before running the rain water into her cistern. And Gary my Aunt lived to a ripe old age of 89 at which time she passed away with emphasima but she was a life long smoker. ...Scott

[Northwoods Discus]

Hopefully the birds don't crap on your roof. They do on mine. Beside that I think it is a great idea but will require storage and filtering. There was an episode on This New House where they were using rain water for all of their human usage including drinking. They did have a pretty detailed filter setup with large storage tanks. It was some place in Texas if I remember correctly. The host did bring up the question of the birds though thus the filters. I think they even pressurized the system somehow to run it through the filtration system. I also found a website with all the gadgets needed for rain water collection.

[Elite Aquaria]

I see that Dan. Sorry about the talk of hi ro costs. I can see where I will be buying my next RO unit. I may be getting one soon for drinking water. And besides, even if I could use rain water I would still use RO when there is no rain. I don't have room to store thousands of gallons of rain water. Your prices are good. Maybe the unit that I purchased is an older model. How could they stay in business though when they keep their prices so high? I'm thinking baybe there are some after market filter replacements out there for the model that I have. Do you have any filter replacements that would fit a CMRO-3TFC? ...Scott

Not a problem...I have no idea what a CMRO-3TFC is...As long as it has standard 10" canisters then my filters will fit.

[Scott293]

Not a problem...I have no idea what a CMRO-3TFC is...As long as it has standard 10" canisters then my filters will fit.

It's made by Cooler Mate. If you google CMRO-3TFC it's easy to find. The canisters are 12" long by 2" round.