Aged water in water barrel question!

[MaryStephens]

I age my water in a water barrel (barrel is actually a garden barrel used to collect rain) and I've noticed some type of debris floating at the top of the water. I have a thermometer and water agitator in there to keep the water moving. Is this stuff harmful. I think it may be a build up of some sort. I'm just not sure how to remedy it. Thanks for any help anyone can give.

[jmf3460]

Mary hi and welcome to SD. Can you take some pictures of the buildup and post them here? Lots of times, buildup occurs on the sides of our aging barrels but sitting on the surface of the water is uncommon.

[Filip]

Hi and welcome Mary .
My first thought is that it may be a collected dust if your barrel is outside or maybe a calcium deposits floating if your water is high on KH .
I have a 16 KH water and I often see particles floating on the surface in my aged water .
I doubt that the buildup its harmful in anyway though .

[Phillydubs]

Do you add prime or a dechlor to your barrel? does it sit for a little bit with it in?

Are you seeing any bubble like film or foam or getting any brown slime?

[MaryStephens]

I do add prime and the water is in the barrel for about 2 days before I use it. I have a thermometer and water circulation pump in there. I tried to catch particulate in fish net to get a better look and it's a little tan and there is a film on top of water. The barrel is inside. My Kh is 2.

[Clawhammer]

Not to steal Phil's thunder but you should add Prime to the tank during the water change, not to the aging barrel. Chlorine and Chloramines will protect the aging water from bacteria buildup, which is likely what you are seeing. When you dose the tank with Prime, be sure to dose enough for the whole tank volume.

[MarkGSmith]

I add Prime to the barrel about 1 hour before WC. I only add for the volume of the barrel. I can't say I notice any difference in the fish, they're happy before and after!

[Filip]

I add Prime to the barrel about 1 hour before WC. I only add for the volume of the barrel. I can't say I notice any difference in the fish, they're happy before and after!

Dont add dechlor in the barrel at all .Only in your tank during a WC .
Let the chlorine do its job at preventing any life forms / bacterias occur in the aging barrel .

[ScottW]

Dont add dechlor in the barrel at all .Only in your tank during a WC .
Let the chlorine do its job at preventing any life forms / bacterias occur in the aging barrel .

I agree, I put mine in 5 to 10 minutes before it gets pumped into the tank.

[Bizarro252]

Dont add dechlor in the barrel at all .Only in your tank during a WC .
Let the chlorine do its job at preventing any life forms / bacterias occur in the aging barrel .


Not to steal Phil's thunder but you should add Prime to the tank during the water change, not to the aging barrel. Chlorine and Chloramines will protect the aging water from bacteria buildup, which is likely what you are seeing. When you dose the tank with Prime, be sure to dose enough for the whole tank volume.

I ran into an issue with cloudy/nasty water in my barrel when I started aging because I was adding Prime the night before, however I see no reason why you cant or shouldnt add it right before the change, the residual chlorine keeps the water clean and clear so I just add it right before a change as some others stated they do as well. It also nice to be able to use the change water coming from the pump to clean sponges, etc without having to worry about it killing BB :)

[bluelagoon]

You really don't need a dechlor if your water supply only uses chlorine.My city uses only chlorine so when aerating my water for 24 hours I don't bother using a dechlorinator.Never had an issue.

[Aussiebok]

interesting Filip. Lets say Dump 100L of water i can just replace it with normal tap water and add the requirement of water treatment into the sump to filter through? i always thought it needs to be in a barrel of sort for the treatment to do it work

[bluelagoon]

Empty water from tank. Add dechlor first for the volume of the tank, then add new water. Bond will happen instantly.

[Megalodon]

Dechlorination is more effective in clean water. The bacteria that grow in dechlorinated tap water are nothing compared to the bacterial soup that exists in aquariums.