Bacteria from tap water?

[Flexy]

I been told that it's possible to get a desease from fresh tap water. Also water must be aged for 2-3 days to starve the bacteria and kill it. Does anybody has any kind of information about that topic??

[Jeff]

Sorry, I've not heard that one. That is part of the reason water contains chlorine is to protect against bacteria.

[Ryan]

I have only heard of aging water to stabilize the pH and heat it to match the tank temperature. I am also assuming (though I'm far from an expert) that local water companies add chlorine or chloramine to kill off things such as bacteria. Then you may need to age your water in order to remove chlorine/chloramine.

If you have well water like I do, there is a possibility of high bacteria counts in your water. There are actually companies that will come out and treat your well with chlorine tablets in order to kill off large amounts of bacteria, but I would assume this might be expensive and/or labor intensive. You may check around locally to see if there is a place to test your water for high bacteria counts if this is a concern with well water. There a few local water testing labs near me who will check water for these kinds of problems (for a ridiculous amount of money, of course).

Ryan

[Carol_Roberts]

No, that makes no sense at all. You won't starve bacteria living in water by having it set around in an open container for several days. In fact the bacteria count may increase.

As stated above we "age" (that means aerate or agitate) our water to stabilize the pH. Some people with soft water can gently burbble their water with an airstone overnight. I agitate mine with a pond pump for 3 hours.

Carol :heart1:

[Ralph]

If you live in a place where they tell you to boil the water before drinking it, it is because of high bacteria levels. The added chlorine is specifically to kill the bacteria. Two boys died here this last summer from disease carried in unchlorinated tap water (not all water companies use it). And Carol is right, aging the water will likely increase existing bacteria levels.
As far as it's affect on discus, most pathogens are species specific. That is why you can't catch anything from your dog or vice versa (there are exceptions but they are rare). So the chances of your fish getting sick from a cold water bacteria are slim (but there are many unexplained discus deaths, just read through the disease section).
I've never heard of anyone chlorinating their own water but it is possible (but be sure to remove it afterwards before adding it to your tank). Also RO will remove bacteria. In Brasil, we would filter it through ceramics. I would make sure you had a problem though before you took any extreme measures.

Well Done Ralph ;)

[Ralph]

Thanks Cary.
I forgot the main one, UV, it is used by some discus keepers here, mostly as part of their tank filtration system. It will kill everything as far as I know.

[DREW]

Will having a few barrels of aged water siting around being agitated and heated for a month or so cause any problems?

[Jeff]

Days I think is ok. A month may be a little long. Bacteria will grow in water.

Drew,
I would keep it for about a week at max., but after 24 hrs. it should be used.

Flexy,
Aging water is nessceary to OFF GAS the nice things the city puts in the water system. You can use any number of products to get rid of chlornie or chloramines. It will also help the PH stablize. My PH stablizes in 4-5 hours. But it takes a little time for it to get heated up to tank temp.

HTH
Miles

[Flexy]

:D Lots of great information. Thanks.

[Fish_Fin-atic]

I live not too far (about an hour's drive) from a place called Walkerton, Ontario. Last summer, they had one of the worst cases of E-Coli poisoning in North American history. Over a thousand people got sick and hospitalized, and I think seven or so died from just drinking the tap water. This was due to the fact that the water wasn't tested in accordance with government standards, and even though the water was Chlorinated, these bacteria were still present in numbers significant enough to kill....so....yeah, there can be bacteria present even in city water with Chlorine. If you want to be totally safe, use UV sterilization, or ozone. What's that saying about an ounce of prevention?

Fishfinatic,
Sounds like a case of someone not doing there Job again! :o


Plain and simple they did not use enough


IMO I still will say its very Very rare.

[redlines]

Fishfinatic,
Sounds like a case of someone not doing there Job again! :o



CARY - OR IS T A CASE OF TOO MANY PEOPLE DOING THEIR JOB IN THE WRONG PLACE? :wasntme:

Is it just a load of cr@p!? :o

Andy

[Fish_Fin-atic]

Hey Andy...err...I think you got that right on the dot - it was "a load of cr@p". I think the E Coli got into the water table from farm runoff from when the farmers spread cow manure on a field just before it rains, in order to 'get rid of it' (although I don't think it was ever proven either way) and yes, Cary is right, this kind of thing is very, very rare - thank God for that!