Comments on: Water Quality

By: Cinnabar

Cinnabar — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 22:12:50 +0000

I have found it very hard to use anything other than spring water now that I have determined how much better it is.

Thank you for your loyal readership!

By: Black Dragon

Black Dragon — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 23:51:16 +0000

Hi Gong Fu Girl,

The H2O issue has been on my mind too lately. My wife and I use filtered tap water for our tea but have recently begun experimenting with different spring waters to very good results. I guess its a cost and availability issue for us city kids.

Cheers,
Brett (yep I still follow your blog after all these years!)

By: Cinnabar

Cinnabar — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 17:24:18 +0000

I’ve had to resist looking around for a similar silver teapot like that one myself! Thank you for reading.

By: Stacey

Stacey — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 17:33:45 +0000

YW, . For the record, most times when I do a water change, I’ll let the tap run right into the tank (I use a Python), and hit it with a little bit of dechlorinator while the water is running. Never lost a fish to a water change yet, except for the time when one of them jumped out of the tank.

For tea, the boiling process should get rid of all the chlorine. The real problem is all the other dissolved substances in water that can really ruin your tea. Iron from the pipes, water quality in general. pH can vary widely in this area depending upon how long it has been since a rain.

Good article, I love your blog. I wish you guys would quit referencing that article about the silver kettle. It makes me want one tooooo much. I’ve spent way too much money lately on tea stuff and can’t afford a real silver kettle anyways. Ha!

By: Cinnabar

Cinnabar — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 15:36:03 +0000

That is really interesting and good to know. The water here doesn’t have that harsher chlorine smell that is more evident in other parts of the country, so I shouldn’t be surprised, but it’s hard to let go of such a long-held belief in the absolute necessity of de-chlorinating solutions for aquariums! It would sure be a lot less of a hassle to do water changes in my fish tanks if I didn’t have to be quite so careful about treating every ounce of water before it goes in. (My tea is considerably more delicate than my fish are.)

Thank you for setting me straight on this.

By: Stacey

Stacey — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 04:17:35 +0000

Enjoyed your article, but your comments about tapwater and fishkeeping in the Pacific NW are inaccurate. In most areas, the chlorine levels that come out of your tap are enough to bother only the most sensitive fish.

Most water around here is chlorinated at a very low level because other water treatment levels reduce the need for chlorination. Thus the chlorine that is added has largely evaporated by the time it reaches its destination, the tap. One of the problems can occur when water still has slight chlorination and is introduced to a dirty fish tank. The remaining chlorine can react with ammonia and create a much more stable compound called chloramine. Chloramine also accelerates water deterioration in the tank.

Still, it is unlikely to kill any but very delicate fish. I’ve tried this in my own tanks, with many different types of fish, and I rarely treat my water any longer, simply test the parameters of the tap water and give it the “sniff” test.

So while tap (in PNW) may not be ideal for your tea, it is a myth that chlorine and additive levels are significantly toxic.