Got a question about what water to use

Posted:
Wed Dec 07, 2005 6:44 pm
by daredevilgirl013
I'm using distilled water right now for my turtle tank which I know is bad but I can't use tap water from the house, it'll kill him even with all the right treatments. It killed all my fish when I had them and we tried everything to get it balanced right so I'm not even going to risk it with Mikey.
But what water can I use? Can I used the drinking water that comes in jugs? Can I use the spring water that comes in jugs?
I prefer something that comes in jugs and isn't expensive so that when I have to go buy a cart full of the stuff it doesn't cost me a lot.

Posted:
Wed Dec 07, 2005 7:46 pm
by ellman605
stick him in the toilet

lol just some humor there, i honestly wouldnt know, mabey get some rosy reds, get a gud of the water, and see if they live in there for a month, i dont know, its an idea though.

Posted:
Wed Dec 07, 2005 8:45 pm
by marisa
Fish are more sensitive to water content than turtles (who breath air), so I'm not sure why using tap water (with dechlorinator if it's treated) would harm your turtle. (If you're worried about the ph level, RES will tolerate variations, and if it's around 7, he should be OK--there are products, both chemical and natural, that can be used to adjust it as well.)
If you really want to use something other than your tapwater, the plastic jugs of drinking water/spring water at Walmart are about the cheapest I've seen if you want to buy your water. This would work for a small tank, but as your turtle grows and you upgrade, it will become quite a bit more expensive and time consuming to do.

Posted:
Wed Dec 07, 2005 10:52 pm
by daredevilgirl013
I know with treatments and all that it still wouldn't work. We've had our water tested before and the pet store we took it to basically said don't use it at all in any tanks, even with treatments. There's just something in the water that we can't take out that harms the animals.
So I'll get spring water when I go to Wally World Saturday, hopefully that'll help him out some.