What kind of water?

[zeldonian]

if my terrarium is semi-aqautic, can i use tap water, or should i use bottled or distilled? i know frogs are really sensitive to chemicals in the water, but i have that water conditioner that removes certain toxins.
Thanks

[Studdlygoof]

I've heard of a lot of people using RO Systems (Reverse Osmosis) for the water in their viv's...I know Dr Foster and Smith is having a sale on some of their cheaper systems right now too...

[ChromeLibrarian]

With all my amphibs, I go to Wal-mart and buy their bottled spring water. It's like .50 a gallon. It is purified by filtration, activated carbon, and UV light, so it has no nasty chemicals in it. Whatever you do, don't use bottled water purified with chemicals, or distilled water. If you use tap water, make sure you use an amphibian water conditioner in it. Don't use a fish water conditioner, as it can have chemicals for building up a fish's slime coat that aren't good for amphibs.

[zeldonian]

ok thanks

[Tindomul1of9]

Originally Posted by ChromeLibrarian

Whatever you do, don't use distilled water.

Any reason for that? Its what I use. I find it keeps the glass cleaner, and the animals don't care because the soil in the vivs remineralizes the water, and they get supplemented anyway. Not like fish.

[ChromeLibrarian]

The soil in the viv does not remineralize distilled water sufficiently. A lot of what is naturally found in bottled water is not found in the soil you are probably using. Therefore, the distilled water is not going to have the full range of salts and minerals, even after you expose it to the soil.

Without the proper salts and minerals in the water, you amphib, or reptile may not be able to regulate the absorption of water into their cells. This is a bad thing.

Never use distilled water in your viv. The only really important thing is to make sure the water you use doesn't have added flouride, or chlorine.

[Tindomul1of9]

So is bottled water the one you want to use?
I use distilled water for misting only. But the misting is usually more than enough to fill up water features. So I suppose salts and minerals in my tanks have not been added in a while.

[ChromeLibrarian]

I use bottled spring water, but bottled drinking water should be fine. Just check the label to make sure it hasn't had any chlorine or bromine, or fluoride added.

[Rainfrog]

Good to know. Ill probably need to use bottled water when I get frogs. Fish and things dont mind the tap water but my local water department just sent a flier saying we have high amounts of led in the local water supply.

[HappyHippos]

I used tap water to enlarge my coco coir bricks, then rung the coco out and have been using distilled water in my viv. I have only added the plants with out frogs. Is using the tap water to enlarge the coir going to hurt/kill PDF frogs ?