Is tap water ok?

[Smokehound714]

Tap water itself is just fine. Old plumbing on the other hand can leach heavy metals. My tap water is undrinkable, because our plumbing sucks. It's safe to drink, but i find it absolutely repulsive. Oddly, all my T's and spiders seem to like it better. Must be the high calcium content. Haha our water is so hard, that i can just give my millipedes tap water, and they get all the calcium they need


Alot of our water actually comes from the colorado river, over here, which is why it's so ridiculously hard.

 

[freedumbdclxvi]

I dont get it, a few people say they use bottled, soon as someone says they use tap they're shot down with loads of misinformation that isn't proven at all. What happened to leaving people to their own opinions? Not everything has to be fought down. There are no proven anything that tap water has any ill effects on T's. Simple as that. Come with proof over opinion before you cost people unnecessary money. IMO

water tests lol

I think people confuse their own precautionary measures with actual "health concerns" and then wonder why anyone else would "risk" their animals. I've yet to see any actual data or proof any additives in tap water negatively impact tarantulas.

 

[Poec54]

I've yet to see any actual data or proof any additives in tap water negatively impact tarantulas.

And you probably won't see any, due to the variation in water quality and additives state-to-state and country-to-country.

 

[MarkmD]

I agree with poec54, you probably wont see any official proof on variations (across the board), but our water suppliers across the world try thayr best to keep it safe for drinking from many tests etc, so from now till we all have proof of damaging differences between our water (except from the taste lol) we dont have to worry about our T's drinking it.

 

[BobGrill]

I dont get it, a few people say they use bottled, soon as someone says they use tap they're shot down with loads of misinformation that isn't proven at all. What happened to leaving people to their own opinions? Not everything has to be fought down. There are no proven anything that tap water has any ill effects on T's. Simple as that. Come with proof over opinion before you cost people unnecessary money. IMO

water tests lol

Because there's no proof that tap water is good or bad for them, and everyone likes to think that their way is the right way.

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[Pociemon]

Hi guys, registered last week and started a thread on basic tarantula care. I live in the South of England and I was wondering, is tap water ok for my Chilean Rose Hair? If not, how should I go about letting her drink?

I use tap water, but i dont use a waterbowl, neither for my burrowers or arboreal T´s, it is not necessary. I mist the arboreals twice a week and i keep a corner in the burrowers enclosure stay wet all year long. it works. Just to show you that there are many ways to hydrating our small critters.

 

[cold blood]

Because there's no proof that tap water is good or bad for them, and everyone likes to think that their way is the right way.

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As long as you are offering clean water, its the right way.

 

[ARACHNO-SMACK48]

I prefer to use water out of a purifier for my T's mostly because I can. Distilled water lacks vitamins and minerals found in nature and I don't like to use bottled water. But I live in Memphis and we have some of the best water in the U.S. Any way tap water should be fine regardless as long as you don't have particularly bad water.

 

[cold blood]

Keep in mind, t's are not like dogs where the moment you put the bowl down they slobber the whole thing down. Water in t enclosures sits for a while, long enough for anything that can escape, to do so by the time they get around to it. Chlorine would really be the one thing of greatest concern in my mind, but there is no way its still in the water by the time a t would generally get to it.

 

[freedumbdclxvi]

And you probably won't see any, due to the variation in water quality and additives state-to-state and country-to-country.

Of course. But studies *could* be done with the various additives. That many people worldwide not only successfully keep but breed tarantulas providing only tap water, one can surmise that in most cases tap water is more than adequate and lacks lasting effects.

 

[cold blood]

bottle v. tap

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/03/100310/why-tap-water-is-better/

Interesting that it points out bottled being known to contain BPA, which is known to cause reproductive issues.

 

[Smokehound714]

Some definitely need a water dish, like aphonos and grammies.

Those two genera tend to loath wet conditions, misting them can cause problems.

 

[Pociemon]

Some definitely need a water dish, like aphonos and grammies.

Those two genera tend to loath wet conditions, misting them can cause problems.

Absolutely. I should have included it in my original post, but it was only to show him there is other ways of doing it. But still, there is nothing wrong with keeping a wet corner in there, but it is for the more advanced keepers. Misting is not that good.

 

[shebeen]

Keep in mind, t's are not like dogs where the moment you put the bowl down they slobber the whole thing down. Water in t enclosures sits for a while, long enough for anything that can escape, to do so by the time they get around to it. Chlorine would really be the one thing of greatest concern in my mind, but there is no way its still in the water by the time a t would generally get to it.

Chlorine will dissipate from standing water but chloramine will not. Many municipalities treat their tap water with both, including mine. I use Prime or AmQuel to neutralize the chloramine in the water I give my spiders. Although I'm not sure it's actually necessary, I'd rather error on caution.

 

[Lrntolive]

Chlorine will dissipate from standing water but chloramine will not. Many municipalities treat their tap water with both, including mine. I use Prime or AmQuel to neutralize the chloramine in the water I give my spiders. Although I'm not sure it's actually necessary, I'd rather error on caution.

Shebeen,

After doing a little research, chloramine will dissipate from water, but very slowly. It is a derivative of ammonia, actually a chlorine radical attached to ammonia. I guess water treatment facilities started using it because it dissipates slower than chlorine and is easier to handle.

Still, considering the distances tap water must travel from a treatment facility before reaching your home (in the USA) the chloramine should dissipate to low levels. I don't work in a lab anymore, so I can't run any specific tests, but it would be interesting if a younger person could?

Again, up to the individual to decide for themselveswhat they feel is safe for their T.

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[Talkenlate04]

Never used anything but tap water and never had an issue.

 

[Le Wasp]

Shebeen,

After doing a little research, chloramine will dissipate from water, but very slowly. It is a derivative of ammonia, actually a chlorine radical attached to ammonia. I guess water treatment facilities started using it because it dissipates slower than chlorine and is easier to handle.

Still, considering the distances tap water must travel from a treatment facility before reaching your home (in the USA) the chloramine should dissipate to low levels. I don't work in a lab anymore, so I can't run any specific tests, but it would be interesting if a younger person could?

Again, up to the individual to decide for themselveswhat they feel is safe for their T.

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For those who would like to use tap, but are afraid of chlorine and other compounds that evaporate out, you could try what my friend does for her fish: Save a big empty soda bottle/milk jug/etc. and fill it with tap water. Then leave it uncapped for a few days before using it.

 

[cold blood]

I will say, that generally I use water from a bucket in the room, as it sits the chlorine will dissipate...

I do that as well.

 

[Eclipse]

I've used tap water for about 10+ years with all my invertebrates even when I moved state to state. I never used a water bowl except for desert species. Never had any problems and only had one mismolt from an Avic out of the few dozen T's I've owned in those 10+ years. Can't tell you how much exactly lol.

 

[Medusa]

I use tap water for my t's (and us) because our neighborhood water system is one of the best in the area. If we lived somewhere else I'd consider using bottled or filtered based on the local system. But then I'm not breeding/selling which might cause me to be a little more careful.


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