Is tap water ok?

[Rooney]

Granted the UK makes the top ten list of the safest tap water, I'd assume it should be just fine for your t. It's a rose hair, it's from Chile. I'm sure they're no stranger to shitty water lately.

 

[Nosiris]

Remember that tap water varies wildly in composition from place to place, not just in additives but from the basic 'hardness' of the area's supply as well. Even the age and condition of your building's plumbing can have an effect. Someone declaring on here that they've always used tap water with no problems is not a green light for everyone to use tap water.

I notice the OP is in the south of England where our water is particularly hard and chlorinated. IMHO I'd stick to bottled just to be on the safe side.

 

[darthcider]

I live in Wales and use tap water, but only been at this for a few months.
Try Halfords or somewhere similar for distilled water.

 

[ratluvr76]

I use bottled water for myself, my dog and our T's, but I try to use bottled spring water rather than distiller because the distillation process strips the water of trace minerals. Our tap water is fine for the most part but it tastes like dirt to me. My family say I'm nuts but I really do notice a taste. My family has tested me on it, gave me two glasses of water. One had tap water the other had bottled, I could smell the dirt in the tap water before I even got the glass to my lips. I can also taste the chlorine. Plus I don't think fluoridated water is healthy. I buy 5 gallon jugs of it though and returns the empties for a fresh bottle. Zero land fill waste. (a water cooler with a hot and cool tap was my anniversary present this year. )

 

[dementedlullaby]

Chlorine dissipates, so does chloramine but at a slower rate. Not all treatment facilities use chlromaine though. You should be able to ask someone in charge what they use. They will tell you if you ask. I know my area doesn't use chloramine to treat, only chlorine.

If you're really worried about it just leave a jug sitting out. Or if you're a real worry wort boil it. I let my water sit for my salt water aquariums because I don't want to add dechlorinator or fresh water tanks if I'm out of the dechlorinator. For tarantulas I don't think tap water straight out of the tap will cause any harm personally. But I do stay on the safe side and "age" the water slightly before use. I prefer spring water for taste and my animals liked it but after two broken water coolers (first one stopped cooling, second one started leaking) I just went back to tap. I'm also not a fan of distilled/RO water unless it is for very specific purposes. And most of the time you end up "building it back up" anyway.

Of course some places just have horrid tap water. I figure if you won't drink it don't give it to your animals.

 

[tweakz]

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.

Was gonna say this. As far as breeding issues this is the only substance in this discussion with proven problems, at least my tap water isn't plasticated.

 

[ratluvr76]

BPA free bottles don't leach BPA into the water.