# Using the water from a dehumidfier



## Fruitflies (17 Aug 2013)

I had a brainwave as I was emptying out the water tank of my dehumidifier this morning (I live in a well insulated flat and get damp problems caused by condensation from breathing, drying washing and showering etc). This is the model.

I live in London and as I understand it the tap water here is not very good for keeping many types of shrimp in it.  One of my long-term ideas would be to have a small shrimp tank in the bedroom.  I don't think that I would like the expense/space of an RO system, so I was wondering about using the water from my dehumidifier.  Presumably it is essentially  RO water in there?  Does someone who knows more about these things than me agree? Does anyone do this?

 I'm sure it would produce enough water to perform a 25+% water change on a 20l tank once a week or so when operating at a normal level.


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## DrRob (17 Aug 2013)

It'll contain anything condensible from the air. That includes mainly water, but also any atmospheric pollutants that condense at sub zero temperatures as well.

Personally I'd avoid, but it'd depend a lot on what the air was like in your flat.


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## Fruitflies (17 Aug 2013)

I hadn't thought about that- I suppose it'll be at least 2% girlfriend's hairspray!


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## Henry (17 Aug 2013)

My girlfriend and I used to run a dehumidifier almost 24/7 in our old (dank) basement flat. The water used to smell of potatoes, which was from the moist plaster on the walls. It might be worth running the water through some carbon and experimenting on one shrimp?
I dunno. Crazy, beer fuelled science ideas. I just bust the fridge and breathed in a load of the gas, so my brains not working properly


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## foxfish (17 Aug 2013)

Henry are you promoting animal experiments!


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## Henry (17 Aug 2013)

No, not at all. I highly doubt that condensed water from the atmosphere filtered through carbon would cause any issue, but if exposing livestock to anything with a view to providing them with a better living environment, I'd much rather expose only the one shrimp to that small potential risk than many.

Yes I'm promoting animal experiments. Whack some Pantene in there


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## Fruitflies (17 Aug 2013)

Henry said:


> No, not at all. I highly doubt that condensed water from the atmosphere filtered through carbon would cause any issue, but if exposing livestock to anything with a view to providing them with a better living environment, I'd much rather expose only the one shrimp to that small potential risk than many.
> 
> Yes I'm promoting animal experiments. Whack some Pantene in there


 

Maybe not Pantene- but some hair products do claim to promote growth.... so definitely worth a try!


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## Henry (17 Aug 2013)

Disclaimer: I've had a couple.


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## Samjpikey (18 Aug 2013)

Hey , 
I think I have asked this question once. 
Think of Of all the impurities/unfriendly bacteria/fungus/mould etc caused by the damp ... Do you really want to be putting that into your tank ?? 
 Also Would you drink it , we add tap water which is safe and very drinkable , so if its safe for us to drink then it has to be safe for aquariums  I personally won't be drinking water from a dehumidifier anytime soon .. 
Just a few things to think about  
Cheers 


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## Fruitflies (18 Aug 2013)

Samjpikey said:


> Hey ,
> I think I have asked this question once.
> Think of Of all the impurities/unfriendly bacteria/fungus/mould etc caused by the damp ... Do you really want to be putting that into your tank ??
> Also Would you drink it , we add tap water which is safe and very drinkable , so if its safe for us to drink then it has to be safe for aquariums  I personally won't be drinking water from a dehumidifier anytime soon ..
> ...


 

I don't know if the, "would I drink it" test necessarily holds true- I probably wouldn't drink the water I put in my tank once it has been dosed with prime and the EI nutrients. Once it is in there and full of the fish poo and bacteria I certainly wouldn't drink it, but the fish aren't bothered by it....

To be fair I hadn't thought about toxic things in the air like hairspray, but as for some bacteria etc, surely any rogue bacteria/fungal spores which are in the air in the room with the tank in it are going to be in the tank anyway?


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## Samjpikey (18 Aug 2013)

I definitely wouldn't drink the water straight  from the tank , I think what I was trying to say is if we drink the water from our taps surely is safe to dump straight into an aquarium .. 
I don't live in London so I don't know how bad the water really is but I personally wouldn't add water from a dehumidifier which has taken that moisture from a damp House/flat , 

Cheers 


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## Ady34 (19 Aug 2013)

Fruitflies said:


> To be fair I hadn't thought about toxic things in the air like hairspray, but as for some bacteria etc, surely any rogue bacteria/fungal spores which are in the air in the room with the tank in it are going to be in the tank anyway?


Yes, we dilute them with water changes  Personally (without any scientific knowledge) I wouldn't use dehumidifier waste water, it likely contains a higher concentration of airborne contaminants which would render the water change pointless and possibly toxic.


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