Water that comes straight from the tap is considered safe for human consumption because it has been tested for heavy metals, disinfected with chlorine or chloramine and amended with products like fluoride. While those steps create a water supply that’s among the safest in the world for you and me, it’s not necessarily ideal for our fish or plants. In fact, if you’re planning to rely primarily on tap water for your pond, it’s probably worth your while to start off by contacting your water utility for their most recent water quality report. You’ll want to know whether chlorine or chloramine is used as a disinfectant, and if there are other water quality data points that are concerning (metals, pH, hardness). Tap water usually contains fairly high levels of nitrates, as well.
If chloramine is used by your water utility, you won’t be able to rely on the age-old evaporation technique to make the water safe for fish, since chloramine does not evaporate, even with boiling. If using a dechlorinator or water conditioner doesn’t fit the bill, you could consider a relatively quick and direct approach, like using a carbon filter hose attachment. These filters remove chlorine, chloramine, sediments, metals and heavy metals and simply require attaching to the end of your hose. Their rate of flow is fairly low, however, so if you need a high volume of tap water, setting up an activated carbon filtration system is probably worth the effort. Activated carbon can remove organic pollutants, pesticides, medicines, perfumes, and more, as well as help promote the growth of beneficial bacteria to help your pond achieve peak levels of clarity and health. Even better, this system allows you to start off a brand new pond with tap water and be fish ready in a matter of days. Of course, whichever treatment method you use, always remember to test your pond once you’ve added water, to make sure that everything is within healthy parameters!
