PantherEnvy
Avid Member
I use bottled water. I even use it in my ReptiFogger with no issues.
What Kind of Water?
- Thread starter Aleris
- Start date
Zen Reptiles
Avid Member
I just tested some Spring Water today. Bottled at High River, Alberta.
It had 198 TDS. I was testing it against some pretty bad well water in the area...the well water was 125 TDS....
This is excessive since most bottled waters are 50-150. Most tap water I test is 50-150. Most well water I test is 150-400.
When you are paying for water in a bottle, shouldn't it be better? Unfortunately you will never know unless you test it yourself. The family drinking the cheap bottled water was spending hundreds of dollars a year on it!
In fact 25% of bottled water are simply tap water, and any that use the lingo 'Natural' or 'Pure' is either tap or spring water run through a Carbon/Charcoal filter to remove taste and odor, but not the actual contaminants.
These days, spring water doesn't mean anything. Chemicals will seep into the ground and get there either way. In fact, Spring Water is likely to increase your heart disease risk (due to the calcium content): Further Reading
Like chameleons, we want our calcium from our food. For them, it is gutloaded insects (or in the wild it is from the exoskeletons or skeletal matter of their prey). For us, it is vegetables/plants.
The ONLY two bottled waters I have ever tested that were decent are Aquafina (#1) and Dasani at a close #2. The rest were trash. Some grocery stores where you fill your own up for cheap are either excellent, or as bad as tap water....usually the latter, in my experience of testing them.
It had 198 TDS. I was testing it against some pretty bad well water in the area...the well water was 125 TDS....
This is excessive since most bottled waters are 50-150. Most tap water I test is 50-150. Most well water I test is 150-400.
When you are paying for water in a bottle, shouldn't it be better? Unfortunately you will never know unless you test it yourself. The family drinking the cheap bottled water was spending hundreds of dollars a year on it!
In fact 25% of bottled water are simply tap water, and any that use the lingo 'Natural' or 'Pure' is either tap or spring water run through a Carbon/Charcoal filter to remove taste and odor, but not the actual contaminants.
These days, spring water doesn't mean anything. Chemicals will seep into the ground and get there either way. In fact, Spring Water is likely to increase your heart disease risk (due to the calcium content): Further Reading
Like chameleons, we want our calcium from our food. For them, it is gutloaded insects (or in the wild it is from the exoskeletons or skeletal matter of their prey). For us, it is vegetables/plants.
The ONLY two bottled waters I have ever tested that were decent are Aquafina (#1) and Dasani at a close #2. The rest were trash. Some grocery stores where you fill your own up for cheap are either excellent, or as bad as tap water....usually the latter, in my experience of testing them.
Monzon
Established Member
For me, an RO system with a reservoir/pressure tank and a high quality misting system like aquazamp or mist king, provides hassle free peace of mind. It is a bit of a financial commitment at first, (but if you are in it for the long haul it is actually similar in cost to the least expensive alternatives). Mainly though, it takes all the worry out of the hydration part of the puzzle. I started taking this approach for granted until I moved locales and was without it for three weeks - I really appreciate it now! Also, I have an I.V. drip that utilizes a Starbucks "coffee bag" that I will post pictures of Monday. This dripper is precisely adjustable and serves as an always available water source for redundancy. Water, water management, and hydration are important and should not be a headache or a worry. Whatever ends up working for you, I would just say stear clear of hard, alkaline water, flouride, chlorine - the kind of crappy tap water you find in certain areas. If you are trying to replicate rain water, the closest choices are: distilled, RO, and deionized. Spring water and tap water are too variable to give advice about - some sources are probably excellent, others are highly questionable.
