# Tap water vs bottled



## katiecpadilla (Jun 4, 2014)

Does anyone know if bottled water needs to be used for soaking and drinking??


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## Tom (Jun 4, 2014)

My test: If the tap is safe for you and your children to drink and bathe in, then its safe for your tortoise. I've been using tap water for turtles and tortoises since 1979.


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## bouaboua (Jun 4, 2014)

And no one has dead.....I use tap water also.


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## ascott (Jun 4, 2014)

City water is not the best....so many negative chemicals are added.....the house we live in is supplied by well water....there are pros and cons of that as well....however, I do get annual reports of the content of our water....you can inquire with your city about an annual testing report that shows what has been added and what is found in the water naturally.....not all city water is safe...remember what the source is that offers this "reassurance"....


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## leigti (Jun 4, 2014)

It depends on the city you live in but often bottled water is actually not much different then city water. They just put a fancy label on it from some exotic sounding place.


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## katiecpadilla (Jun 5, 2014)

Okay, thanks all!


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## G_Vincey (Jun 14, 2014)

I tend to bathe my tort in tap water and fill his dish with bottled water..

But what confuses me is..
If I bathe him in luke warm water, shouldn't the water in his water dish be luke warm too? As it's meant to be big enough for him to get into? 
But then? How do you keep the water luke warm, so I'm thinking you don't.. 
So basically, what temp water do you put into his water dish?


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## AZtortMom (Jun 14, 2014)

I've been using tap water for bathing and drinking for my torts and they are beasts. Maybe that's the key *rubbing chin* hmmm


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## Cowboy_Ken (Jun 14, 2014)

I'm on a well that is 750' deep. We're at 725' elevation. Our water tests great! At that depth, not much gets in there.


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## Aunt Caffy (Jun 17, 2014)

ascott said:


> City water is not the best....so many negative chemicals are added.....the house we live in is supplied by well water....there are pros and cons of that as well....however, I do get annual reports of the content of our water....you can inquire with your city about an annual testing report that shows what has been added and what is found in the water naturally.....not all city water is safe...remember what the source is that offers this "reassurance"....


As someone who works for a water entity, I would like to offer a couple of facts. First, there are many, many more regulations regarding the safety of drinking water versus bottled water. Second, there is at least one big bottled water company (Ozarka) whose water source is a municipal water source (Fort Worth, TX). Third, when using bottled water, be cognizant of the expiration date and don't store it in sunlight. Fourth, if you want to remove chlorine from your water, just let it sit out for a little while. Most chlorine will dissipate in fifteen minutes or so. Fifth, if you are curious about the pH, chlorine, or alkalinity in your water, the pool water testing kits are quite accurate.


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## ascott (Jun 17, 2014)

> As someone who works for a water entity, I would like to offer a couple of facts. First, _there are many, many more regulations regarding the safety of drinking water versus bottled water_. Second, there is at least one big bottled water company (Ozarka) whose water source is a municipal water source (Fort Worth, TX). Third, when using bottled water, be cognizant of the expiration date and don't store it in sunlight._* Fourth, if you want to remove chlorine from your water, just let it sit out for a little while. Most chlorine will dissipate in fifteen minutes or so.*_ Fifth, if you are curious about the pH, chlorine, or alkalinity in your water, the pool water testing kits are quite accurate.



I am politely going to disagree with you (based on printed and confirmed facts that show there are entirely too many variables to offer the answer here of "_*if you want to remove chlorine from your water, just let it sit out for a little while. Most chlorine will dissipate in fifteen minutes or so" *_ you would need to know too many variables in order to make this statement, period. As someone who works for a water entity, you should know better...? For example;

How high is the temperature of the water in question? 
How fast is the air going by the surface of the water in question?
What is the surrounding humidity?
What is the pH of the water in question?
What is the amount of chlorine to begin with in the water in question?
Is the water treated with chlorine or chloramine? 

There is no way to know the answer to your question without knowing basics from the treating source (just to begin with)...


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## johnsonnboswell (Jun 17, 2014)

Water is typically allowed to sit out for 24 hours hours to dissipate chlorine before adding to fish tanks. Fish are sensitive. Turtles and tortoises are fine with tap water. 

When I top up the ambo's pond with tap water, it does not seem to affect any feeder fish living with him. That may be because the proportion is so small. 

The only tap water problem I have is with my gulf coast box turtle. He soaks a lot, and has developed a ring of hard water mineral deposit around his shell.


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## Aunt Caffy (Jun 18, 2014)

ascott said:


> I am politely going to disagree with you (based on printed and confirmed facts that show there are entirely too many variables to offer the answer here of "_*if you want to remove chlorine from your water, just let it sit out for a little while. Most chlorine will dissipate in fifteen minutes or so" *_ you would need to know too many variables in order to make this statement, period. As someone who works for a water entity, you should know better...? For example;
> 
> How high is the temperature of the water in question?
> How fast is the air going by the surface of the water in question?
> ...


Actually, I was basing that time on tap water typically being a neutral to slightly basic pH, around room temperature (since you're typically drawing tap water from inside your house), a chlorine concentration of around 1 mg/L (since chlorine residual typically decreases during distribution), and with some minor airflow due to central heating/air conditioning. And, like I said, most chlorine will dissipate especially if you are concerned with taste and odor issues. 

Definitely, though waiting for a longer time period cannot hurt. Being cautious is certainly never a bad thing.


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## Team Gomberg (Jun 18, 2014)

G_Vincey said:


> But what confuses me is..
> If I bathe him in luke warm water, shouldn't the water in his water dish be luke warm too? As it's meant to be big enough for him to get into?
> But then? How do you keep the water luke warm, so I'm thinking you don't..
> So basically, what temp water do you put into his water dish?



You don't need to worry about the water temp inside the enclosure. The water can't get any colder than the environment it is in. So, minimally if it's room temp, that's fine.. In my Leopard chamber, it's near the CHE and my ambient temp is above 80F...so my water in the dish is usually 80F or so..


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## Saleama (Jun 18, 2014)

Most bottled water is bottled at the source. This means the municiple source in the city the bottling plant is located in. It does not get any more filtration than the water that comes from the tap in those cities. Do all the research you want, but the short answer to your question is there is no difference other than the differences in your local supply and the one used by the bottler. Now, if you had asked if tap/bottled was worse than filtered! The answer to that might be different. All I do is fill up my bottles AFTER I have watered my torts and turts and leave them by the sink. The next day, when I use it, it is just fine.


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## G_Vincey (Jun 18, 2014)

Team Gomberg said:


> You don't need to worry about the water temp inside the enclosure. The water can't get any colder than the environment it is in. So, minimally if it's room temp, that's fine.. In my Leopard chamber, it's near the CHE and my ambient temp is above 80F...so my water in the dish is usually 80F or so..



Ok thank you for clearing that up for me


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## Yellow Turtle01 (Jun 25, 2014)

If you're going to use tap water, use some water conditioner in it too. Tap can contain all kinds chemicals like chlorine and rust.


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## Grandpa Turtle 144 (Jun 25, 2014)

I give my baby's bottled water cause I know my baby torts don't want or need floride in AZ city water is allowed to have a small amount of Arrsnik in it. And I know I've lost less baby's sense I started using bottled water . And every city and state don't have the same rules about what can be left or put in city water . But this is how I feel it don't mean you must feel this way . Have a great tort day !


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## RainsOn (Jun 30, 2014)

I live in northwest Oklahoma where there is a lot of oil drilling. Our tap water is "crap" (pardon my speech). Our town is at government max levels for all kinds of chemicals. We have a reverse osmosis tap at the kitchen sink. Being a "first time mom", I may be overly concerned but use the RO water for anything my Russian might drink. It is going to cause us to change expensive water filters more often but we accept the costs with exotic pets. When in the yard, he is in the dewy grass and I mist him with the water hose.
Call me stupid but I just found out that chlorine is a gas. That is why is can evaporate. "Duh?!" to me.


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## mikeh (Jun 30, 2014)

If you guys really want to go all out, how about collecting rain water towards the end of a heavy thunder storm? Much of air pollutants will be flushed out by then leaving clean rain water charged with nitrates created by lighting. After all wouldn't this be the kind of water the tortoises would drink in the wild?


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## Grandpa Turtle 144 (Jun 30, 2014)

Mike h 
Your right but after 2 nights there would be way to much protein in it cause of the mosequoes . So I will stick to bottled water for my baby's 


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## Vet (Jul 8, 2014)

I use "tap water", but on our kitchen sink we have installed a filter to where all the water coming out of our main faucet is "filtered" (from Lowe's). It tastes much better than the city water. Granted sometimes I use water from the bathroom for my spray bottle for the reptiles.


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## smarch (Jul 17, 2014)

My theory is if I drink it its good enough. But that being said we have a well as well as a reverse osmosis filter leaving essentially nothing in the water (did you know that makes it hard to keep aquariums since literally anything to stabilize PH and hardness is gone?... 3 years in keeping fish and I just recently learned that's why its often a fight for me!) Anyways that goes in franklins drinking water. We have the reverse osmosis filter due to there being fluctuations of arsenic in the water and its easier just not to drink it, but its never actually hit dangerous levels, so that's what franklin gets his soaks in because I can run it warm in a more controlled way than heating up the other water, he NEVER drinks during soaks though, and since its not in the "danger" level I've never worried, especially since I also bathe in it, plus since I know he doesn't drink it I see it as the same. Anyone elses tortoise HATE soaks as much as franklin? I've seen others unhappy about soaks but he puts it to an extreme!


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## Steven Schultheis (Jul 21, 2014)

The cat and tortoise both get Brita filtered water. We don't drink the tap water so everyone else will do the same. 

The tap water is fine to drink. We prefer it filtered.


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## Abdulla6169 (Jul 21, 2014)

I don't have a problem with drinking tap water, so my tort shouldn't


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## mike taylor (Jul 21, 2014)

Tortoises drink nasty water in the wild . So why spend money on bottled water . Plus most tortoises are going to out grow their inside enclosure and be moved outside . Hopefully you will build them a nice pond that you will have to clean once a week .


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## weldorNate (Aug 20, 2014)

I let my tortoises water sit out so there is no chlorine in it before I fill there water dishes with it and as for soaks I use the chlorine remover stuff that I use for my fish just to make sure there no chlorine or other bad chemicals left in the water.


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## jeffjeff (Aug 20, 2014)

i use tap water. our water comes from a lake that's 10 mins drive away tastes fine. one of the good things about living in the lake district i guess. lol


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