Tap water vs bottled

Katybug

Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Feb 9, 2011
Messages
42
Location (City and/or State)
Utah
Does anyone know if bottled water needs to be used for soaking and drinking??
 

bouaboua

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Tortoise Club
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Dec 7, 2013
Messages
11,809
Location (City and/or State)
San Jose CA
And no one has dead.....I use tap water also.
 

ascott

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Apr 10, 2011
Messages
16,138
Location (City and/or State)
Apple Valley, California
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"....
 

G_Vincey

Member
Joined
May 13, 2014
Messages
119
Location (City and/or State)
London
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?
 

AZtortMom

Well-Known Member
Tortoise Club
5 Year Member
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jul 31, 2012
Messages
8,644
Location (City and/or State)
Sunny AZ
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 ;)
 

Aunt Caffy

Well-Known Member
Tortoise Club
5 Year Member
Joined
May 21, 2014
Messages
476
Location (City and/or State)
Texas
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.
 

ascott

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Apr 10, 2011
Messages
16,138
Location (City and/or State)
Apple Valley, California
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)...
 

johnsonnboswell

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Aug 27, 2012
Messages
2,238
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.
 

Aunt Caffy

Well-Known Member
Tortoise Club
5 Year Member
Joined
May 21, 2014
Messages
476
Location (City and/or State)
Texas
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)...
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.
 

Levi the Leopard

IXOYE
10 Year Member!
Joined
Oct 1, 2012
Messages
7,958
Location (City and/or State)
Southern Oregon
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..
 

Saleama

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jul 12, 2013
Messages
1,501
Location (City and/or State)
Irving Texas
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.
 

G_Vincey

Member
Joined
May 13, 2014
Messages
119
Location (City and/or State)
London
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
 

Yellow Turtle01

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jun 12, 2013
Messages
7,710
Location (City and/or State)
OH, USA
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.
 

Grandpa Turtle 144

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Apr 3, 2013
Messages
10,878
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 !


Sent from my iPhone using TortForum
 

RainsOn

Active Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jun 29, 2014
Messages
273
Location (City and/or State)
NE OK
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.
 

mikeh

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jun 16, 2013
Messages
1,050
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?
 

New Posts

Top