What kind of water do you use?

[Dead Blue Deer]

I live in Arizona and have city water. It doesn't taste the best (for drinking water I use the filter on the fridge) and has a high amount of minerals in it. So, my question is, when you fill your tarantulas' water dishes, do you use city/tap water? Filtered water? Distilled or reverse-osmosis water? Is there a difference? Does it matter? Apologies if this question has already been asked. Thanks!

 

[moricollins]

I live in Arizona and have city water. It doesn't taste the best (for drinking water I use the filter on the fridge) and has a high amount of minerals in it. So, my question is, when you fill your tarantulas' water dishes, do you use city/tap water? Filtered water? Distilled or reverse-osmosis water? Is there a difference? Does it matter? Apologies if this question has already been asked. Thanks!

Tap water is what I've always used for inverts

 

[EpicEpic]

Tap

 

[cold blood]

Tap.


even the worst quality water humans use is cleaner than what wild animals live their lives drinking from....your water is a very low concern.

 

[CommanderBacon]

I use filtered tap water, the same that I drink.

 

[Vanessa]

I'm in a big city (Toronto) and I have always used tap water for everyone - me, the cats, the snakes, the gecko, the tarantulas, all the other inverts - and we're all hunky-dory.

 

[jrh3]

Tap.

 

[Nongkym]

Unless your neighbors are sick or live in known areas where the tap water is "non-potable" (like Flint, Michigan) then straight from the faucet is probably cleaner water than what a wild T would encounter in their natural habitat. Additional minerals (such as hard water) do not appear to pose any harm to T's. After years of living in NM with extremely hard water- none of my animals had issues, only the pipes in my home! I do recommend avoid using distilled water. Kudos for being an "over protective" T owner!

 

[mellow]

I have been using distilled water instead of tap water for years, because unlike tap water it doesn't have chlorine.

 

[cold blood]

I have been using distilled water instead of tap water for years, because unlike tap water it doesn't have chlorine.

That quickly dissipates though.

 

[Vanessa]

I have been using distilled water instead of tap water for years, because unlike tap water it doesn't have chlorine.

Because distilled water does not contain any minerals - it pulls those minerals from the body of the organism drinking it. I would never drink it myself, or give it to any of my animals. The risk of it doing harm negates any benefits.

 

[spideyspinneret78]

I use tap water that I treat with water conditioner to remove chlorine/ chloramine. I know it's probably unnecessary, but it gives me peace of mind. I'm a worrywart, especially when it comes to my pets.

 

[mellow]

Because distilled water does not contain any minerals - it pulls those minerals from the body of the organism drinking it. I would never drink it myself, or give it to any of my animals. The risk of it doing harm negates any benefits.

So distilled water doesn't have minerals, should I use bottled water with added minerals instead? What kind of minerals do they actually need and why would you say that distilled water with no minerals is dangerous to use? It's been working for me for a long time now.

 

[moricollins]

So distilled water doesn't have minerals, should I use bottled water with added minerals instead? What kind of minerals do they actually need and why would you say that distilled water with no minerals is dangerous to use? It's been working for me for a long time now.

They don't need added minerals. Just regular water.

 

[mellow]

They don't need added minerals. Just regular water.

So distilled water is fine?

 

[moricollins]

So distilled water is fine?

Sigh.
Distilled water is not regular water, it's distilled. Distilling removes minerals from the water.

 

[MrTwister]

I use bottled water, only because of the high amount of calcium carbonate in the ground water source for our town supply. Not a health issue, just avoids white build up as the water evaporates.

 

[mellow]

Sigh.
Distilled water is not regular water, it's distilled. Distilling removes minerals from the water.

So tap water is regular?

 

[moricollins]

So tap water is regular?

Correct. Tap water, spring water.

 

[basin79]

Tap.