[mosasaur]

This morning I called the lab at my city's waterworks, and later in the day tried one of those 6-in-1 test strips. They agreed! The primary ions in the water are calcium and carbonate; at 148 ppm total dissolved solids, the water is a bit too hard for my taste and I will fill the other half of the tank with rainwater. Total alkalinity is 67, the test strip says a bit below 80. No nitrit or nitrate, No chlorine, either - I wonder if the strips detect chloramine. The pH is too high at 7.6.

All said, I am pretty happy. With the addition of some rainwater, I should have good water for most plants - or so I think!

 

[lauraleellbp]

I'd go with straight up tapwater, unless you're planning on keeping Erios or Toninas, or breeding some specialized livestock.

Most plants and animals can acclimate just fine to water outside their "ideal" parameters... as long as those parameters stay stable.

You start mixing tapwater with rainwater and it can be difficult to maintain stability... especially once you start factoring in evaporation, water changes, etc.

 

[mosasaur]

I'd go with straight up tapwater, unless you're planning on keeping Erios or Toninas, or breeding some specialized livestock.

Most plants and animals can acclimate just fine to water outside their "ideal" parameters... as long as those parameters stay stable.

You start mixing tapwater with rainwater and it can be difficult to maintain stability... especially once you start factoring in evaporation, water changes, etc.

Good point. At this point, I am guessing the tank will have livebrearers -guppies and/or platies, or possibly white clouds. I've added a bit of rainwater already, but not that much. In Stillwater, Oklahoma, the water was so hard you had to chip away at it before you could drink it - but I could even grow crypts in it!

 

[lauraleellbp]

Vast majority of livebearers prefer hard water, anyways. So I think you're good to go.