# Nanoose Bay Poor Water Quality



## jimired (Jul 22, 2010)

From the regional district of Nanaimo Web Page

“Discolouration due to elevated iron and manganese levels in the water cause aesthetic concerns with residents primarily from the Fairwinds”

Yeah it sucks, I am seting up a 50 and I do not want to fill it up with that stuff.

Plus water changes and everything else, what should I do about water quality?
We brita carbon filter out our drinking water but that wont work for fishies.

our will it? I could build a larger carbon filter unit, but I dont want to.

How Does anyone else deal with this,


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## donjuan_corn (May 6, 2010)

put water into a large garbage can, treat the water let sit for 24 hours and then put into fish tank. Or buy bottled water!!


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## jimired (Jul 22, 2010)

Thanks donjuan, are you dealing with that water supply also? Its pretty red, what product do you treat with and how do you transfer?


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## effox (Apr 21, 2010)

The brita would takes hours to go that route. I've never experienced anything like this. 

And purchasing jugs of RO water from the grocery store as mentioned would probably get a bit expensive as well I suppose.

Welcome to BCA by the way, hopefully someone has a good suggestion for you. Be sure to bump this in the afternoon when more people are on.


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## jimired (Jul 22, 2010)

Thanks EFFOX,

yeah im not lugging water bottles for every change, but the colour here is really, bad. I am thinking of a system for house as a whole, but thats a bit expensive. 

Anyone else deal with this?


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## donjuan_corn (May 6, 2010)

Water conditioner, there are so many kinds, i usually use the one on sale  But ya, I use a tote like one of those storage totes when the water is off.


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## SeaHorse_Fanatic (Apr 22, 2010)

If this is a common problem, then maybe invest in a DI filtration unit. Deionized Ion filter. I have a 5 stage RODI unit, but you probably would clog up the RO (Reverse Osmosis) filter very quickly.


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## jimired (Jul 22, 2010)

Seahorse, 

on your DI unit, how is the flow rate? how long does it take fill up the tank of what size?


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## jimired (Jul 22, 2010)

hey how about rain barrel water? that would be clean...


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## Morainy (Apr 21, 2010)

Wow, I had no idea that Nanoose had that problem! Too bad!

While the iron and manganese levels are too high for human consumption, maybe they are okay for fish? Many aquarists add iron and manganese (among other things) to their water in order to encourage plant growth. Seachem's Equilibrium is an example.

Perhaps you could ask the people responsible for the Nanoose water supply to give you the exact values for manganese and iron in your water supply, and then you can check them with a specialist at the Vancouver Aquarium or UVic? (Or here?)

It's possible that the levels of iron and manganese in your water are perfectly fine for fish and plants. I hope so! 

Good luck with your drinking water.


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## Kitsune (Jul 17, 2010)

Morainy said:


> Perhaps you could ask the people responsible for the Nanoose water supply to give you the exact values for manganese and iron in your water supply, and then you can check them with a specialist at the Vancouver Aquarium or UVic? (Or here?)
> 
> It's possible that the levels of iron and manganese in your water are perfectly fine for fish and plants. I hope so!


No need! 
Here is the website that has the water quality reports for your area: Regional District of Nanaimo - Test
And here are results from some tests: http://www.rdn.bc.ca/cms/wpattachments/wpID891atID3449.pdf

Wow you guys have crazy manganese levels  (much higher than the recommended rates by the Canadian Drinking Water guideline... but its not a health issues, but rather an aesthetic issue)

I wonder if you can use clarifying agents (like seachem clarity: http://www.seachem.com/Products/product_pages/Clarity.html). If you do this in the bucket, wait until all the flocculation ends and settles to the bottom and siphon it into the tank.


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## SeaHorse_Fanatic (Apr 22, 2010)

jimired said:


> Seahorse,
> 
> on your DI unit, how is the flow rate? how long does it take fill up the tank of what size?


An RODI unit would take a day to make 50g under Vancouver/Burnaby water pressure.

But a DI unit is much faster since water doesn't have to go through an RO membrane (the slowest part of the filtration system).

Rainwater would be fine, IMO. You could run the rainwater through your filter using Chemipure as well. Do your usual water parameters tests though, such as pH.

Anthony


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## Morainy (Apr 21, 2010)

Wow, Kitsune! I didn't even know info like that was available. Thanks for posting that!

I see that the manganese levels in that area are increasing. Do you know what could cause that?



Kitsune said:


> No need!
> Here is the website that has the water quality reports for your area: Regional District of Nanaimo - Test
> And here are results from some tests: http://www.rdn.bc.ca/cms/wpattachments/wpID891atID3449.pdf
> 
> ...


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## Kitsune (Jul 17, 2010)

Morainy said:


> Wow, Kitsune! I didn't even know info like that was available. Thanks for posting that!
> 
> I see that the manganese levels in that area are increasing. Do you know what could cause that?


No problem. I've actually found that most municipalities have them available online, or otherwise willing to e-mail it to you.

Sorry no idea about the manganese issue. I guess manganese is dissolved in the ground water. The levels would depend on things like: ground water movement, geological/soil composition of the aquifer, depth etc etc (i.e. I don't have a clue )

Their website says: Methods such as ion exchange, oxidizing filters and reverse osmosis can be used to treat problems with iron and manganese, however, their effectiveness varies and the costs to install and maintain systems can be high

I say give the Clarity from Seachem a try and see if it can precipitate out the metals.

Ooo I found this online though (http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/wat/wq/BCguidelines/manganese/update.html):



> Manganese is a naturally occurring substances that is present in surface waters and biota. Aquatic organisms have exhibited toxic responses to manganese in surface waters and regulatory bodies in some jurisdictions have established guidelines for levels of manganese in surface water to protect aquatic life. In British Columbia, a guideline of 0.1 mg/L was established by the Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks, although it was recognized that the scientific data on which this guideline was based were weak. Toxicity tests applicable to aquatic life in BC waters were commissioned to strengthen the relevant data base and to apply the British Columbia procedures for deriving water quality criteria in an effort to establish more defensible guidelines for the protection of aquatic life in BC. Acute and chronic toxicity tests were conducted on fish, invertebrates and freshwater algae. Acute tests included 48 and 96 hour LC50's, while chronic tests included reproduction, growth and survival endpoints. A range of organisms was chosen in order to evaluate the range of sensitivities to manganese. The possible relationship between water hardness and toxicity to manganese was also investigated at water hardnesses of 25, 100 and 250 mg/L CaCO3.
> 
> Data were also gathered from literature sources in support of the new toxicity information. Both acute and chronic studies were identified for fish species resident in BC fresh waters. The collective data were evaluated for suitability with respect to the BC water quality guideline derivation process. Toxicity test data that met the requirements for use in guideline derivation were screened for sensitivity in order to fulfill the objective of developing a guideline protective of the most sensitive aquatic organisms.
> 
> A pattern emerged whereby the concentrations of manganese at which adverse effects were observed increased with increasing water hardness. This pattern was identified in both the literature data and in all but one of the new toxicity tests commissioned by the Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks. Acute and chronic regression equations were developed using the most sensitive data for various (in both cases six) water hardness values. The acute equation was Y = 0.0441X + 1.81 and the chronic equation was Y = 0.0176 + 2.42, where X = water hardness in mg/L CaCO3 and Y = Mn concentration in mg/L. The equations were used to predict manganese concentrations at water hardness increments of 25 mg/L CaCO3 over the hardness range of 25-325 mg/L CaCO3, a range that encompasses the vast majority of BC surface waters. A factor of safety of 0.25 was applied to the predicted concentrations to account for uncertainty and was based on scientific judgement and the strength of the data set used in the derivation process. The resulting acute manganese concentrations ranged from 0.6 to 3.8 mg/L and are proposed as guidelines for exposure of less than 96 hours. The resulting chronic manganese concentrations ranged from 0.6 to 1.9 mg/L and are proposed as guidelines for exposure exceeding 96 hours. While BC and other surface water data indicate that manganese rarely exceeds concentrations of 1 mg/L, it is recognized that natural events may result in periodic increases. The application of guidelines intended to protect aquatic life from anthropogenic sources of manganese should reflect this in the sampling methodology requirements.


Its from the BC Government's website so I'm going to guess its reputable. 
So based on this paper, it appears that your concentration (0.2 mg/L) is within the proposed limits...


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## ncutler (Apr 26, 2010)

I thought I'd add that specifically in the Nanaimo area, You can purchase 5 gallon pales of RODI water from Age of Aquariums and he sells the units for a good price. 

I've been catching rainwater in buckets in the South Nanaimo area and the ph is 6.68 in them.

As mentioned, Iron could be good for the plants if you use them and you can always get testers for Iron if you want to be certain over the online reports mentioned already.


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## Morainy (Apr 21, 2010)

That is really fascinating, Kitsune. I didn't realize that the government actually tried to figure out toxicity levels (other than through reading papers) before setting guidelines. Very interesting.



Kitsune said:


> No problem. I've actually found that most municipalities have them available online, or otherwise willing to e-mail it to you.
> 
> Sorry no idea about the manganese issue. I guess manganese is dissolved in the ground water. The levels would depend on things like: ground water movement, geological/soil composition of the aquifer, depth etc etc (i.e. I don't have a clue )
> 
> ...


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## jimired (Jul 22, 2010)

Wow Thanks for the responses.

I just opened this up after a couple of days. Ill read it all and then Post.


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## jimired (Jul 22, 2010)

First , Kitsune awsome comments, truly way beyond the usual banter on forums, I bow before the master.

Clarity from Seachem eh, well that or rain barrels, it looks as though Im joining the bucket brigade. Too bad Im gonna miss that nice Calgary water.

Plants always help, I had good success with DIYCO2 and a power head. Any Iron eaters come to mind? recommendations for 2 - 4 foot bulb compact flouresents? in 2feet of water?


Age of Aquariums, that a LFS in the area Parskvill/Nanaimo?

Also anyone in Nanaimo/Parskville I can get some good thick waste water from the start the nitrogen cycle kick started?

Again 
Thanks everyone, very very helpful and friendly


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## oakley1984 (Oct 10, 2010)

age of aquariums is currently a salt water store located in nanaimo... friends of mine run the store


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## ncutler (Apr 26, 2010)

Yep, a saltwater store, but I swear Chris has taught me a whack that's also true for freshwater, one of the few stores in Nanaimo that are willing to really help you out and share knowledge. I love going there for info.


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## pacifictide (Mar 7, 2011)

Hi jimired. I realize this is an old post but it caught my eye because I just moved to Nanoose Bay and set up a 75 gallon planted tank...Curious how your tank is doing...Are you collecting rain water??


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## hgi (Jun 13, 2010)

Pacifictide, you'll probably get a quicker and better answer if you ask "oakley1984" via pm since he lives close to the area and "jimired's" hasn't been on these forums in the past 2 month.


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