Should I use this rainwater?

[retro_gk]

So, it rained, quite heavily, all night last night... and this morning I collected about 15 gallons of rainwater off a downspout in the hopes of using it to coax my Pelmatochromis nigrofasciatus into spawning.

Now, part of me says "go ahead, it rained all night. Anything nasty in the air or on the roof would've long been washed off...". Another part of me says "this is LA, you never know what nasty stuff has been accumulating on the roof"

What would you do?

 

[Mike Wise]

If you collected run-off after it rained all night, then it should be OK. I would suggest that you first run it for several hours through a power filter with quality activated carbon (not charcoal). This will aerate & remove any dissolved toxins that might have been in the rain.

 

[retro_gk]

Excellent suggestion, Mike! Thanks.