Distilled or Dechlorinatoed?

All about freshwater & saltwater - dechlorinators, salt, water bowls, and pool construction & maintenance.
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Teedeums
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Distilled or Dechlorinatoed?

Post by Teedeums » Mon Dec 08, 2014 7:20 am

So I have a question. I have been using distilled water in their fresh/salt water dishes and all other crab/water needs but do you even need to have it distilled? Or even worse, are the lack of natural minerals and absorbent qualities of distilled water bad for crabs? I've seen a lot of different websites that say distilled water (also, when my dad had a saltwater aquarium he used distilled water, and he only had one fish death in 7 years, so I assumed it was ok for crab's saltwater and freshwater), but a lot of other websites and most people here talk about dechlorination. I just want the best for the crabs, so even though this might be a stupid question, please help!
5 PPs; Ghast, Eager, Boomer, Plato, and Indigo
2 Family Dogs; Lilly and Ginger

Have a very crabby day! =D

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wodesorel
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Re: Distilled or Dechlorinatoed?

Post by wodesorel » Mon Dec 08, 2014 8:35 am

Surface water has a lot of minerals in it, so when it comes to freshwater aquariums and animals that drink freshwater, using dechlorinated tap water is actually a lot more natural for them and is safer so they don't end up suffering from lack of something essential.

Marine salt mix contains all the minerals that saltwater fish use, which is why it's great to start with "pure" water for them like distilled or Reverse Osmosis. Using tap or water could actually cause too much of of certain minerals, and some saltwater fish are really sensitive to that sort of thing. In the case of saltwater, the mix replaces everything that is missing from distilled water.

With hermits it's kind of up in the air. There's a good chance that the saltwater mix will provide them with everything they need, but if you want to be as natural as possible, stick with bottled or tap water for the fresh, since in theory they would have adapted to drinking the fresh for certain mineral requirements.
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Teedeums
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Location: Connecticut, USA

Re: Distilled or Dechlorinatoed?

Post by Teedeums » Mon Dec 08, 2014 4:43 pm

Thanks!
5 PPs; Ghast, Eager, Boomer, Plato, and Indigo
2 Family Dogs; Lilly and Ginger

Have a very crabby day! =D

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