My Tap Water is Lethal for Fish and Possibly for Humans(Semi-Emergency!!!)

[aokashi]

:O no pet shops around? usually you can fine elodea in any old pet store...

[MadameDesu]

Ugh. My college is in an "upscale" neighborhood that has one pet store in walking distance. It sucks, the fish section is like half an aisle. But they have enough supplies for emergencies and food, which is mostly what I go for. They don't even sell fish.

But, anyways, GOOD NEWS!
I found safe water! 0ppm of Nitrates, Nitrites, and Ammonia!
The catch? It's water from the freezing cold drinking fountain
I have one more water source I want to test, namely the sink in the laundry room.
I have a feeling the water fountain is my best bet though, in which case, I'd be filling a bucket with that water and letting it sit overnight to reach room temp. *sigh*

[aokashi]

it might be distilled and what not leaving it without beneficial minerals :P

[Olympia]

5ppm nitrite? Forget the Prime, tell your local health department or contact EPA or something of the nature. o-o That high nitrite can make for a very sick baby as well.

[MadameDesu]

Is there any way to tell if it's distilled?
I don't really know what to do about this.

I read up on Prime. Apparently it bind ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate for up to 48 hours and then you can add another dose. Maybe that's my best option?
http://www.seachem.com/support/forum...ead.php?t=3983

[MadameDesu]

Originally Posted by Olympia

5ppm nitrite? Forget the Prime, tell your local health department or contact EPA or something of the nature. o-o That high nitrite can make for a very sick baby as well.

I know! I've been thinking the same thing! I think the issue may be that my university gets its water from a private source, in which case they wouldn't have to report it to the EPA ... still, I'd like to send them a message to find out what the hell is going on.

[Alcemistnv]

Madame, I feel like you are describing my life to a "T" right now.

The water fountains I have give you little to no cold water so I have to use bathroom sinks, and my pet store is small and has little pet supplies -.-

[MadameDesu]

Oh my gosh! I'd give anything to be able to use a bathroom sink right now, which is what I usually do at college. At home I had a nice big industrial sink, which was soooo easy to use.
Now it looks like I'm stuck with a water fountain ... well, anything for my little Rosie.

[Alcemistnv]

I also have a .25 ammonia count for the tap water, so I need to wait for my trip to the pet store to get the Prime.

[MadameDesu]

Even the drinking fountain has *trace* amounts of ammonia and nitrate (between 0 and .25 and between 0 and 5), but that's still safer than the 5ppm of nitrite that's in the tap!