Adding cooler water

[rich]

A basic question,

Having always had a cold tank, I have just let the water stand overnight, added the 'tap safe' chemicals then poured in. However my water will not get to 23C in our house, without us sweating a lot. So will my tropical fish be alright while I change 25% water (which could be 4C lower) and then let it heat up?

 

[smithrc]

you dont need to leave it over night if your using a de clorinator (tapsafe)

we actually add mains water straight to our tanks with the 'tapSafe' added as we fill.

at the moment its relativly cold here so the tap water is about 10-15 deg.

a 25% water changes drops the temp in the tank by about 4deg.

not enough to worry about

(our fish actually enjoy it

 

[Hooligan]

This is in the wrong section try posting in Beginner Questions you may get more response.

 

[a.i.m]

when doing water changes add warm & cold tap water to the bucket / container to make the temperature as close as possible to the temp of your tropical fish tank. (Also using a water conditioner tap safe ) . I use a thermometer to be accurate in doing water changes making sure the water being replaced is the same temp as what ive taken out. but just get the temp as close as possible and that should be enough.

 

[isu_guy]

Although I agree that the water doesn't need to sit over night, and that the water should be as close to the tank temp as possible, It doesn't make as big of a difference as most people would think.

Example- A 25% change and the water is 8 degrees F difference. The tank temp only changes 2 degrees. 2 degrees change should not effect the fish if it was done slowly. The way some fishkeepers (myself included) add water is to syphon it back in. This makes that 2 degree change happen over the course of a few minutes.

The one exception is if you just dump the water in quickly. This could have a fish getting caught in a pocket of new water and stressing them.

OK to recap, I do try to, and recommend to, temp new water to the tank's temp. I just don't worry about getting thermometers to get it exact because a difference of a degree or two won't effect the fish.

 

[Swimmerbabyboy]

hi, im 17 and i bought a 25gal. eclipse tank. its been up and running for about 7 months now i have 8 glow lights and 8 neons and 2 cats. i just bought a pleco "not sure what kind" from wal-mart "don't like there fish" and i was just wondering why he turns from a deep rich brown color to a really pail white. he does this often and it kinda scares me if you could tell me whats going on i would appreciate it thank you.

 

[ferrikins]

Please don't add water from your hot tap, as it contains to much copper. what I do is put put cold water in the kettle and boil it, them add it to my bucket once we get to the right temp add my conditioner and then add the water.

About the Pl*co, sound like there something realy wong, and if you have balt him resently I would take him back to the shop. I never known any fish to change color, (well Babis Babis do.) so I would'nt know what to suggest that is wong.

 

[yvez9]

I boil the water too (about 4 cups for 5 gallons) and it gets pretty close to my tank temperature (78-79)

 

[smithrc]

Please don't add water from your hot tap, as it contains to much copper. what I do is put put cold water in the kettle and boil it, them add it to my bucket once we get to the right temp add my conditioner and then add the water.

About the Pl*co, sound like there something realy wong, and if you have balt him resently I would take him back to the shop. I never known any fish to change color, (well Babis Babis do.) so I would'nt know what to suggest that is wong.

??

Panic the poor guy! most plecs will change colour!

It can be a number of things... normally fish change colour and fade when they are stressed - but plecs are different (they do that aswell) but they change to suite their mood and their surroundings

if you have a light gravel and he's out in the open -he'll go light to try and blend in better - if he's on bog wood he'll go dark.

they also change when they are moody (aggressinve or defensive)
is there a fish that keeps chasing him or trying to invade his space?

I'm guessing you've checked your water for any problems, so it'll just be one oth those

Post up a picture and we'll ID it for you and then we should know if its normal

 

[rich]

In the end it was fine, my 20% water change only dropped the temperature by 1C, well within tolerance. All fish fine and dandy.

 

[ferrikins]

Please don't add water from your hot tap, as it contains to much copper. what I do is put put cold water in the kettle and boil it, them add it to my bucket once we get to the right temp add my conditioner and then add the water.

About the Pl*co, sound like there something realy wong, and if you have balt him resently I would take him back to the shop. I never known any fish to change color, (well Babis Babis do.) so I would'nt know what to suggest that is wong.

??

Panic the poor guy! most plecs will change colour!

It can be a number of things... normally fish change colour and fade when they are stressed - but plecs are different (they do that aswell) but they change to suite their mood and their surroundings

if you have a light gravel and he's out in the open -he'll go light to try and blend in better - if he's on bog wood he'll go dark.

they also change when they are moody (aggressinve or defensive)
is there a fish that keeps chasing him or trying to invade his space?

I'm guessing you've checked your water for any problems, so it'll just be one oth those

Post up a picture and we'll ID it for you and then we should know if its normal

Sorry was just going by exsperiance, I personaly never seen a pl*c change color.

 

[Tolak]

I have various plecs and they all change color from time to time. It's nothing to worry about.

The hot water from the tap depends on your plumbing. Some houses have copper, some galvinized, some pvc. Here we have galvinized with some lead leading to the house. I use hot from the tap all the time, no problems at all. The best thing you can do with any type of plumbing is let the water run for a bit before you use it. This way any water that has been standing in the pipes & perhaps leaching out metals will go down the drain.

Tolak