Adding new water to tank

[Keenamoss]

Hi there,

When is your method when you are adding new water back into your tank?

I've been told so many different things. Currently on a fishless cycle I just put water in and then add the prime and stability stuff, but when fish are in there, does the temperature and pH need to be the same?

I've thought about pre-filling some buckets and adding prime to them and letting them sit overnight to get to at least room temperature? Do you test the ph levels and wait til they're comparable before adding, or do you just add? The friend who's giving me one of her baby plecos just adds water straight from the hose?

Thanks.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

@essjay is the best with water chemistry around here - she can most likely help you. Good luck!

 

[Essjay]

It depends on whether you are doing anything to alter the water eg using RO or adding hardness minerals. [Since things like pH altering chemicals are not advisable, they should not be used]

Water changes of at least 50% should be done weekly. If just tap water is used this ensures that the tank water is virtually the same as tap water. Using a tap/RO mix or adding hardness minerals is different as tap and tank water won't be the same.

If you refill using buckets and are not altering the water, just put water conditioner in the bucket at the dose rate for the volume of the bucket then run tap water in as fast as it will go to mix the water conditioner in. If hot tap water is stored in a hot water cylinder which is topped up from a header tank in the attic, use boiling water form a kettle to get the new water to roughly the same as the tank water; with other hot water systems, use hot tap water. Comparing the temp with your hand is close enough.

If RO water or hardness minerals are used, each bucketful should be made up to the right mixture before adding to the tank.


Some people say that the bucket of water should be left to stand for 30 minutes or 5 minutes with an airstone running in order that every single chlorine is removed before the water goes in the tank but few of us actually do that.


Those fishkeepers who use hoses to refill add the water conditioner to the tank at the dose rate for the volume of the new water then run in the water. If it's connected to a tap where hot and cold water can be mixed and the hot water supply is OK to use, warm water can be added. As I use buckets, I don't know what hose pipe users do if only cold water can be used (my tap water gets down to about 7 deg C in winter)



As a side issue, where evaporation is large enough that the tank needs to be topped up between water changes, RO or some other pure water should be used. Water evaporates but the things dissolved in water don't. If tap water is used more minerals etc are added to the tank with the new water so the amount of everything dissolved in tap water slowly increases - for example the water would gradually become harder.

 

[Keenamoss]

It depends on whether you are doing anything to alter the water eg using RO or adding hardness minerals. [Since things like pH altering chemicals are not advisable, they should not be used]

Water changes of at least 50% should be done weekly. If just tap water is used this ensures that the tank water is virtually the same as tap water. Using a tap/RO mix or adding hardness minerals is different as tap and tank water won't be the same.

If you refill using buckets and are not altering the water, just put water conditioner in the bucket at the dose rate for the volume of the bucket then run tap water in as fast as it will go to mix the water conditioner in. If hot tap water is stored in a hot water cylinder which is topped up from a header tank in the attic, use boiling water form a kettle to get the new water to roughly the same as the tank water; with other hot water systems, use hot tap water. Comparing the temp with your hand is close enough.

If RO water or hardness minerals are used, each bucketful should be made up to the right mixture before adding to the tank.


Some people say that the bucket of water should be left to stand for 30 minutes or 5 minutes with an airstone running in order that every single chlorine is removed before the water goes in the tank but few of us actually do that.


Those fishkeepers who use hoses to refill add the water conditioner to the tank at the dose rate for the volume of the new water then run in the water. If it's connected to a tap where hot and cold water can be mixed and the hot water supply is OK to use, warm water can be added. As I use buckets, I don't know what hose pipe users do if only cold water can be used (my tap water gets down to about 7 deg C in winter)



As a side issue, where evaporation is large enough that the tank needs to be topped up between water changes, RO or some other pure water should be used. Water evaporates but the things dissolved in water don't. If tap water is used more minerals etc are added to the tank with the new water so the amount of everything dissolved in tap water slowly increases - for example the water would gradually become harder.

Thanks for this! Buckets with warmish water and mixed in conditioner, then in, sounds good to me... I saw a thing about overnight air stones but yeah I can see how that would get a bit um much.
My worry is though that water from the tap tends to decrease in pH over time from just sitting around being exposed to air, so it would be a bit higher for example than the stuff in the tank if it went in straight away? But you don't think it's that much of a difference?
I never knew my exact pH before I did the test at home today with the kit and added the lowering stuff, so I couldn't be precise, but it was a paler blue today than it was in the pet shop yesterday and so, it had come down a bit already...
Which one is "RO"?

 

[Keenamoss]

Also, with tons of plants and not too many fish, do you reckon I could get away with 20% weekly changes and subsequently not such a big change for the fish so any of the smaller differences even if they did matter wouldn't matter so much?

 

[seangee]

My worry is though that water from the tap tends to decrease in pH over time from just sitting around being exposed to air, so it would be a bit higher for example than the stuff in the tank if it went in straight away? But you don't think it's that much of a difference?

That's nothing to worry about. The water companies often add stuff to temporarily raise the pH to stop pipes corroding.

 

[Keenamoss]

And the fish don't mind or notice it much?

 

[Keenamoss]

Also - do you guys use a pump or just a manual siphon to get water in/out? And do you use different tubing for in/out old/new water? And different buckets?

 

[Essjay]

I use a manual siphon for removing the old water and sucking debris off the bottom of the tank. I have sand so it just sits there till I remove it.
I use a bucket and a jug for refilling the tank.

I use different buckets for emptying and refilling but not for fish related reasons. I am not very tall and getting on in years. I can lift a large bucket of old water a couple of inches off the ground to take it outside and pour it down the drain. But I can't lift that bucket to refill as it's too heavy for me to lift. For refilling, I use a smaller bucket with litres marked on the side which I can lift out of the sink and onto a stool. The reason I don't part fill the big bucket is that there are no markings on the side to know how much water I've put in. My water conditioner uses1 drop per gallon/3.8 litres so I need to be able to measure 7.6 litres/2 gallons in my 10 litre bucket.



If you get a quarantine tank, it is worth having 2 sets of cleaning stuff, or at least 2 sets of stuff for removing water from the tank, so that if any fish in the quarantine tank get sick you don't transfer any bugs to the main tank(s).

 

[Keenamoss]

Nice, thank you