Easiest Way To Do Water Change On Tropical Tank?

FishForums.net Pet of the Month
🐶 POTM Poll is Open! 🦎 Click here to Vote! 🐰

joel08

New Member
Joined
Jun 7, 2013
Messages
21
Reaction score
2
Location
GB
Hi,
 
I have a 40 litre tank and want to add 10 litres of water in future to make it 50 litres. I only have one glass aquarium heater and it takes 24 hours to warm up the water to the correct temperature of 26C. I can't really afford to buy another one. 
 
What could I do to the new water to increase the temperature so it matches the tank temp. I was going to add some warm water but it could take ages by trial and error just to get a stable temperature. 
 
Please let me know how you would do it. 
 
You only need to roughly match the temperature; feeling it with your hand is accurate enough.
 
To warm it, add a bit of boiled water from the kettle, or from the hot tap, if you have a combi boiler (although I don't and I've been using hot tap water for my water changes for years).
 
Do remember that fish in the wild would have to cope with temperature changes; sudden hot afternoons, or cold downpours, so they can cope, as long as the change is not too fast or sudden; don't be tipping 2 gallons of cold water on top of them!
 
But I use straight cold water on my big tanks and have never had a problem because I trickle it in very slowly, over a couple of hours.
 
So tropical fish can cope with room temperature water? How long would they survive?
 
My heater would hopefully warm it up eventually, but just so I know that its ok for 1-2 days at a cooler temp ?
 
With smaller tanks, it's better to warm the water first.
 
It shouldn't take your heater that long to bring the temp back up, if you did use room temp water. 
 
What fishes do you have? 24-27 degrees Celsius is just normal for tropical fish. I don't think you should be worrying about it too much if you're maintaning it at 26
 
When i do my water change, approximately 100 litres at a time,i just trickle cold tap water back in  in with my hosepipe which takes approximately 2 hours.
 
I put my spare heater in as well and usually only get a 4C temperature drop which the fish dont mind
 
I've found when doing a water change my fish like the colder temp going in, there play in & out of the water
 

Most reactions

trending

Staff online

Back
Top