Top Up

[CarloUK]

My 46L tank seems too loose about half a cup full of water a week. Can I top this small amount up from the tap or shall i leave a jug full of water overnight and then top it up

Thanks

 

[levahe]

Ideally you should be doing weekly water changes which is far better than just topping up evaporated water.

 

[CarloUK]

Ideally you should be doing weekly water changes which is far better than just topping up evaporated water.

Ok. My tank is only about 2 weeks into a fish cycle so is weekly still ok and if so what percentage

Thanks

 

[levahe]

Do you mean fishless cycle? If so then yes topping up should be OK with dechlorinated water. Sorry I assumed you were talking about an established tank

 

[Ninjouzata]

Do you mean fishless cycle? If so then yes topping up should be OK with dechlorinated water. Sorry I assumed you were talking about an established tank

I'm not so sure on this, I was told not to top up during my cycle. D: Hopefully someone can elaborate?

 

[CarloUK]

Sorry no

Do you mean fishless cycle? If so then yes topping up should be OK with dechlorinated water. Sorry I assumed you were talking about an established tank

I have 2 fish in the tank. I left the water overnight to settle in a jug

 

[Skies]

Sorry no

Do you mean fishless cycle? If so then yes topping up should be OK with dechlorinated water. Sorry I assumed you were talking about an established tank

I have 2 fish in the tank. I left the water overnight to settle in a jug
 

What kind of fish are you cycling with?

 

[levahe]

If you are doing a fish in cycle, you need to be doing regular large water changes to prevent the build up of toxic substances which will injure and kill the fish. You should be doing the water changes with dechlorinated water.
Just leaving the water overnight is often not enough because of harmful chemicals in the water that need to be removed.
Do you have a water testing kit to measure ammonia, nitrites and nitrate?

 

[Skies]

If you are doing a fish in cycle, you need to be doing regular large water changes to prevent the build up of toxic substances which will injure and kill the fish. You should be doing the water changes with dechlorinated water.
Just leaving the water overnight is often not enough because of harmful chemicals in the water that need to be removed.
Do you have a water testing kit to measure ammonia, nitrites and nitrate?

 
^^ This... Regular, and sometimes more than once a day... I did a fish in cycle with 12 Rosy Feeder Minnows, and it was quite a lot of work, even with seeding the tank with some of my sisters bacteria, I would suggest trying to find someone with an already established tank and seeding yours as well. (I didn't lose a single fish)

 

[Ch4rlie]

^^ This... Regular, and sometimes more than once a day... I did a fish in cycle with 12 Rosy Feeder Minnows, and it was quite a lot of work, even with seeding the tank with some of my sisters bacteria, I would suggest trying to find someone with an already established tank and seeding yours as well. (I didn't lose a single fish)
 

 
You did very well not to lose any fish!
Well done, no mean feat IMO.
 
Hard work though doing fish in cycle. Not that I've done that before but can imagine doing a minimum of 50% water changes every day was a pain! Especially if you have a large tank!

 

[Skies]

 

^^ This... Regular, and sometimes more than once a day... I did a fish in cycle with 12 Rosy Feeder Minnows, and it was quite a lot of work, even with seeding the tank with some of my sisters bacteria, I would suggest trying to find someone with an already established tank and seeding yours as well. (I didn't lose a single fish)
 

 
You did very well not to lose any fish!
Well done, no mean feat IMO.
 
Hard work though doing fish in cycle. Not that I've done that before but can imagine doing a minimum of 50% water changes every day was a pain! Especially if you have a large tank!
 

Thank you, and yes, it was no simple feat!! At the time it was only a 29g tank, so it was manageable.... still back breaking and a real work out. I was doing 50% water changes, sometimes twice a day (with a 3g bucket >_>)... just to keep the water specs in check and livable... hard work... not sure I'd do it that way again. Thank god I don't have to, because now, with an established tank, I can seed a filter! 

 

[CarloUK]

Hi.
Getting back to my question.
Whats the best way to top a cup full now and then. Should I treat a few litres of tap water and keep in a bottle, or buy some distilled. or the occasional cup full of untreated but stood for 12 hours ok.  With a fluval see once the level goes down a bit you get a big air bubble effect on the top.  Reasons to top up are : water tests, evaporation.  I suppose I could try and sync it with water exchanges but thats not my question.
 
thanks

 

[fluttermoth]

Once the tank is cycled, and you're on a regime of regular, weekly water changes, if you do ever need to top up, you can just use straight tap water.
 
As long as you're talking about less than 10% of the tank's volume, you don't need to dechlorinate or let the water stand, it can go straight in.

 

[CarloUK]

Once the tank is cycled, and you're on a regime of regular, weekly water changes, if you do ever need to top up, you can just use straight tap water.
 
As long as you're talking about less than 10% of the tank's volume, you don't need to dechlorinate or let the water stand, it can go straight in.

Thanks. Yes i am only talking about half a tea cup