Urgent! For Water Change

[Helen G]

Just had a small spillage in my tank water and need to do an urgent water change.

Normally I do my water for changes 24 hrs before hand. But I need to do one now!

Can I dechlorinate the water and use it straight away, or do I need to wait a while... If so how long must I wait??

 

[Miss Wiggle]

dechlorinate and use it straight away. there's no need to leave it for 24hrs before hand. dechlorinator acts almost instantly (within a few seconds) and the water is then safe to use. tbh on big tanks most people add dechlor straight to the tank and fill them up with a hose pipe.

 

[LosC519]

What I do is I add the dechlorinator into my bucket as it is being filled up with water from the tap, it basically mixes itself. You can add straight away but try to feel the temp. of the water from the tap until it is warm enough for your tank but not too warm. Don't do more than a 50% water change at a time this way.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

never ever ever ever ever use water from the hot tap for your fishtank, it gets copper build up from the pipes and heating system and can nuke tanks.

if you've got to do a large water change just add the water back in slowly so the tank heater has time to do it's stuff. doing a 30% change with average temp water from the cold tap will not drop the tank temp by more than 2oC, fish can cope with this perfectly well it's no worse than if it rains in the wild! it even triggers spawning in a lot of fish.

there is no need whatsoever to heat water up before adding it to the tank or leave it sitting around for 24 hrs.

 

[LosC519]

If not from the tap than where should I get my water?

 

[Helen G]

That's true! my guppies used to love swimming through the cold water, I think it gave them a thrill!!

If I ever needed to do a large water change, could I boil the kettle and add it to the cold water and dechlor in the bucket? I have never used a hot tap though, as I know about copper and fish

 

[LosC519]

Oh I understand now. I said warm not hot.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

Oh I understand now. I said warm not hot.

lol do you have 3 taps or something, one for cold, one for hot and one for warm?

 

[Helen G]

Oh I understand now. I said warm not hot.

lol do you have 3 taps or something, one for cold, one for hot and one for warm?

 

[pastabake]

I had never considered this as a problem as all my taps have copper piping and as far as I can remember every house I have lived in has had copper pipes - apart from when I was a wee baby and the pipes were just being changed from lead to copper.

Also I doubt that my fish would appreciate almost freezing water from the cold tap in the middle of winter - I've read so much advice that says that you should try and match the water temp to the tank that you've now got me confused as to what I should be doing.

I guess I should also make sure my carbon filter is working.

ps - some people in the States actually do have three taps - one for cold, one for warm and one for boiling water. I wouldn't be surprised with the craze for plumbed in water conditioners to find that some people actually have four taps.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

ps - some people in the States actually do have three taps - one for cold, one for warm and one for boiling water. I wouldn't be surprised with the craze for plumbed in water conditioners to find that some people actually have four taps.

LOL SERIOUSLY? wonders will never cease!

the difference is the hot water sits around in the pipes, boiler and heating system, cold water doesn't sit around so much.

personally, i've never once bothered to match temps and it's never once caused me an issue.

only time you need to do it is with saltwater, because the salinity (or rather the abilioty to read the salinity i.e. refractometer is calibrated to a certain temp) is affected by the temp so when you're mixing up salt water you need to heat it to tank temp and then mix it.

 

[Jonny967]

Where the hell do you get your water from? (do you collect it when it rains), hot and cold water both run through copper pipes so that means that copper would be in both?.
This is also why you treat the water and any harmful metals are then removed.

 

[Cory_Dad]

Where the hell do you get your water from? (do you collect it when it rains), hot and cold water both run through copper pipes so that means that copper would be in both?.
This is also why you treat the water and any harmful metals are then removed.

Hi Jonny967.

I think what they mean is that in a hot water tank there's more accumulation of 'crap' due to the addition of heat to the water and the water just standing in the tank. That also causes the formation of scale on the inside of the tank. Theoretically the dechlor (Prime, etc.) should take that out but it may be in a more concentrated form and the regular dose of the dechlor may not be enough to handle it all.

I suppose is you have a newer glass lined hot water tank there may not be a problem. But why chance it. I (now) always pre-treat the water 24 hours before and let it stand therefore it's nearer the temp. of the tank when I pour it in.

Cheers.

 

[Tolak]

Your supply pipes will build up a coating on the inside in a short amount of time. Unless you have new plumbing this is nothing to worry about.

The use of hot water depends on your water heating & storage setup. I've been using a mix of hot & cold for years, as I do larger water changes, 50% plus. 40F water into an 80F tank, 50%, filling in a few minutes effectively drops the tank temperature to 60F.

You could run straight cold in at a slower rate, letting your tank heater heat it. For larger or many smaller tanks you will make a career out of filling.

In my hot water supply I have a mix of lead, copper, and galvanized steel.

 

[Cory_Dad]

In my hot water supply I have a mix of lead, copper, and galvanized steel.

Mmmmmm, lead....

It did wonders for the Romans.