Water change

[Malawif@n]

I have just started cycling my juwel Rio 450 151x51x66 and will be stocking my tank with Malawi cichlids.
I’ve read a lot but everywhere says something different.
How many Malawi cichlids can I stock/overstock in my tank?
Water change I’m a bit concerned with water change as I live in the U.K and tap water is very cold. Some say that hot and cold tap water can be used to match aquarium temperatures others say not to as hot water contains copper, if mixing hot and cold water is not an option then I’ve got a bit of an issue.
any help would be appreciated. Thanks

 

[Colin_T]

If you have instant hot water then it won't have any more copper in than normal cold water.
If you have a hot water storage system, they do have more copper in because the water sits in the storage unit for longer.

You can boil some cold water and add it to a bucket of cold water to raise the temperature, or you can put an aquarium heater in a bucket of water to warm it up.

Unless you have hard water, you will need to add Rift Lake conditioner to raise the pH, GH and KH. This will need to be made up 24 hours before you use it and you can have a heater in the new water while it is mixing.

 

[Malawif@n]

thanks for the quick response and no the how ways isn’t stored, both how and cold water come straight out the tap.
Current aquarium water parameters
Ph- 7.4-7.6
Gh- 8-10
Kh-10-12.
In regards to the number of Malawi for the tank and suggestions? Thanks

 

[Colin_T]

You want the GH around 300ppm for Lake Malawi fishes. Your pH and KH are fine for them.

As for the number of fish, it depends on what fish you like. Some are smaller and more peaceful, some are bigger and more agro.

Maybe look online at different pet shops and see what they sell in the way of cichlids. Make a list of fish you like and post it here. Then we can go through it.

Do you want to breed any of them, because that makes a difference too?

 

[Malawif@n]

I was looking at keeping mbuna and peacocks. I’ll have a look into the gh. Thanks

 

[AbbeysDad]

All hot water comes out of the tap, but you may still have a boiler (what we call a hot water heater on this side of the pond). I can't speak to hot water quality in the UK. I know that the water from my glass lined hot water heater is just fine and for some tanks I use mixed hot/cold from the 'tap' for proper temperature. (I have the advantage of a well so there's no chlorine/chloramine, however I do have some nitrates in my well water [up side/down side]).

 

[Slaphppy7]

All hot water comes out of the tap, but you may still have a boiler (what we call a hot water heater on this side of the pond). I can't speak to hot water quality in the UK. I know that the water from my glass lined hot water heater is just fine and for some tanks I use mixed hot/cold from the 'tap' for proper temperature. (I have the advantage of a well so there's no chlorine/chloramine, however I do have some nitrates in my well water [up side/down side]).

"Water heater"

Why would you heat hot water?

LOL, sorry, pet peeve of mine, "hot water heater"....

 

[Essjay]

To use UK terminology, if you have a combi boiler you can use water from the hot tap. If you have a hot water cylinder and a header tank in the attic, boil a kettle of water and use that to warm the water. But if you use a hose to refil the tank, don't just pour a kettleful of boiling water into the tank, mix it with some cold in a bucket first.


it's not actually the copper hot water cylinder that's the problem because water conditioners contain something to remove metals including copper. It's because of the header tank. There could be heaven knows what in the header tank, up to and including dead pigeons! Hot water from a cyclinder should not be used in fish tanks for the same reason that you should not drink the hot water or use it in cooking. Or drink cold water where it's taken from the header tank like in some bathrooms.

 

[Slaphppy7]

Dead pigeons?

Delicious!

 

[Essjay]

There's supposed to be a creature-proof covering over the header tank but most builders don't bother. Ours has a warped plastic lid with a layer of plastic coated insulation on top. Over the years we've had several wasps nests in the attic so we get the man from the council to remove them. This includes spraying the site with insecticide. After a few days I usually go up into the attic to remove the dead wasps from the header tank

 

[Slaphppy7]

There's supposed to be a creature-proof covering over the header tank but most builders don't bother. Ours has a warped plastic lid with a layer of plastic coated insulation on top. Over the years we've had several wasps nests in the attic so we get the man from the council to remove them. This includes spraying the site with insecticide. After a few days I usually go up into the attic to remove the dead wasps from the header tank

Wow....does not sound fun...I wonder why you guys over there don't have "regular" water heaters?

https://www.lowes.com/pl/Gas-water-heaters-Water-heaters-Plumbing/4294859099

 

[Essjay]

I've not seen heaters like those here.

Combi boilers are becoming more and more popular here. These heat water straight from the mains as and when it's needed as well as providing hot water to the central heating radiators under a closed pressurised system. New houses tend to be built with combi boilers but older houses built before condensation boiler technology was invented were built with the hot water cylinder/header tank system. It is cheaper to replace these boilers with heat-only boilers (silly name as all boilers heat water) as the labour charges for removing the old hot water cylinder and header tank increases the cost.

These are combi boilers

Boilers | Central Heating | Screwfix

Buy Boilers at Screwfix.com. Full range of fuel and system types from leading brands. Easy installation. Trade-trusted designs. Ready for your call 24/7.

www.screwfix.com

and heat only boilers which do look the same as combi just different inside

Boilers | Central Heating | Screwfix

There are a couple of other types but these two are the most common.

 

[Slaphppy7]

I've not seen heaters like those here.

Combi boilers are becoming more and more popular here. These heat water straight from the mains as and when it's needed as well as providing hot water to the central heating radiators under a closed pressurised system. New houses tend to be built with combi boilers but older houses built before condensation boiler technology was invented were built with the hot water cylinder/header tank system. It is cheaper to replace these boilers with heat-only boilers (silly name as all boilers heat water) as the labour charges for removing the old hot water cylinder and header tank increases the cost.

These are combi boilers

Boilers | Central Heating | Screwfix

Buy Boilers at Screwfix.com. Full range of fuel and system types from leading brands. Easy installation. Trade-trusted designs. Ready for your call 24/7.

www.screwfix.com

and heat only boilers which do look the same as combi just different inside

Boilers | Central Heating | Screwfix

There are a couple of other types but these two are the most common.

Ah, I see....similar to "tankless" water heaters sold here...but these tend to be pricey, and are limited to how much water at a time can be heated

https://www.lowes.com/pl/Tankless-electric-water-heaters-Water-heaters-Plumbing/4294859097

 

[Essjay]

Combi boilers do have the problem that if the central heating is on, and one person is filling a bath and another is washing some delicate clothes in the sink by hand, the boiler may not be able to provide enough hot water. But for smaller houses they are fine.

You'd probably be horrified by the size of our houses as well - or perhaps I'm just falling victim to Hollywood's idea of a typical, American house which would fit 2 or 3 of our houses inside

 

[Slaphppy7]

Combi boilers do have the problem that if the central heating is on, and one person is filling a bath and another is washing some delicate clothes in the sink by hand, the boiler may not be able to provide enough hot water. But for smaller houses they are fine.

You'd probably be horrified by the size of our houses as well - or perhaps I'm just falling victim to Hollywood's idea of a typical, American house which would fit 2 or 3 of our houses inside

Oh...so the water heater not only heats the potable water, but the home, as well?
And yes, the "typical" American home is not what you may imagine...at least mine isn't, lol....2 bedroom, 1 bath, only about 900 square feet (livable space)....but it's all my wife and me need, now that our daughters are grown and gone...if we had anything bigger, my wife would just buy more stuff to fill it with!