Water Changes

[rdd1952]

When you run your water for water changes, do you use all cold water or do you run it with warm water to try to get it as close to the tank temperature as possible. I had always used some warm/hot water to keep it from being icy cold (I sometimes just let it sit all night to be at room temperature). I read yesterday that if you have inverts, you should NEVER use water from the hot faucet because of the copper in the pipes being deadly to them.

 

[webcat5]

When I do water changes I usually fill bukets of water with cold only and let them stand for at least three days before using them in my tanks. It seems to help evaporate the impurities in the tap water along with adding Aqua Clear and Cycle, which has beneficial bacteria in it. Personally I would not use any hot or warm water.

 

[purple_drazi]

I read yesterday that if you have inverts, you should NEVER use water from the hot faucet because of the copper in the pipes being deadly to them.

I had heard that as well, that you never want to use water out of the hot water tank because of the potential for dissolved minerals/chemicals.
I'm in Canada and in the winter the water coming out of the cold water tap can be *really!* cold so while I only use cold water, I make sure that I always keep buckets of prepared water on hand, warmed up & ready to use.

That means 6 - 2.5 gal buckets of prepared water are always sitting on my livingroom floor (just think of it as part of the decor, dear!)

 

[BettaMomma]

How do you guys get the water warmed up enough then for the fish to go back in?
Unless you keep your room temp up in the high 70's, you're dropping them back into a tank that's several degrees cooler than their tanks???

 

[rdd1952]

My room temp is around 72 and the tank temp is about 78. Since I usually do a 5 gallon change every week and pour the water in with a cup (I can't get it high enough to syphon it in), I haven't had any problems. I guess it would benefit us all to keep an extra heater or 2 to stick in the buckets and warm the water.

 

[leafs]

I always use water right from the tap. I let the water run for about 5 minutes first. I mix the warm with the cold and check the temp with a thermometer.Also the water conditioner should remove some of the heavy metals. I've never had any problems doing it this way. Maybe it depends on how old the copper pipes are? The older the pipes the more copper?

 

[rdd1952]

You are right about the pipes. Most newer homes in the US now have PVC instead of copper except for the faucet itself. In older houses, everything was copper. The worst problem may be that there are probably a lot of impurities that settle into the bottom of the water heater that can cause problems. It is definitely a good idea to run the water a little before starting to fill buckets.

 

[Rodders]

I use a mixture of hot and cold. Not had any problems.

 

[B75]

I always mix my cold wter with either water freshly boiled from thw kettle or from the stove, the bacteria from the hot water tap are killed at the waters boiling point. Then you can make the water up to what temperature you need, plus it saves a lot of time. Never lost a fish because of it.

 

[SarahBravo]

I always use mixed hot and cold straight from the tap, via a Python. The proportion of hot is quite small, and my water conditioner should take care of any heavy metals etc. Never had any problems. How do you have room for buckets on the floor? If you got rid of the buckets you could have more tanks.....

When I do water changes the temp in my tanks doesn't vary more than half a degree or so.....and the fish swim in the flow as I put the new water in, they seem to love it!

Sarah

 

[chishnfips]

I always use mixed hot and cold straight from the tap, via a Python. The proportion of hot is quite small, and my water conditioner should take care of any heavy metals etc. Never had any problems. How do you have room for buckets on the floor? If you got rid of the buckets you could have more tanks.....

When I do water changes the temp in my tanks doesn't vary more than half a degree or so.....and the fish swim in the flow as I put the new water in, they seem to love it!

Sarah

I mix up the hot and the cold it has never made a difference, I think most pipes are plastic now aren't they.

 

[rdd1952]

My buckets are on the hearth for the fire place. Of course, we don't use the fire place so I could probably put a tank in there or on the hearth.

 

[webcat5]

I have Electric baseboard heaters so I fill my buckets and put them on the floor in front of the heater in the kitchen. you don't see them unless you look beside my freezer. The temperature here can be 40 below without the wind chill
The temperature in my tanks usually only falls a few degrees and is back to normal in no time.

 

[Jen]

I always match the temperature. If the tank is 76°, then i put 76° back in.

 

[CathyG]

When I used to use buckets, and before I upgraded my boiler, I would just pour a a couple of kettles of boiling water into the buckets to get the water to temp. You should be aware, though, that there are no minerals in boiled water so keep an eye on your pH, GH and KH if you use it as a high proportion of your water change.

Once I changed my boiler from a conventional (with the hot water stored in a copper cylinder) to a combination boiler (mains water heated directly in the boiler on demand) and upgraded to a Python, I mix a little hot with the cold from the tap. With a small water change, say 10%, I just trickle cold water into the tank with the Python and the temperature is barely altered. I mix hot water with the larger water changes.

The potential for dissolved copper in the water is more of a risk from copper storage cylinders than directly from the pipework. I just run the hot tap for a while to draw off the "standing" water in the pipework, once it runs hot I use it.