Water Temperature For Changes

[Xebadir]

Looking for some tips on how to maintain sufficiently high water temperature when doing 10% water changes . Also have to adjust pH hardness and neutralise Cl/NH4Cl. Any suggestions would be great, want to do a change for my heavily preg platy to induce and dont want to cause severe stress by dropping water temperature.

Thanks in advance

 

[samyboy]

Im new to all this but could you pre warm the water thats going in?

Easyest way must be in a small pot on the cooker with a thermometer so you can reach the desigred temperature levels, might take a while though.

I'd also wait for some of the more expierenced members to give advice before taking action.

 

[kimmers318]

Im new to all this but could you pre warm the water thats going in?

Easyest way must be in a small pot on the cooker with a thermometer so you can reach the desigred temperature levels, might take a while though.

I'd also wait for some of the more expierenced members to give advice before taking action.

Depends on whether you are using straight tap water or some type of bottled/RO water. I use a mix of tap and RO, so I have gotten pretty good at setting my tap water just right to get the temp to tank temp. I have personally stayed away from heating water in a cooking pot because I do not know if certain types of pots, or previously cooked food could affect the water itself, so when it was necessary to heat room temp water up I just used a glass container in the microwave, which was very time consuming. Buying a spare tank thermometer helps you make sure the water is the correct temp by using it in the bucket you are putting your water change water into. HTH

 

[mark.w.jones]

For small amounts microwave large sqaush bottles
For larger amounts get a spare heater and warm water in bucket.
Dont use hot water from tap as theres a risk of contamination as water sits in loft tank for ages.

 

[plantropimunity]

jonesy's got it
i personally use a 5 gallon bucket and mix dechlorinator/buffer/medicine/whatever is needed/ with a small whisper in tank filter hung on the side, this makes for aeration also.
then i use a small aquarium heater and a glass thermometer to get the temperature to within a degree or two of the tank temp.
i also test the tank and the bucket before i make the change to ensure that the ph, temp, kh, and whatever else i am monitoring at the time are the same. a bit of work, but well worth it.
good luck with the fry!!

 

[Talz]

For small amounts microwave large sqaush bottles
For larger amounts get a spare heater and warm water in bucket.
Dont use hot water from tap as theres a risk of contamination as water sits in loft tank for ages.

Wait... so you should only add cold water from the tap? I like to put it in luke warm is that a bad idea?

 

[mark.w.jones]

For small amounts microwave large sqaush bottles
For larger amounts get a spare heater and warm water in bucket.
Dont use hot water from tap as theres a risk of contamination as water sits in loft tank for ages.

Wait... so you should only add cold water from the tap? I like to put it in luke warm is that a bad idea?

Yep. Hot water from tap sits in loft tank in the majority of cases. Theres always a risk of stuff falling in. Limescale. Crap getting stuck to sides of loft tank etc.

Cold water is fine as it comes "fresh" straight off of mains. Always warm coldwater up to add to your tank rather than mix in warm water from tap.

 

[Talz]

God... heating it up is such a pain though... I only take out like 25% in a 77 gal cant I just put it in cold anyway?

 

[mark.w.jones]

God... heating it up is such a pain though... I only take out like 25% in a 77 gal cant I just put it in cold anyway?

As long as this doesnt result in a sudden temp. drop then it's probably OK, not recommended thou. Sudden temp. changes really stress your fish out and more delicate fish or ones feeling under the weather may die as a result. You should try as best you can to add water as close to tank temp. as poss.

 

[Talz]

I guess your right but I was thinking the hot water in our house dosent exactly sit long... I usally run it dry every morning

 

[plantropimunity]

in any home water heater, metals can leach into the water. if you have an old aquarium heater around, it shouldnt take too long to heat up a small batch of replacement water, especially with proper circulation. you can crank the heater up to make this happen faster, even. i test my water when it is at the tank temp just to be safe.

 

[Tolak]

Any plumbing system with metal pipes has the potential to leach traces of metals. Different countries & areas of countries have different ways of storing & supplying hot water. If your water supply has a loft tank, it is generally a bad idea to use this water in your aquarium.

Systems that keep hot water under pressure from the main are generally safe to use, as long as the heater is reasonably maintained. This is the sort of system I have, and have been using hot water from the tap for many years. In any event, if you have any concerns about metal leaching, you should use a water conditioner that binds up heavy metals.

 

[Torrean]

simple solution. Use cold water but add it slowly. Take the level down ten percent and add 3% a day until your tank is full. just a thought...I don't worry about temp too much. I have a water heater in the basement and I just get the temp reasonably close from the tap and let it fill up.