Why We Should All Be Cautious When Doing Water Changes

[Bazza57]

Wake up call for all aquarists, Yep, spring is here! & your local water authority will be dousing the supplies liberally with all manner of chemicals.

http/www.nwemail.co.uk/news/aquarists-hit-by-something-fishy-going-on-1.935043?referrerPath=news/

I've just seen this article on a newspaper's website. It scared the hell out of me, as millom is not that far from where I live, & I only did a water change on one of my tanks 4 days ago.
Thankfully I have not had any problems, but it is a sharp reminder to be wary of the dangers of using tap water for top-ups.
Many years ago when I had the space, I kept a 40gallon drum of freshwater heated & aerated just for my water changes. This was of in my fish-house, I did this to ensure any chlorine or similar water treatment had a chance to evaporate prior to any water changes. I know that not everyone has the resources to do this (not even me these days) but you never know when the local water authorities just decide to add some anti-bacterial treatment until it is too late. I am seriously considering re-doing the 40gallon drum thing again

 

[Squeaky Leekus]

How scary!

 

[littlenemo]

scary think i will use my drum again to. it never the water company's fault is.

 

[nigsy]

I'm not sure where your opening line came from??

The article makes no mention of "dousing the supplies liberally with all manner of chemicals". In fact United Utilities make a point of saying they are not doing anything in that area.

Water companies in the UK work under very strict regulation as to what they can treat tap water with and I'm sure they don't douse the supply with extra chemicals just because Spring is (kind of) here.

Lets face it - Fish do not live in tap water!! That's why we use de-chlorinators etc.

 

[Akasha72]

I don't get this at all. One guy loses all his fish and the water company gets the blame? It doesn't make sense to me

 

[Bungy]

I have a mate whom once worked for the local water board and he told me that regular checks are made for bacteria in the water supply, when the levels of bacteria rise they dose with additional chlorine and chloramine, these levels are perfectly safe for humans but is of course designed to kill waterbourne bacteria - fish are in this catagory. I am advised not to do water changes over easter or other bank holidays as this is a favourite time to conduct "flushing" where higher levels of Chlorine/Chloramine are added that could prove to be fatal for aquatic life. Im also told that when repairs are carried out, higher levels are used.

You can often smell the chlorine in the tap water, I use this as a guide and dont conduct water changes in any of my 30 tanks when the smell is present.

 

[Akasha72]

but surely if you use a de-chlorinator this deals with the problem? A good quality de-chlorinator gets rid of chlorine/chloramine and other heavy metals in tap water ...

 

[Primous]

Last year I did 52 + water changes. The same the year before that and the year before that. There is no need to skip or adjust water changes because of this article. To be clear I live in London and according to my local (borough) paper we have the worst and most chemical filled water all of Europe. Each glass of tap water has been reused 10 times before you drink it and according to my local water board London's water is filled with so many chemicals it actually has a distinct taste

My point is that as long as you have a good dechlorinator, you're good to go. Rises in Nitrate, Nitrate, and Ammonia from the water source/tap would concern me more.

 

[choochoo]

I have a ro system set up in my garage . I no longer do regular water changes . I wait for water to evaporate then top up and since my water conditions have been spot on!!!
Some times u can taste these treatments in the water but I think a kettle full of ro water is the way forward

 

[paulyoung666]

i smell my water before i dechlorinate and it smells of chlorine , i dechlorinate it and it doesnt , suits me ....

 

[CezzaXV]

Sad to see people losing their fish but while changing the water can be a risk in these situations, so can be not changing the water. I'm personally just going to carry on as before. If the water smells overly chlorinated, most dechlorinators are quite safe to overdose from if you want to be cautious. Seems a lot of hassle to keep a bucket standing around, especially since we're all aware that there's stuff they can add to the water that doesn't evaporate (chloramine, which I'm sure is amongst others).