Question about Water changes

[briandoran]

hi folks,

Just a quick question from a newbie about water changes. Currently when I do the water changes the new water when I take it from the tap is really cold. So I have to wait a good while before adding it.

I was wondering would ther be anything wrong with using some water from the hot tap to speed up the heating of the water. I don't want to do this though if that water is not as good in anyway. Does the the heating take anything out of the water or change it's composition in any detrimental way.

Any comments would be appreciated ... Thanks.

Great site by the way .. I've learned so much already from reading through the posts.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

Mix the water to the same temp as your tank. There is not a problem with adding hot.

 

[Jchillin]

I was wondering would ther be anything wrong with using some water from the hot tap to speed up the heating of the water. I don't want to do this though if that water is not as good in anyway. Does the the heating take anything out of the water or change it's composition in any detrimental way.

Nope, hot water contains the same elements as cold water. As FF says, just mix to the same temp as your current water and away you go. You can also use a thermometer if you need to and it is always better to go slightly hotter than colder.

 

[briandoran]

Thanks guys ... I figured as much but just wanted to check first. I was worried when putting colder water into the tank and waiting for the heater to do that job.

My platies had some young ones last night too, which I wasn't expecting as I thought they were all males. Now i know you can defrentiate them by they dorsal fins. They are tiny, although I don't know how long they will survice withpout being eaten. They're hiding in the plants at the moment.

 

[GlitcH]

Ya I use a python and I've done multiple tests running water into the bathtub while checking the temp.

If I put the hot and cold (dials) both at six oclock........I get the same 75-79 temp range everytime.

But man that python was worth every penny.

 

[YuccaPatrol]

The only concern would be if you kept invertebrate species that are very sensitive to heavy metals that may be increased by the water heater.

One thing you can do to decrease this potential problem is to drain your water heater to clean out any gunk at the bottom of it. I never did this until I started keeping fish, but now I do it once a month. Regular non-fish-keeping homeowners should do it at least annually.

I always use hot and cold water in my fish tanks but use aged and warmed cold water for my shrimp

 

[Fishyfanatic]

When you say drain the water heater, do you mean to basically use all of the water in the heater? If so, man, I do that almost daily. lol

 

[nomadofthehills]

My platies had some young ones last night too, which I wasn't expecting as I thought they were all males. Now i know you can defrentiate them by they dorsal fins.

How? That would be good to know, I can only sex them by the presence of a gonopodium.

 

[rich311k]

In most strains of platies the males have larger dorsal fins.

 

[BillD]

When you say drain the water heater, do you mean to basically use all of the water in the heater? If so, man, I do that almost daily. lol

What is meant is to drain off some of the water from the bottom of the tank. It should be done several times a year, particularily with gas fired heaters. It helps prevent a build up of calcium, and other crud, on the bottom of the tank. If the gas fired heater gets a buildup of minerals on the bottom, it will reduce it's efficiency.