Adding water to a FIshtank?/ water changes

[Tukie2kie]

I still have no fish in my tank and I have already asked alt of other questions and now here is a new one.

I've had my tank filled with water for about 2 weeks and there is 1 and 1/2 to 2 inches of space between the water level and the bottom of the black lip of the fish tank, obviously due to evaporation.

Do i need to be adding water when it gets to a certain point to make it stay just below the lip?

This also proposes questions about water changes. Do i do water changes based upon how much water is already lost from evaporation?

I don't know how to go about doing this or how often I should do it
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[CaptnIgnit]

You can top off a tank whenever you want. I typically top off my tank to keep it from getting too much movement on the surface (HOB filter dumps out water at the surfaces and causes it to splash around if it gets too low).

Keep in mind that this will cause a build up of minerals in the tank as you keep adding and not removing water. Hence why the PWC is needed every week or two to remove the built up minerals and what not.

I suggest setting a schedule for PWC's and top off as needed between the PWC's.

 

[Jchillin]

Water evaporation is normal. You are always aiming to fill to the "top" and whatever water evaporates between water changes can be replenished without worry. Your PWC% is based on total volume, you don't have to worry about what has evaporated. Fill er up.

 

[src]

And when you top off, don't forget to include dechlorinator. While you don't have fish that will suffer from chlorine/chloramine poisoning, the bacteria can be killed by the chlorine.

 

[Tukie2kie]

so i have something called aquasafe, do i need to apply that to the water before I dump it in or just do it immidiatley after?

My friend has a hose with a tube on it that he says he does water changes with and I can borrow it. I know it hooks up to a sink, but my tank is not close to a sink at all. What other way can I do partial water changes of actualy a normal water changes?

What constitutes a partial versus a normal water change? Also will i have to take my fish out of the tank to top off water or do a partial water change?

 

[CaptnIgnit]

aquasafe is a dechlorinator, you add the required amount to your tank or add it to the water you are putting in.

Your friend probably has the Python or something similar. it comes with a long hose and you can get all sorts of adapters so you can run a hose to your sink.

http://www.pythonproducts.com/nospill.htm can explain it a little bit

The standard way to do a PWC is just to get a gravel vacuum and a bucket to hold the water. Then dump out the water and fill it back up with tap water, dechlor it (or add the dechlor to the tank) and dump the water into the tank.

A PWC and a normal water change are synonymous. People tend to use them interchangeably, all you need to be concerned about is the % of water change. Usually when you talk about a generic PWC or normal water change you are saying a 20-25% water change.

And no you do not need to take your fish out for the water change or top off. However, you want to make sure the temp of the water you add back into the tank is the same as the tank temp.

HTH

 

[rich311k]

He has a python, you can get hoses of various lengths. Mine is 50 feet and works downstairs running to an upstairs sink. With a python dose enogh dechlor for the whole tank.

You can get a normal gravel vac/syphon and do the bucket brigade. In that case add dechlor to each bucket before you pour it back in.

A normal PWC is anywhere from 10% to 50%. I do 50% each week.

No need to remove fish. I think mine like it, they are always playing with the syphon hose and chasing the bubbles around as I refill.

For topping off just put a little aquasafe in the water you are adding.