Water change advice

[tom05r123]

Hi all,

Just trying to perfect my water change really.

I have a 180ltr Juwel Rio.
I change 15% (25l) once (at least) or twice a week depending on free time.

I currently use boiling water to warm cold tap water however I don't think this is working well (i.e. the water is still to cold when adding)

I plan to fill my 25l container and let it adjust to room temperate before adding...

My question is when should I add the tap safe? Is the water ok to sit there for 72, 48 hours before I add?

Any other advice appreciated..

Thanks in advance,

Tom


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[Tropical Aquarist]

It really doesn't matter when you add it, as you'll need it anyways. But the other thing is, if you're doing such a small water change, I think the fish would be fine with it being colder? You could also get an additional heater and heat the water up in the bucket or whatever.....

 

[jimsz]

Where I have my tank there is no hot water available. I use a smaller aquarium the size of my desired water change as a storage tank with a heater.

On Saturday's I use a python to vacuum and take half the water out of my tank, then pump the warmed up water form the small tank into the big tank, then refill the small tank to spend the week warming up.

 

[tom05r123]

That's such a good idea keeping another tank but unfortunately I don't have the space!

Even though it's only 15% the fish still seem to be suffering a bit, straight after water tank, skimming the surface and sitting on the bottom of the tank...


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[gemach7]

What are you keeping?
I have never had a loss from doing a 20% pwc. I would be more afraid of the pot your heating water in leaching into the water. Some species such as corys even require cooler water pwc for breeding to start. Freshwater fish for the most part are pretty tolerant of small changes based on the chemistry of living in freshwater. Rainfall, evaporation, run off, etc. are all part of their daily life and have a large effect on the relatively small bodies of water they are in.
Keep your pwc to a regular schedule to minimize huge swings and you should be alright. If done regularly your tank water will more closely match your taps chemistry.
If still afraid of temp swings Another option is fill bucket(s) a day before water change. Will bring the water to room temp. And when not in use store where you normally do.


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[tom05r123]

I have guppies, mollies, platies, neon tetras, one pleco, 4 clown loach and one Pakistani loach.

I have just purchased another 25l container so I will store for a few days to bring water to room temp before adding.

When I clean the tank I pick up rocks and clean the gunk and poop etc up from underneath, could this have any effect? I try to keep disturbance to a minimum..




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[gemach7]

A light gravel vacuuming should be fine, try not to go to deep. You will never get everything and could add unwanted trapped particles to the water column.
The live bearers in your tank will be quite fine with changes in temperature. Guppies in particular are so opportunistic they can survive in water with a higher salinity than the ocean.


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[acewiza]

My water change routine involves simply adjusting the tap temp close as possible to tank temp and doing 30% changes every 10 days with a little Aquasafe to blunt the chlorine. How much and how often you should change depends on the system's load level - number and type/size of fish and aquarium capacity. For example, on the low end of the scale, assuming you could get it to cycle, a 200gal tank with a handful for zebra danios would almost never need changing. OTOH, a really big fish in a 10gal tank would need daily changes.

 

[Tropical Aquarist]

The symptoms you describe sound more like issues with your water conditioner. What conditioner are you using? It should detoxify chloramines and chlorine. Seachem Prime is what I use, it's the best IMO.

I'd buy a cheap heater of eBay or Amazon, and use that to hear the container...

 

[tom05r123]

I have a sand substrate so I only vaccume the top. I was just wondering if moving the rocks etc could disturb the fish or release toxins from underneath?

I am using Fluval Aqua plus water conditioner... Hope that's ok, I have almost 2l left of the stuff ?

I think I am definitely going to invest in another heater to heat the water before changing.

Thanks for all your replies ??




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[katiekelsey]

For the past 4 yrs I've been using cool tap water and I haven't had any problems. I get the water close to the temperature in the tank. I add a few drops of Prime and put it right in the tank. You don't have to let the water sit before using it.

 

[sinibotia]

Clown loaches will outgrow a 180 litre and pakistani loaches need to be kept in groups

 

[tom05r123]

I performed a water change this Sunday using my new method of treating the water the day before and letting it get to room temperature naturally. This seems to be a lot better and I'm happy with this going Forward!

Thanks for all your replies!


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