Changing water - Do you pre-heat

I think it would also depend where you live and the quality of the tap water you use,

 

Well, Chlorine evaporates within 24hours, So I put it in a container with heater. I leave it in there over night before I add the water to the tank.

I dont like to add additives and chemicals to the tank with the exception to Ferts and CO2.

 

I also do it straight from the tap - and use the hot water mixer so iut's noit ice cold

 

Straight from the hose and no additives.

 

Any of you keep kuhli loaches? How much do you change straight out of the tap without dechlor?
If I change more then R30% and use dechlor my kuhlis suffer.

 

use to just hose pipe it when it was just the oscars probably where the spawning came from then when the arowana came along i switched to the bucket method of mixing hot water from the geyser and cold tap water to keep a more or less constant temperature.i have a distrust of remedies in a bottle.never use dechlor

 

Direct tap water into the tank with no declorination will be a disater especially in the Gauteng area. Fish won't survive the change, there is too much off metals in the water that is not fish safe...!!

 

Well how many guys from GP does there W/C without any delchlor? Plenty im guessing....

As long as its not a huge water change? Mine are either 20% or top ups, never lost a fish from a W/C.

 

Have'nt had a problem yet been doing it for years.

 

The problem in GP at the moment is not the chlorine and heavy metals. (I use dechlor religously tho.)

Do yourselves a favour and take your TAP water to a LPS for pH testing! That's the scary one at the moment!

 

Well for me even a 20% w/c i boil my water and let it cool off over night and replace.
Sorry but I am bit off the old school, can't take a chance on live stock!

 

Hey Zoom

I can test my tap water right now. Im not sure what you will need to know but i will reply on everything i tested. Give me about 10min

 

i suppose its viable with smaller aquariums but it becomes imparactical with larger ones.

 

I had a very bad experience in filling directly from the hose, I cleaned my 400l tank and did a 200l water change, my temperature was about 28 degrees c. After cleaning I opened the tap (borehole water). After filling the tank suddenly my Bala sharks, Tinfoil barb , Deacon and Parrot fishes start to swim upside down....When I put my hand into the water I found it cold, very cold...I had dropped my tank temperature from 28 to 17 degrees c within 5 minutes. I managed to immediately grab the fishes in distress and put them in a solution of hot/cold 28degrees water. I lost both diamond sharks an a Bala shark. I have learned to pre-heat my water!!!!

 

pH: 8.15
Calcium Hardness: 200
Chlorine: Readings to low
Alkalinity (Not sure what this has to do with fish?):190

Not sure what it is measured in. Just shows me mg/l

Tested it again. Shows different results? But is in that range...

 

I think i might be working to hard

Day before add water to 200L container -with heater, "PH 7" and dechlorinator and an air Pump
stand for 24 or so hours

Before changing water make sure my temp is exactly the same (either Boiling water or Ice (The ice was boiled water))

Oh and i do this every second or third week

I live in Honeydew JHB and the tap water is at PH of 8.4 (Checked yesterday)

 

This is the problem. Not that it's so high... but if you had tested it 2 weeks ago, it was sitting at 7.4. Now it's gone to 8.4 in some areas. If you do a 50% w/C not, (if you haven't done it in the past 2 weeks), you are changing 7.4 with 8.4 pH. This will put your fish into pH shock. Certain species can handle it, even though they will show strain. Other fish can't handle it.

My LPS pointed this out to me 2 weeks ago. They have actually put a notice up on their tanks saying that the pH is very high at the moment, and people should proceed with their W/C with caution. Whilst they advise against using pH buffers before adding to water, it might have to be an option.

 

will take a sample to my lps on the weekend

 

And here I thought I am the only person, my ph went to 9.00, 2 weeks ago

 

That will explain why suddenly some fish started dying when I did my normal water change. Wil go test my Tap PH