Can you use the hot tap when doing water changes ?

[dom]

Hi - I've read mixed posts on this one. What do other members do ? Do you use the hot tap to get the temperature to the same as the existing temperature in the tank when doing a water change ?

The reason I ask is I've got a larger tank and my old method of filling up a watering can and leaving it in the house overnight won't work as now my water change will be larger than 1 watering can.

But if i use water from the hot tap will sticking in some Cycle (or equivalent) do (to get rid of chlorine and choloramine) or are there more chemicals I need to add to cater for using the hot tap ?

Not too keen on adding chemicals if I don't have to.

cheers

[Foxjxa]

I figure rain is pretty much cold(ish) everywhere, so I don't worry about doing water changes using cold water. Some of my fish seem to like swimming through the stream of cold water as I'm adding it, too.

Cycle won't take out or neutralise any chemicals, to my knowledge, what you're after is something like Aqua Plus or Stress Coat. Sometimes I add a bit of Aqua Plus to the bucket of new water before I add it, sometimes I don't, sometimes I add it to the tank after I've finished a water change. I've never had any problems with nasties in my tap water, even though the pH comes out quite low.

Personally, I'd avoid using the hot tap for water changes, as it's too easy to accidentally add water that is 'too hot' and end up with cooked fish. Cold water changes also seems to encourage breeding behaviour in some species?

[dom]

cheers for that - so in a 100 litre tank it would be ok even if i was to add 25% cold water straight from the cold tap (as long as i add conditioner) ?

regards

[Foxjxa]

So long as you're not adding ice too.

Should be fine, but if you're really worried then do it slowly so the heater has time to warm up the new water before the next bucket is added.

[hovmoller]

Where abouts are you Dom? (you can also add this info to your profile) Is you cold water very cold in winter?

I'm Auckland and throughout winter I do waterchanges directly from cold water tap. Even in my tank with Discus. But I only do 25% water change. If I have to do larger water changes than that I mix in hot from hot water tap and there has never been a problem with that.

[BikBok]

I've always used hot water mixer tap to bring cold water up to around 23-25oC. .. but in a bucket first before I add it to the tank. My biggest tank is only 170L though so 4-5 buckets at most , it's a bit of a pain i must admit. Any larger tank and I think I would resort to the hose method.

I'm getting pretty good at telling the water temp by hand as I'm filling up the buckets.

[alanmin4304]

There is nothing at all wrong with using the hot tap. Some people are worried about copper but our cylinder has been working since 1945 and if copper was going into solution there would be no cylinder left by now. Reticulated local authority water supplies are kept slightly alkaline to avoid the corrosion of copper and brass.

[Squirt]

I use a mixture of hot and cold water. 2:1 ratio of cold to hot water.

[Ira]

I use hot mixed with cold. No way I want to use straight cold. Did that once, fish end up pretty much comatose, drifting around upside down bumping into things when the temp drops from 26° to 12°.

[Sunbird73]

When I first started I used boiled water because of the copper, however, since researched and realised it is minimal and have used hot tap to mix ever since. Waaaay easier using the hot tap :roll: :lol:

I always warm the water up, esp in winter as our tap water can get pretty icy at times. Doesn't take much to mix a bit of hot into it, but then I do water changes with buckets as well. I guesstimate the temperature and am usually pretty close (the ol' hand in bucket, hand in tank check 8) )

In summer I barely have to add any hot - the ratio of hot:cold depends on the day.

Someone on here once said cold water changes are fine as long as you are not changing much more than 10%?

[dom]

thanks for all your replies. Seems like I might take a shot at using a bit of hot mixed in. Yes I meant Aqua Plus not Cycle - my mistake.

cheers

Dom (From Welly !)

[Caryl]

I did up to 50% water changes in my African tank using the garden hose through the window. The fish didn't mind the sudden temp drop or pH change and loved to swim in the current as close to the trigger end on the hose as they could get!

When I do water changes on the other tank I use warm water from the tap as I put my hand under it to stop flattening the plants or disturbing the substrate and I don't want it to be cold on my hand

[#!CrunchBang]

In the warmer months I use the cold water out of the tap, in the colder months i use the mixer tap to warm the water.