Water change question

[Boo]

Hi everyone,
Usually when i do partial water changes i have the new water in a large container which i add tap water conditioner to, I leave this for a half hour before adding it to the tank. I was wondering if it was safe to add the tap water conditioner to the tank and then top up with tap water. My concern is if the tap water conditioner will work quick enough to dechlorinate the tap water before it can adversely affect the fishes.:confused:

[Lauren B.]

I don't have an answer for you Boo, but your inquiry has posed another question....

What's the difference between water de-chlorifier(sp?) and water conditioner? I thought they served two separate purposes.

Lauren B. :1luvu:

[f1oored]

There is a right way to do a water change and an easy way. You are doing it the right way. I do it the easy way. I have a 72 gallon tank and I don't want to spend all the time filling 6 five gallon buckets every time I do a water change.

Here is what I do.
Once you are ready to add the new water, shut the filters down. They house your beneficial bacteria which is too easy to kill off with unconditioned tap water. In a small container have your water conditioner measured out and ready to go. Start adding the water and add a little conditioner as you go. Once you are done adding water, wait a few minutes and kick those filters back on.

If you have fish that are very sensitive to water conditions, I would keep doing what you are already doing. Water conditioners should all have a dechlorinator already in them.

Hope this helped.

[genitor]

Good question Boo, I always wondered the same thing and always did it your way to be safe. I have a 15 gallon so its not too hard for me but when i get a larger tank i will do it as f1oored does it. Very enlightening answer f1oored.

[Lady Hobbs]

I still use the old bucket and haul method. I add enough declorinator to the first bucket to take care of my water change, add water to the bucket and dump it in the tank. Then just finish filling the tank with tap water.

When I eventually break down and get myself a phyton, I will add dechlorinator as the tank is being filled.

My filters are also turned off but it's necessary during the water change anyway as I change about 40% and filters are sucking wind removing that much.

[cocoa_pleco]

I use the bucket way, but I have a tap right next to my tanks in the basement

[Boo]

Thanks for the info.

[Lady Hobbs]

I use the bucket way, but I have a tap right next to my tanks in the basement

I only have to go about 12 feet but it involves mopping the floor every time.

[Chrona]

What about the temperature? Do you just rig the hot and cold water just right beforehand? I guess you would need a shutoff valve at the end of the hose or that would be a messy deal heh

[jeffs99dime]

before i moved to an r.o. system i used a glass thermometer and held it under the faucet to get the tank and source water to be equal. then fill the tank with the python while adding dechlorinator and dose the entire tank.

[Drumachine09]

I need a python pretty bad. i have to walk from the bathroom, 25-30 feet to where my tank is situated. *sigh* gotta wait untill the next paycheck.

[Cichlid_Man]

Like Jeff, I dose the tank and add the water after. No problems doing it that way for a long time.
Now I am on well water so I don't need to worry about it.

[Severus]

I love my pinelands well water! It is like a natural purification system.

[Chrona]

I love my pinelands well water! It is like a natural purification system.

I hate my well water :( Its so ridiculously hard and alkaline that I have to use the old bucket to treat it with acid buffers beforehand. I would much rather have city water, because the city water around here is almost a perfect 7.0, maybe slightly acidic, which would have been perfect. But nooooo, we gotta live in the middle of nowhere :rolleyes:

[f1oored]

I made my own python type thing with supplies from the local hardware store. I got 25 feet of tube that hooks up to my sink to fill and to my gravel vac to drain. As far as temp goes, I just turn the hot and cold all the way up and it comes out almost at a perfect 80 degrees.

[Glasstapper]

I do the same as some of you. I pour in my dechlorinator/conditioner, then my measured pH decrease solution (tap pH is too high) all directly into the tank, then in comes the water. The dechlorinator is instant acting, so you're ok.

My fish aren't extremely sensitive, though, so they're ok for the 15-20 minutes it takes for all of this to happen.

I think we'd all like to eventually get our hands on a python. I'm thinking it will be a necessity for the larger tanks I have planned in the future.

[Chrona]

As far as temp goes, I just turn the hot and cold all the way up and it comes out almost at a perfect 80 degrees.

I probably run the oil bill up a few dollars each time I fiddle around with the water temps. Wanted: Better plumber :/