Dripping Water Into Tank

[Becks1985]

Hey everyone I was thinking bout running a small pipe straight to my aquarium from my water mains an putting a valve on it tat water was just dripping into my aquarium at whatever rate I wanted.. I would have an overflow box piped in to just run the water straight outside into my drain....

But what I'm asking is would the small water amounts I'm adding all the time harm my fish because the water wouldn't be getting treated before entering the tank.. I would be setting it tat the tank would only be getting over a 30% water change every week...
Any suggestions are ideas would be great. Thanks

 

[mark4785]

Hey everyone I was thinking bout running a small pipe straight to my aquarium from my water mains an putting a valve on it tat water was just dripping into my aquarium at whatever rate I wanted.. I would have an overflow box piped in to just run the water straight outside into my drain....

But what I'm asking is would the small water amounts I'm adding all the time harm my fish because the water wouldn't be getting treated before entering the tank.. I would be setting it tat the tank would only be getting over a 30% water change every week...
Any suggestions are ideas would be great. Thanks

 
Whenever I do water changes I add the water to a 10 litre bucket by running the hot and cold taps on the bath to retrieve water that is 26 degrees C (monitored by a portable thermometer) and then I treat the water with 3x the recommended dose of Aqua Safe and ensure it mixes thoroughly.
 
By using a pipe with your tank direct from the water supply, you won't be able to detect spikes or dips in temperature until it's too late and even if you add your de-chlorinator into the aquarium before applying the hose, while the pump is off you will not be able to get it to thoroughly mix with the de-chlorinator. You would probably end up with a large segment of water having irritants such as copper and chlorine that hasn't been removed. If this kind of water shifts into your filter sponges before it is dechlorinated, this will kill any beneficial bacteria that you have which contributes to ammonia and nitrite removal.
 
In short, I think you should definitely not use a hose. Water changes can be stressful for fish without the risk of chlorine burns so you would making the water change more stressful through using a hose.

 

[Ch4rlie]

 
In short, I think you should definitely not use a hose. Water changes can be stressful for fish without the risk of chlorine burns so you would making the water change more stressful through using a hose.

 
 
Hmm, now am kinda confused. 
 
There has been several threads by others about using hoses/pythons to syphoning and cleaning their tank and refilling via hose/python direct from mains taps.
 
Have not heard anything that contradicts this really.
 
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/423980-water-change/
 
In actual fact some people have said not even adding dechlorinator will not do any harm or even if the temperature of water during refills is either a degree or two cooler has no ill affects, in fact it benefits the fish.
 
Of course some people have been saying should overdose a bit with dechlorinator and try to match tank temperature as well but no adverse affects doing water changes this way as long as the flow of water is not too strong and shocking the fish.
 
And also a few extra comments about stressing fish during water changes
 
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/424155-water-change/
 
By the sound of things, you are against this way of changing water.
 
I have just started using a DIY python to do water changes and seems all my fish and shrimps doing just fine. 
Am really careful though and using a shower tap mixer with a thermostat to ensure water temp is pretty close and slow water flow into the tank while refilling.
 
I'd really be interested in hearing or reading anything you have that proves this is not the case and your theory that its detrimental to the health of tank stock using direct water flow from mains via a hose or python system.
 
Any extra knowledge about these sort of things are very interesting to me.
 
Thanks.

 

[Garbolino]

I run mine through a hma filter, I do 25/30% water change

 

[Becks1985]

Sorry what I was meaning that the hose will only be at the biggest 10 mil an will be constantly running into tank but will only be dripping 2 are 3 little drips per second so these little drips after 7 days will only replace 30 % of the water... The heater will also be able to maintain a stable temperature... It will be like a constant water change so it would be like a 4 % water change each day... I don't know if tat much would be harmful to fish... Sorry if I'm not making much sense...

 

[Ch4rlie]

Sorry what I was meaning that the hose will only be at the biggest 10 mil an will be constantly running into tank but will only be dripping 2 are 3 little drips per second so these little drips after 7 days will only replace 30 % of the water... The heater will also be able to maintain a stable temperature... It will be like a constant water change so it would be like a 4 % water change each day... I don't know if tat much would be harmful to fish... Sorry if I'm not making much sense...

 
That actually does makes sense as well as your original post.
 
Personally I think its a decent idea and have absolutely nothing against that at all. In actual fact your water system idea could be one I may use in future tanks if I can research a bit more into that system of water changes. 
 
How would you know how much drip (2 or 3 little drips per second) will do roughly a 30% water change over 7 days? via a control valve and calculated drip system? Maths is definitely not my strongest point....
 
I only put the above post as I would like to know more about mark4785 comments and his theory about why water changes direct from tap via hose is a bad thing despite other experienced people saying otherwise. Thats all.

 

[Becks1985]

Maths isn't my strong point either was gonna do it into a 5 gallon drum first an see how long it takes to fill an work it out that way...


Garblino does tat hma filter just join in the line somewhere an does it make the water safe for aquariums then

 

[GRD1985]

Using untreated water at that rate is not really any concern. I do 50% water changes weekly using untreated tap water on most my tanks and my fish too busy breeding I have a hard time keeping up. Only tanks I am careful on are tanks with very young fry(SA cichlids and stuff).

First thing you should really do is look up your cities water quality report online and see what the average chlorine/chloramine levels are if you are really concerned.

 

[Becks1985]

I live in n.ireland in a little village don't know know if I would be able to look up the water supply report there prob isn't one...
I just think doing this method I would never have todo water changes might have to vacuum the gravel every so often...

 

[ShinySideUp]

Here is my two pence worth.
 
Chlorine wouldn't be a problem as with such a slow flow it would gas off long before there would be any fish damage. If you live in a dodgy area maybe heavy metals might be a problem but it's very unlikely.
 
I change half my water every week (300 litres) and I do use a small amount of Prime but I'm not convinced that I need it, it's just a precaution because I have large Clown Loaches that I don't want to endanger, however if my tank was better placed to have a constant water change I would definitely do it and wouldn't be worried for my fish.
 
Just think, no more water changes as it's done all the time.
 
Edit:
 
I've jusy had a thought though. A few weeks ago in my area there was a water supply problem in that we were issued with a 'boil water' warning as something had gone wrong with the pumps and allowed untreated groundwater into the system. The water came out of the taps initially as a brown mess but then progressed to being clear but foaming up after a couple of seconds -- it really did not look very nice and I suspect that the foaming thing was caused by the water board adding something to sterilise the system. What this would have done to the fish if I were using a constant feed I don't know but it's certainly something you should bear in mind and stop the water change at the first sign of danger.

 

[mark4785]

 
I'd really be interested in hearing or reading anything you have that proves this is not the case and your theory that its detrimental to the health of tank stock using direct water flow from mains via a hose or python system.
 
Any extra knowledge about these sort of things are very interesting to me.
 
Thanks.
 

 
Hi Ch4rlie,
 
Well the advice that I have given is derived from issues that I've come up against during water changes on my Koi pond. Many years ago I used to remove 20% of the pond water on a bi-weekly basis and then subsequently add the required amount of dechlorinator to a bucket of pond water that would amply treat the forthcoming volume of tap water that would be delivered at a very slow rate via a hose to the pond from a faucet.
 
After doing such a water change I would notice behavioural changes in certain carp that are more sensitive to changes in water quality; one ghost carp would become sluggish and others would eat slower than usual. I'd follow this up with a water test and the ammonia reading would be between 0 and 0.25 ppm. As time passed I realised that no matter how slowly the water was being added via hose, it wasn't mixing well enough to dissipate fish toxins like copper and liquid chlorine; these chemicals were clearly entering the filtration box and killing the nitrosomonas and nitrobacter colonies on the biological filtration (i.e. alfagrog).
 
After repeated issues with ammonia spikes after doing the above water changes (which I mainly did to replenish the water's total alkalinity (carbonate hardness) to keep the pH stable, I switched to tediously adding dissolved calcium carbonate in buckets of pre-dechlorinated tap water. Since making this change I've not experienced any water quality issues as verified each time by both an API water test and downloading ammonia readings from a Seneye water quality device (the total ammonia level is in fact usually around the 0.0028ppm mark now).
 
With regards to the toxicity of chlorine on fish, I'd highly advice you watch this knowledgable Koi fish keeper here: http/www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQw_tgdCwlY&list=PL9F3000BCCB53DF9E (he talks about water changes from 7:50). He discusses how chlorine water can damage the gills of fish and how adding untreated tap water via hose, even slowly, can cause problems for fish health if it isn't diluted down by some method. He makes a good point about how doing a water change with a hose can kill fish outright from purely forgetting about the hose being turned on.
 
The way I do water changes now involves a lot of effort but it definitely pays off.

 

[Garbolino]

Becks, I have my hma filter with hose lock connections so I just bring it out when I need to do a water change, mine is a 3 stage filter I do 25/30% water changes & don't add any dechorinators

 

[Becks1985]

Oh right u just use it when ur doing a water change I was planning on letting the water run constantly....

 

[Garbolino]

You could use it either way, I know my lfs has it the way you are suggesting

 

[fm1978]

An automated water changer does sound like a good idea, in principle. But, I enjoy doing water changes the old fashioned way..it gives you a feeling of involvement and that you're actively doing something with your fish.
 
To take that interaction away and replace it with a system that does it all for you just seems like removing yourself from the whole process, a large part, in my opinion, of keeping fish in the first place!