Is My Water Changing Method Acceptable?

[orandas]

Most hot water cylinders are still made from copper, they just have a fiberglass jacket around them to hold the insulation in place. The open top tanks found in lofts are for central heating systems and not directly connected to the hot water system.

Oh, thank goodness. I couldn't imagine having that disgusting water from a tank with rotting animals in it touching me! Eww!

On tv we have a programme called cowboy builders - conmen builders - and this plumber got caught on hidden camera for peeing into the loft water tank of the house that he was fixing. Yes he was fined etc Disgusting isn't it?!

 

[Dieses Madchen]

I siphon my water out the window (feed the flowers lol) and run a hose from my sink to my tank. YOu can find sink attachments for this

 

[This Old Spouse]

I wish I could do this. The two windows that open near my tanks are both above the level of the tanks, so no good there. The other window is at a lower level but doesn't open. I'm hoping one day to have French doors out to the back garden.

Also, my kitchen faucet has a pull out spray head, so can't hook anything up to it.

 

[fluttermoth]

... made from copper,

eeek more dilemma...

i've been in our loft - no water tank of any kind. we also don't have a cyclinder boiler anywhere in the house.That just leaves the local mains pipe from outside.

We do however have a combi-boiler, so i thought ok its safe to use the hot tap water.

Then OH turns around and says, but the hot water tap pipes are made of cooper......

is he yanking my chain? Copper pipes is ok right?

Copper doesn't dissolve in water; it wouldn't be used for water pipes if it did! Anyway, most dechlorinators lock up heavy metals, so if your OH is really, really worried about it (although there is no need to be), you could check that your brand does, or switch to one that does as a precaution.

 

[This Old Spouse]

What is "OH?"

 

[fluttermoth]

What is "OH?"

Other Half

 

[orandas]

I siphon my water out the window (feed the flowers lol) and run a hose from my sink to my tank. YOu can find sink attachments for this

my garden bamboos plants love ammonia, gonna do it........its 10 metres from the tank to the first availeable bamboo plant though...thats one heck of a hose

 

[orandas]

... made from copper,

eeek more dilemma...

i've been in our loft - no water tank of any kind. we also don't have a cyclinder boiler anywhere in the house.That just leaves the local mains pipe from outside.

We do however have a combi-boiler, so i thought ok its safe to use the hot tap water.

Then OH turns around and says, but the hot water tap pipes are made of cooper......

is he yanking my chain? Copper pipes is ok right?

Copper doesn't dissolve in water; it wouldn't be used for water pipes if it did! Anyway, most dechlorinators lock up heavy metals, so if your OH is really, really worried about it (although there is no need to be), you could check that your brand does, or switch to one that does as a precaution.

Agreed, but the label just say heavy metal 'generic' rather than specify which metals, but i think thats covered.
He's just stuck in his ways and a worry wart. Making it harder than it should be, and giving me a headache.

'OH' yes it means the other half

 

[eaglesaquarium]

... made from copper,

eeek more dilemma...

i've been in our loft - no water tank of any kind. we also don't have a cyclinder boiler anywhere in the house.That just leaves the local mains pipe from outside.

We do however have a combi-boiler, so i thought ok its safe to use the hot tap water.

Then OH turns around and says, but the hot water tap pipes are made of cooper......

is he yanking my chain? Copper pipes is ok right?

hot water pipes are made out of copper, but so are COLD water pipes. This is one of those cases where a little knowledge is dangerous. He is fretting over nothing! Copper is used for water pipes because of its properties, including flexibility and ease of installation. But, if it dissolved in water, it would make a pretty lousy pipe!

 

[This Old Spouse]

There are copper-based medications that are harmful to some species of fish, including corydoras. I'm sure that's where the confusion comes in.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Yes, adding copper directly to the tank is dangerous to certain fish and other tank species (like snails), but water running through a copper pipe does not leach copper into the water. Ultimately, if we couldn't use water that went through a copper pipe, I couldn't fill my tank at all without running to the local creek!

 

[orandas]

Ultimately, if we couldn't use water that went through a copper pipe, I couldn't fill my tank at all without running to the local creek!

LOL

okay guys & gals, next due water change......its hose time on the cold & hot water tap combined......and sit back

 

[Greg_DS]

Time to update my method too reading this, sick of carrying 10 litre buckets back and forth!! lol

 

[Lufbramatt]

just to add, it will only be the little bit of pipe from the main to the tap thats copper, water mains are generally all made from other materials such as HDPE (a durable plastic), concrete or clay. Otherwise it would cost a fortune to lay water mains in copper pipe and all the pikeys would be out digging roads up to steal the pipes lol

The cold water doesnt sit long in the copper pipe between the main and the tap, gets flushed straight through, but stored hot water could sit for days and weeks in a copper cylinder before its drawn off. Not sure if copper can migrate into the water or not but thats just how your plumbing works

Ive opened up an old hot water storage cylinder to see inside before i weighed it in and there was a layer of mucky brown sludge in the bottom that had accumulated over the years, not sure what it was but wouldn't want to drink the water that had been in there let alone immerse a living creature in it.

 

[orandas]

just to add, it will only be the little bit of pipe from the main to the tap thats copper, water mains are generally all made from other materials such as HDPE (a durable plastic), concrete or clay. Otherwise it would cost a fortune to lay water mains in copper pipe and all the pikeys would be out digging roads up to steal the pipes lol

The cold water doesnt sit long in the copper pipe between the main and the tap, gets flushed straight through, but stored hot water could sit for days and weeks in a copper cylinder before its drawn off. Not sure if copper can migrate into the water or not but thats just how your plumbing works

Ive opened up an old hot water storage cylinder to see inside before i weighed it in and there was a layer of mucky brown sludge in the bottom that had accumulated over the years, not sure what it was but wouldn't want to drink the water that had been in there let alone immerse a living creature in it.

wow thanks for such detail info.

Abit extreme, but imagine my OH coming home to find that (if we had one such cylinder), and i had hack into it just to 'peeped alook'......imagine his face LOL..........hehe just kidding with you, appreciate your research in the name of the cause.

Ewww in former houses with hot water tanks, we've been taking/marinating in baths from said tanks........thankfully i'm not a bath person but a shower person.

And now i know why in our younger days we were told not to drink from the hot tap. Lightbulb moment!


ps sorry OP we've hi-jacked your thread oops