question on water changes

[Richard]

ok now i know tap water is harmful to fish

what i did hear and read on a few sites and in books was that if you fill a bucket up with water and leave it 24 hours the chemicals in the water release into the air making it safe for using in the tank.

now if this is true is there a life span on the water? (meaning if left for a week or 2 will it become dangerous to add to a tank)

what i was thinking off was purchasing a water butt to store the water in for the water changes on my tanks filling it with tap water and letting the chemicals naturaly release to save using more chemicals to netralize the other chemicals in tap water lol .

anyway just curious if i`m right in the fact that tap water is safe if left for 24 hours?

thanks

 

[endparenthesis]

I've heard it's safer, but not completely safe.

And there wouldn't be a lifespan on water, no.

 

[a1wonder]

Personally I fill 3 liter milk jugs with hot tap water add stress coat (which is a pretty cheap but wonderful profuct) and let it sit for two days uncovered in my sauna room. I haven't had any problem. But water does go stale if you let it sit for a long time and that can cause problems to some less hardy fish.

 

[Teelie]

Hot water isn't a good idea to use. There's all kinds of crap that get into it and if you have inverts it might kill them. Also, if you want to use untreated tap water, let it sit a week, not two days. Chloramines are used now more and more and those are much stronger bonds than Chlorine ones.

 

[Pleco-Heaven]

I treat my water first with, what i think is called aquasafe, and I think it is still not generally safe to change water over 20% even if it is treated!

 

[KnuckleHead]

Water that sits for extended periods of time becomes stagnant. Use an airstone to keep a current going and youll be fine. Stagnant water is definatly not something you want to add to your tank. I stay away from all chemicals with water changes. With the type of water I have here 24 hours is all I need before I add it.