Temperature Drop

[PrettyDiscus]

When i change the water it usually takes 10 minutes for me to empty the tank. I keep the heater on but the temperature of the water goes really cold. My fish seem fine and not bothered by it but is it bad for them?

 

[Sibelius]

hmm, a gradual drop is normal not too bad for fish? How much exactly is the drop? can you give us any figure? For Example: I'd say a drop from 24 down to 20 isn't too much of a problem at all.

 

[Tolak]

It depends on the fish & how much of a drop.

Cooler water changes are often used to induce spawning. I do 50% water changes with water that is 4F to 5F cooler on a regular basis, I know a local cory breeder who does the same with water that is 8F to 10F cooler.

 

[PrettyDiscus]

Well the thermometer is not at all accurate. I am going to get a digital one. It was just slightly warmer than out of a cold tap.

 

[doresy]

just to bring up another point....you say you leave the heater on during water change...this is not good practice to do stuff in the tank while anything (especially the heater) is still live as a precaution against electric shock to yourself. Also, if the water level drops below heater it will burn out. A 30% max water change should not effect the temperature that much. In winter it is advisable to draw water and store in a room temperature inviroment for a day or so. I find that my fish seem to enjoy their water replacement as I let it flow back through a small bore pipe.

 

[NightStalker]

Yeah you should definatley keep your heater off, i forgot once on a 50% water change and my chance while i was cleaning gravel my hand sort of tapped the heater out of water and it was HOTTTTTTTTTTTTTT, not adviseable to the least.

And dont trust it when it says it auto shuts off, since mine says it autoshut offs when its out of water, and well as i found out thats not true, even if only have is out it can still burn out.

 

[: )]

Yeah you should definatley keep your heater off, i forgot once on a 50% water change and my chance while i was cleaning gravel my hand sort of tapped the heater out of water and it was HOTTTTTTTTTTTTTT, not adviseable to the least.

And dont trust it when it says it auto shuts off, since mine says it autoshut offs when its out of water, and well as i found out thats not true, even if only have is out it can still burn out.

sorry if this is a silly question, but do the fish ever accidentally touch the heater

 

[NightStalker]

Yeah you should definatley keep your heater off, i forgot once on a 50% water change and my chance while i was cleaning gravel my hand sort of tapped the heater out of water and it was HOTTTTTTTTTTTTTT, not adviseable to the least.

And dont trust it when it says it auto shuts off, since mine says it autoshut offs when its out of water, and well as i found out thats not true, even if only have is out it can still burn out.

sorry if this is a silly question, but do the fish ever accidentally touch the heater

Lol all the time, my brothers oscares even hit it out of place when chasing other fish to eat, i have a plastic one purposley so it doesnt crack since glass ones do, its not that important since my fish arent big enough to break it, but my brothers oscars already broke a glass one.

Under water its warm but definatley not that hot, since the water keeps it cool enough and in turn heats the water, my fish actually like to swim around it and touch it from time to time, does no harm what so ever.

 

[ihasanzongi]

Yeah you should definatley keep your heater off, i forgot once on a 50% water change and my chance while i was cleaning gravel my hand sort of tapped the heater out of water and it was HOTTTTTTTTTTTTTT, not adviseable to the least.

And dont trust it when it says it auto shuts off, since mine says it autoshut offs when its out of water, and well as i found out thats not true, even if only have is out it can still burn out.

sorry if this is a silly question, but do the fish ever accidentally touch the heater

Lol all the time, my brothers oscares even hit it out of place when chasing other fish to eat, i have a plastic one purposley so it doesnt crack since glass ones do, its not that important since my fish arent big enough to break it, but my brothers oscars already broke a glass one.

Under water its warm but definatley not that hot, since the water keeps it cool enough and in turn heats the water, my fish actually like to swim around it and touch it from time to time, does no harm what so ever.

good old oscars another great fish

 

[PrettyDiscus]

I change 50% of the water. If i turn the heater off the water will get even colder.

 

[Sibelius]

ah, but it's a safety risk. I normally boil a kettle and mix that in with cold tap water (dechlorinating the lot). Then the temperature will be similar to that of the tank.

 

[PrettyDiscus]

I se warm and cold water from the tap. Is this right?

 

[paul-discus]

Could you get a plastic container and a spare heater that way you could run the water in to the container the day before, have an airstone in and turn the heater on to bring that up to the same temperature as that of your tank water. It will solve your problems i think.

 

[Gandalf-LoJ]

I always mix hot and cold water to get to the right temperature. I have one of those infrared thermometers and I can get the water to within half a degree of the tank temp really easily.

This is similar to my thermometer. It's a very useful tool and as it gives an instant reading makes the waterchanges really fast as I use a jug so need lots of refills!

 

[SamUK]

Could you get a plastic container and a spare heater that way you could run the water in to the container the day before, have an airstone in and turn the heater on to bring that up to the same temperature as that of your tank water. It will solve your problems i think.

i used to do this with an 80l bin i got from b&Q or soemwhere like that.


the airstones quite important if you do it because without any water movement in the bin youll have hot water at the top and cold at the bottom no matter how long you leave it.