This Hot Water Business-Poll

[ellena]

There are a couple of threads debating this atm, so I'm now curious. It would be great if any replies to this thread were only if people have actual first hand experience of hot water from the tap causing problems in a tank
Thanks

 

[Ethan040]

Ive always used my mixer tap for getting my water temp right for water changes.

 

[MikeO]

I use both the hot and cold tap, but only because I am on a combi boiler.

If I had a hot water tank then I would boil cold water, as hot water tanks house all sorts of nasties.

 

[bae1994]

yep i only use cold water as i have a combi boiler so is the same but just normally use cold water as i see it as more natural to have a drop in water temp like night time (not as regular as night but still)

 

[Inchworm]

I use a Python so I mix the water at the tap before refilling my tanks. I let the water run for a few minutes to clear any old water from the pipes before starting to adjust the temperature.

 

[doresy]

I mix hot and cold through the shower pipe (after removing the shower head) into a 30 litre carboy x 3, add dechlorinator then siphon it into the tank. The water comes from the immersion tank that has been heated by the boiler.

I am not a believer that my set up will be effected by copper poisoning

 

[Truck]

I only use cold water, because I don't see the point in temperature matching, when I do my water changes.

 

[Bridie]

Always used mixing tap (shower, actually) for water changes using a hose, never had any trouble.
Now with my wee tank I only use cold water. To adjust the temperature (the tank doesn´t have a heater) I just let it sit in a bucket for a day.

 

[Mikaila31]

I'm in a 30year old house, with what I believe has its original water tank. I use both hot and cold tap ATM and never have any issues and don't believe I ever will. One the water softener gets hooked back up I have to take my water pretty much straight from the well, which means only ice cold water.

 

[hamfist]

interesting ! Much more variation that I would have thought.

 

[ellena]

Yes, very interesting. As was pointed out on the other thread and here, most dechlorinators take care of any heavy metals that might be in the hot water. And some first hand experience of it causing no problems, but none of it causing problems-Hmmm...
Personally, I have a combi boiler, but I would be using hot water even if I didn't. When I was a child, my dad kept tropicals and marines for many years, they have a hot water tank and he used hot water with no problems.

 

[dave_oddballs]

i voted for hot tap water, i have a near new combi boiler and mains water pipe is pvc and then copper about 12" before it enters the boiler, then 12" when it comes out then its onto flexi as the sink is about 24" away from the boiler, as inchworm said i let it run for a minute or so first to clear old water and anything that may have settled there, the only decent lengths of copper pipe in the house go to the radiators, and i sure ain't going to get my water from there!
i think as long as you use common sense with any new system its safe, with older houses id think twice, old copper pipes will seep more into the water, lead pipes a definite no no, and also if you have boilers or pipes fitted in the last year or so then they now fit pipes with an anti-fungicide on the interior of the pipes on a regular basis which has been known to wipe out tanks. a few things to think about if you don't know your boilers and pipes too well!

just thought id add, i don't use hot water from the tap to try and match it to my tanks temperature, but i do 50% water changes, if i filled 50% of my 1000 litre tank with cold tap water i think id definitely be saying goodbye to some expensive fish, and on the same note it would take a bloody lot of kettle fill ups to warm 500 litres of cold water!
i suppose if you have an average sized tank and 20-25% water changes then yes you'd be fine just topping up with cold water.

 

[thedc5]

cold tap only for me using a hose from the kitchen, but I do it slowly takes about 10mins using a power head to empty the water down the sink from the tank but about 2 hours to fill it back up from the tap.

 

[minxfishy]

As I said on a previous thread, I use a mixer tap (hot and cold) to re-fill my tanks, I had an old combi boiler which never had a problem with, last month had a new combi boiler fitted and new pipework (Never knew about the fungicide in the pipes Dave) and still fill the same way. As mentioned in larger tanks when you do a 50% w/c you cant just use cold water as it drops the temperature too low, its fine on smaller tanks or when your just doing 10-20% water change but having forgotten once to turn the hot tap on too and finding my fish extremely lethargic and somewhat cold, I wouldnt use just cold again. The dechlor will take care of any trace amounts of copper and I double dose as I refill direct into the tank, I dont mix dechlor first obviously.

 

[raptorrex]

in the last year or so then they now fit pipes with an anti-fungicide on the interior of the pipes on a regular basis which has been known to wipe out tanks.

could you flesh this claim out. Copper is a fungicide, or use as such. its also an anti bacterial. as yet, i have been unable to find a single anti-fungal, for use in copper pipes. though as i said, copper itself is used for the job. i have also been unable to find anybody, claiming it happened. though i only used goggle.
I assume its not plastic pipes they are using it in. as they should not need it. unless the plumber is using ultra cheap, probably, illegal pipe.