Water change

[Essjay]

Oh...so the water heater not only heats the potable water, but the home, as well?

The vast majority of boilers do also heat the house as well as providing hot water. I can't think of any that don't.

 

[Slaphppy7]

The vast majority of boilers do also heat the house as well as providing hot water. I can't think of any that don't.

Understood....here, on a residential level, we have separate furnaces for home heating, but on a commercial level (like at the University where I work), boilers and chillers are used for both heating/cooling of potable water, as well as building temps.

 

[Essjay]

If by 'potable' you mean 'suitable for drinking' then combi boilers can be used for making hot water for drinking and cooking. With the cylinder/header tank type, you are not supposed to drink the hot water at all.
In the UK, the hot water made by the boiler is used for washing and things like that, not drinking, though I suppose some of us do. We usually use kettles for making hot water for drinking.

 

[Slaphppy7]

If by 'potable' you mean 'suitable for drinking' then combi boilers can be used for making hot water for drinking and cooking. With the cylinder/header tank type, you are not supposed to drink the hot water at all.
In the UK, the hot water made by the boiler is used for washing and things like that, not drinking, though I suppose some of us do. We usually use kettles for making hot water for drinking.

Yes, potable means water safe to drink or cook with...thanks for the info, interesting...

 

[Essjay]

I think it's important to know things like this so that when people ask about heating water for water changes, we know that different countries do different things Like now I know that in the US, water for heating and water for other purposes are made separately and that it is safe to use water from a water heater for fish tanks.

 

[Slaphppy7]

I think it's important to know things like this so that when people ask about heating water for water changes, we know that different countries do different things Like now I know that in the US, water for heating and water for other purposes are made separately and that it is safe to use water from a water heater for fish tanks.

I agree, and you are correct, heated water from most US households is perfectly fine to use for WC's...now, some have softened water, which can complicate things, I suppose, but that's no issue for me, personally.

My biggest issue happens in the summertime, it gets very hot in Texas where I live. My tank temps run around 74F year-round, but the "cold" tap temp in the summertime can be as high as 86F, which is much too warm for WC's....I get around that issue by floating frozen water bottles in the tanks as I fill them. It can get a bit messy, as I remove them when the water levels rise, but it DOES work.

 

[AbbeysDad]

"Water heater"

Why would you heat hot water?

LOL, sorry, pet peeve of mine, "hot water heater"....

I 'guess' we might call it a hot water tank, but then it wouldn't get hot without the heaters!!! (Park in a driveway, drive on a parkway, Jumbo Shrimp, colder than hell.... there's no end to it!)

 

[Essjay]

I have the opposite problem. In winter, water changes take so long because the water is so cold it takes ages for a kettle to boil. And I need more boiling water per bucket than in summer.

 

[Malawif@n]

thanks all for the replies and it’s not a cylinder it’s a combi boiler, just wanted to make sure that using hot and cold tap water was appropriate for water changes as I have nowhere to actually store large volumes of water.

 

[Essjay]

Yes, it's OK to use hot water from a combi boiler.

I don't store the new water. I put dechlorinator in the bucket then run in cold water at full flow and add a kettle of boing water at the same time. Then pour it into the tank. (Well, ladle it into the tank with a jug - there's no way I could lift the bucket to pour it straight in)


Sorry we took over your thread

 

[Malawif@n]

No need to apologise I don’t mind the more info the better, makes water changes so easy because I’ll be using an aqueon water changer makes life so much more easier moreover with using hot and cold water means I can test the water temp match it with the tank and it becomes all o simple. Thanks again

 

[AbbeysDad]

I have the opposite problem. In winter, water changes take so long because the water is so cold it takes ages for a kettle to boil. And I need more boiling water per bucket than in summer.

Hmm... Have you ever pondered drawing water into a brute trash can a day or two before so it gets to room temperature?...you may even be able to do the partial water changes with room temperature water.

 

[Essjay]

I'd never persuade my husband to allow that - he'd make me keep it outside so it would never get to room temperature except maybe in summer during a heatwave He complains about my fish tanks enough without 90 litres of water standing in a tub.

 

[Malawif@n]

Unfortunately storing water isn’t an option for me that why I asked about if I could use mixed water from the tap, essjay what size aquarium and what species are you keeping if you don’t mind me asking?

 

[Essjay]

I have 2 tanks, but the 23 litre is very quick doing a water change using a bucket.

My main tank holds about 180 litres water; I have 4 pearl gouramis, 10 espe's rasboras (a close, relative of harlequins but slightly smaller), the last 4 female Daisy's rice fish, 10 kuhli loaches, around 9 mixed Boraras species (last of their shoals), an unknown number of cherry shrimps and I think, 6 nerite snails.
I use buckets for water changes on this tank too. I take 7 larger bucketfuls out (I only need to lift those 2 inches off the floor) and 12 smaller buckets containing 7.6 litres to refil (7.6 litres = 2 US gallons and my water conditioner dose is 1 drop per gallon) Now that I've bought an extra kettle it is a lot quicker as in winter I spent longer waiting for the kettle boil between bucketfuls than actually refilling the tank.


If you want to refill with a hose of some sort, and it will fit on a mixer tap, then yes, you can use a mix of hot and cold tap water to get the temperature right. Even if we had a combi boiler I have not yet found anything that would connect to our kitchen tap.