Water Changes - Heating Water..?

[Jenks74]

Hey everyone, bit of a random one - was just wondering how people heat there water when doing a water change ie: Most cost efficient way of doing it...

The way that i do mine is to use a 30 litre bucket into which i measure out in a builders bucket 16litres of cold water, then have two kettles on the go that i pour in along with water treatments/buffers - to try an get the water temp within a degree or two of my main tank (which is 28 degrees).

We've got a gas boiler to heat our mains water, so not sure if it would be cheaper just to use the hot/cold taps to get the water within range - but would the water be fresher coming out of the cold..?

Granted i could use just cold water in a bucket, then just heat using standard tank heaters but when your changing 70 or 80 litres at a time that sort of practice is'nt really practical.

Be interesting to find out how everybody does it..?

All the best nick.

 

[minnnt]

hot tap

 

[StandbySetting]

Again hot tap, use a good dechlorinator.

Also, if you're doing a water change that is 25% or less than the tank volume there's no real need to heat it.

 

[Cazgar]

I have 3 tanks, the largest is only 80 litres, so I just use the hot water tap in a bucket mixed with cold to get the temp right

 

[swanseastilo]

Again hot tap, use a good dechlorinator.

Also, if you're doing a water change that is 25% or less than the tank volume there's no real need to heat it.

Are u sure every week i do a 20 percent change in a 110l tank would the cold water not affect the fish?

 

[StandbySetting]

No, it would only emulate rainfall, it stimulates breeding. The water temperature will drop by a 1-2 degrees Celsius but nothing to worry about.

 

[Livewire88]

The way I do it is I have 4 x 25 litre water containers, every Saturday I fill each with water and Seachem Prime and leave containers open, in the evening I take 4 x 100w (cheapo) heaters and put 1 in each container, so when I wake up on Sunday morning hey presto 100l of fresh warm water to use for my water change

Most people will think this is OTT but I have the routine down to a tee now and can do the water change on my main tank in approx 30 mins

 

[minnnt]

Yep, just bang it in. The fish would appear to love the difference. My Cories ALWAYS spawn after a cold water change, as do alot of my Cichlids (Well, used to, lol.)

The way I do it is I have 4 x 25 litre water containers, every Saturday I fill each with water and Seachem Prime and leave containers open, in the evening I take 4 x 100w (cheapo) heaters and put 1 in each container, so when I wake up on Sunday morning hey presto 100l of fresh warm water to use for my water change

Most people will think this is OTT but I have the routine down to a tee now and can do the water change on my main tank in approx 30 mins

Blimey mate, that's alot of faffing...

 

[Livewire88]

Yep, just bang it in. The fish would appear to love the difference. My Cories ALWAYS spawn after a cold water change, as do alot of my Cichlids (Well, used to, lol.)

The way I do it is I have 4 x 25 litre water containers, every Saturday I fill each with water and Seachem Prime and leave containers open, in the evening I take 4 x 100w (cheapo) heaters and put 1 in each container, so when I wake up on Sunday morning hey presto 100l of fresh warm water to use for my water change

Most people will think this is OTT but I have the routine down to a tee now and can do the water change on my main tank in approx 30 mins

Blimey mate, that's alot of faffing...

You sound like my Missus im sure I will get bord of this routine in the future but at the moment I am an OCD fish keeper.

Give it a year or two and I will have moved on to something else, like 99% of hobbies I get into.

EDIT: 500 UP im catching you up Minnnt

 

[Fishy friend2]

hot tap

+1. I don't use any way of specially heating the water, just make sure that the water is temperature matched

 

[Jenks74]

Can see that the general trend is to use the hot/cold taps...

My discus/cories will normally spawn after a 20-30% water change, guess it simulates a rainy season in the wild.

Hopefully the plants that i've ordered arrive tomorrow, if that's the case i'll do a big water change the same time when i plant an use the tap's when i fill - maybe it'll help to keep the electric bill down as well

 

[swanseastilo]

nice one guys might aswell put this spear heater in my tank as a back up now

 

[Akasha72]

Cold water from the tap and boil the kettle to bring the temp up to around the same as the tank then trickle it back in slowly using the syphon - the fish love it

 

[mark2109111]

I use RO water so hot tap is not an option. I heat mine with a 50 watt heater in 5 gallon buckets to 86. But if i am trying to induce a spawn i dont heat the water at all.