Water Changes

[re_hashed]

Right, really really daft question time (mods please feel free to delete this thread once it's been answered as the less people who know what a numpty I am the better)

Water Changes. In the majority of posts on here, people always state things like "do a 50% water change weekly" or "do a 25% water change then add your ferts etc.."

That I'm ok with, no questions there.

Now for the daft bit of the question:

The 50% fresh water that you're putting back in to the aquarium is just that -- fresh water, stright out of the tap yeah? Obvioulsy not freezing cold, just as close to the temperature as your tank water as possible ??

You don't need to do anything special with the water do you, as I presume that the suppliments, ferts etc that you put in after the water change will get everything back in order.

For some reason last night I woke up with this playing on my mind

Thanks

 

[alessasavoca]

Right, really really daft question time (mods please feel free to delete this thread once it's been answered as the less people who know what a numpty I am the better)

Water Changes. In the majority of posts on here, people always state things like "do a 50% water change weekly" or "do a 25% water change then add your ferts etc.."

That I'm ok with, no questions there.

Now for the daft bit of the question:

The 50% fresh water that you're putting back in to the aquarium is just that -- fresh water, stright out of the tap yeah? Obvioulsy not freezing cold, just as close to the temperature as your tank water as possible ??

You don't need to do anything special with the water do you, as I presume that the suppliments, ferts etc that you put in after the water change will get everything back in order.

For some reason last night I woke up with this playing on my mind

Thanks

if you have fish in there you must use a dechlorinator, chlorine is poisonous to fish and anything living in the tank. It's relatively cheap to buy and quite cost effective though, and it's quite hard to over dose!

also, its not embarrasing really, we all have questions that need answering and at least you aren't afraid to ask

 

[Lynda B]

Maybe we can start a Numpty Association here..... you wanna be President?

We use a phython to drain and refill our tanks. My husband has figured out how to set the taps perfectly so that we can the same temperature water going into the tank as we had coming out. After we refill, we put in Prime to dechlorinate. This works beautifully for us.

 

[nry]

B)-->QUOTE(Lynda B @ Jun 21 2007, 11:07 AM) [snapback]1661380[/snapback]
Maybe we can start a Numpty Association here..... you wanna be President?

We use a phython to drain and refill our tanks. My husband has figured out how to set the taps perfectly so that we can the same temperature water going into the tank as we had coming out. After we refill, we put in Prime to dechlorinate. This works beautifully for us. [/quote]

I would add prime before the new water starts going in, stops any potential issues with chlorine etc going in to the tank before then getting removed by prime. Unless I misunderstand in which case apologies

 

[indigo]

i use a basic gravel cleaner and clean a fair proportion of my gravel, usually about 20-25% of water comes out along with that, i'll then estimate how much water has come out, chuck in about the right amount of tap-safe and then refill straight from the hose.

don't worry about numpty questions, we all learn from somewhere! it's taken me a year to get confident with looking after my tank!

 

[raptorrex]

Right, really really daft question time (mods please feel free to delete this thread once it's been answered as the less people who know what a numpty I am the better)

Water Changes. In the majority of posts on here, people always state things like "do a 50% water change weekly" or "do a 25% water change then add your ferts etc.."

That I'm ok with, no questions there.

Now for the daft bit of the question:

The 50% fresh water that you're putting back in to the aquarium is just that -- fresh water, stright out of the tap yeah? Obvioulsy not freezing cold, just as close to the temperature as your tank water as possible ??

You don't need to do anything special with the water do you, as I presume that the suppliments, ferts etc that you put in after the water change will get everything back in order.

For some reason last night I woke up with this playing on my mind

Thanks

well i would say 25% weekly, though i do not always follow that rule . i do use tap safe/water safe. but i have heard of people not using it and they seem to fair ok, i feel better safe than sorry. as for temp, well a use a mix of hot and cold water, so the water going in, is the same as the stuff that came out.

Truth is if you are consistent with what you do, fish seem to settle into the system. its sudden changes to the normal that tend to cause problems.

There is no such thing as a silly question. imo the silly ones are the people who dont ask!

 

[Dave Spencer]

50% water changes every week are generally for people running EI tanks. You spend the week overdosing fertilisers within certain parameters, and then carry out the 50% water change to reset the tank levels ready for the next week of overdosing. I dose straight after the water change.

I use water changes in various ways to suit the situation. In new planted tanks I carry out 50% water changes every three days for the first month as a means of combatting algae, before moving it back to once a week. In my 24l, medium light EI tank I change 50% every three days as a matter of its every day running.

I have heard of people that don`t dechlorinate, but it`s not a path I choose to go down, so I use a dechlorinator that takes care of chloramines as well.

Temperature wise, I use colder water to top the tank back up again. I know that my Otos like this because they are always sat on the glass in the area where I add the colder water and love to swim around in the stream. After the water change, the tank temperature has usually dropped two or three degrees, but with no detrimental effect to any of the fish.

Dave.

 

[Lynda B]

Dave, what's an E1 tank, I mean EI?

 

[Dave Spencer]

B)-->QUOTE(Lynda B @ Jun 21 2007, 07:49 PM) [snapback]1662021[/snapback]
Dave, what's an E1 tank? [/quote]

Sorry, EI stands for Estimative Index. There is a pinned, updated article on it by JamesC at the top of this forum.

Dave.

 

[Esfa]

i just put water straight from the tap into the tank. Nothing else. Its soon dealt with.