water changes

[LMOUTHBASS]

i want to start changing 50% of my water once a week to get my amonia and nitrate levels to a safe level, but im in a tough spot as far as getting fresh chlorine free water into my tank , as i havet got much to work with to put the new water into first to clean it out before putting this into my 20 gal, so is it safe for me to buy spring water from the store and put this into my tank when doing water changes or will this have negative chems in it as well??? thanks

[yashinfan]

Are there fish in your tank currently?

[OrionGirl]

You can purchase RO/DI water from most any store, even the refillable jugs are acceptable. It won't contain any toxins, but this water has a neutral pH. It will change the pH of your tank, and likely the GH and KH values as well.

If you are dealing only with chlorine, it will gas off if left in a open mouthed contained over night, or in any bottle with agitation (like a bubbler).

However, if you are dealing with ammonia and nitrites in a tank that has fish, you are much better off doing several, smaller dialy water changes instead of a large weekly one.

[LMOUTHBASS]

it ill be ok to put spring water from a bottle straight into my fish tank? spring water wont have no chlorine in it right ? ?

[yashinfan]

If you're asking if you can put in bottled water that you would normally drink (ie: dasani, evian) than I would suggest against it. They both have salt in them and iodine is not good for fishies. If it's pure spring water than I am not sure if it would have salt in it but I would check the bottle for the chemical components.

[OrionGirl]

http://www.bottledwaterweb.com/bott/bt_140evian.html

The amount of salt included in Evian is very small--certainly not enough to cause a problem. As for iodine, it's a required nutrient for ALL life, including fish. The link above does not identify iodine as being present, but even if it were, the product is safe for human consumption, and will not harm fish. Even using iodized table salt is fine, in it's place. The fish would be pickled in brine long before they suffered iodine poisoning.

However, the cost of purchasing the brand names could be prohibitive. The generic stuff from Walmart works fine.

[anonapersona]

I don't quite understand the issue here.

50% of a 20 gallon tank is 10 gallons, actually maybe 8 or 9 since you have gravel and decorations I assume.

So, that is 3 trips with a 3 gallon bucket, or better yet 5 gallon bucket with only 3 gallons in it so it doesn't slosh, if you can carry it. Dechlorinate in the bucket or even in the tank between buckets. I drag an 18 gallon bucket with 10 gallons in it across one or two rooms, and it is geting old, hurts my back.

BUT, it sounds like you have not been changing water regularly??

If so STOP.

Your tank parameters may be very, very different from the tap water now (like pH, GH, and KH) plus other stuff we cannot measure. Using spring water just means that the difference will be that much bigger. Some bottled water can have high phosphates and may create algae.

Better to spend your money on a bucket and some basic dechlorinator! I use stuff that takes out chlorine, nothing else, you might want to get something that removes chloramines too, But "bacteria", "slime coat", and "stress relievers" are unnecessary, IMO. And keep a big towel on the floor as you pour, and one on your shoulder, too.

You can hurt fish at this point by doing a large water change, with either tap or bottled water. Say, for example, the salt level of the tank had risen slowly as you topped off after minor evaporation with tap water that has minor salt levels. A sudden change in the salt level would be sort of like opening a window in an airplane as the osmotic pressure changes suddenly (remember how the heads explode in space movies?) It's just not a nice thing to do. This change won't be that drastic, but it could do damage in some cases.

So, start by doing small changes, frequently, like every day or two. You can practice math as you do it....(walking to the blackboard...)

How many 10% water changes will it take to get a 50% change effected.? If you answered 5 changes you are wrong, some of those changes took out the water you just added the other day, right?

1st change, replace 10% leaving 90% old
2nd change replace 10% of above, leaving 81% old = .9 x.9
3rd change, replace 10% of above, leaving 72.9% old = .9 x.9 x.9
and so on until 50% of old is left.

Takes 6 or 7 changes. (.9 to the 7th power is .478 )

After you have gotten to the 7th 10% change, you can begin doing 50% changes, weekly would be nice.

[LMOUTHBASS]

THE REASON I AM ASKING ABOUT JUST PUTTING SPRING WATER IN IS BECAUSE I THOUGHT IT TAKES A LONG TIME LIKE OVERNIGHT FOR THE CHEMICALS TO TAKE THE CHLORINE OUT OF THE WATER TO WORK, BUT IF THEY WORK INSTANTLY THIS WILL NOT BE AN ISSUE FOR ME AS I CAN FILL A 3 GALLON BUCKET PUT THE CHLORINE CHEMICAL IN THEN PUT IT INTO THE TANK RIGHT AWAY? IS THIS HOW MOST PEOPLE CHANGE THE WATER???

[yashinfan]

Yes, this is how most people change it. It is advisable to wait 30 mins or an hour for the dechlorinator to be at its best, tho. Don't get all angry at us for trying to help you, you didn't provide adequate information.

[Skittyfish]

I think if you only have chlorine in your water you can dechlorinate in the bucket. Then put the water in the tank. I put the water in and put my dechlorinator in the tank. I've not killed anything yet.

[LMOUTHBASS]

caps i wasnt angry i was at work typing something in caps when i post the mssg

[anonapersona]

Some bottles say it works instantly. Some say to add before adding to the aquarium. I've not seen any that suggest any wait time is needed.

I've seen one site, for VERY expensive fish, that said to add the dechlorinator to a bucket and then leae the last few inches in the bottom of the bucket (apparently for the heavy metals that are taken out of the water by certain dechlorinating mixes). This is overkill for my $1 and $2 fish, but worthwhile for $400 fish.

Most aquarists I know (online) say they add dechlorinator *while* adding the water to the tank. Many add the dechlorinator to the tank, just before turning on the Python hose to fill the tank back up.

I used to add mine to the bucket, just before pouring in. Now I'm switching to a Python hose so I'll add it to the tank as I fill.

[TKOS]

So far so good in my tanks. I just add Wardley's Chlorout right before adding the tap water, swish it around in the bucket and add the water to the tank.

[carpguy]

I got a couple of 5 gallon buckets from Home Depot for a few bucks each. I add the dechlorinator (Amquel) while I'm filling them and then let them sit for about half an hour, more to let them outgas a bit then because of any concern about the Amquel. No troubles so far. As was noted above, many Python owners add the sauce straight into the tank while filling straight from the tap.

Two 5 gallon buckets about two thirds full should do the trick.

This is a new tank, currently cycling fishy? If so I'd follow OrionGirl's small regular changes regimen. If its an older established tank going through a crisis period, Anonapersona had some good things to say…