topping off aquarium due to evaporation...

[wigglejaggles]

Hey Now all,

how do you all feel about topping off aquariums with bottled water or distilled water. Is it ok to do so?

take care,
Jared

[shewlett]

I use bottled spring water for small water top-offs a couple of times a week. I use tap water conditioned with Amquel & NovAqua for water changes via siphoning gravel. The pH of the bottled water I use is right where I want it and the volume I am adding doesn't budge the aquariums' temperature so it is easy for topping off.

[dethjam316]

some people do that. personally, i consider a big waste of money and use water from el tap. nothing wrong with that as long as use water conditioner. unless, of course, you radically alter the pH of your tanks, and, in that case, the bottled water might not be what you need anyway. i wouldn't waste the money that could be better spent on more fish or fish-related toys.

[Cearbhaill]

I must be missing something- I don't evaporate enough in between weekly water changes to even need to top off. I have glass tops- do you guys have open topped tanks?

[dethjam316]

i have 1 with a screen top that evaporates pretty badly, and 1 open top that evaporates very badly...it's not a problem in the spring and summer, but in the winter when the humidity drops...i need to top off every other day in those tanks. in my covered 50g, i have no such problems.

[yhbae]

Some of my tanks don't have covers and during winter, indoor air gets awfully dry hence lots of evaporation. I must do at least one top-up per week on top of weekly water change.

Question though - what is the benefit of using distilled water for top-up? I'd imagine that would cause more damage than good since water chemistry of distilled water would surely be different than your tap/tank water... I simply use the same tap water with water conditioner...

[anonapersona]

If you are trying to replace evaporated water, distilled is most like the water that has left the tank. As water evaporates, it leaves behind the salts and minerals.

If you replace with distilled, you are not adding any extra salts or minerals to the tank. If you are replacie with tap water you are adding extra minerals.

If you have small losses and large water changes, the slowly increasing concentration of the water is not a big deal, but with high evaporation and small water changes, the effect is magnified.

In most cases, it is not a big deal, but it is a reason to test your GH once in awhile, just so you can see if it is rising very much.

[JSchmidt]

I agree with anonapersona.

Another way to prevent gradually increasing concentration of bad stuff is to do a number of large-scale water changes (e.g., 50%) in fairly quick succession.

Evaporation isn't a big deal unless you're losing a log of water between changes. If that happens, all the stuff left behind when the water evaporates will increase in concentration.

Jim

[Karlsbad]

Originally posted by Cearbhaill
I must be missing something- I don't evaporate enough in between weekly water changes to even need to top off. I have glass tops- do you guys have open topped tanks?

Do you live in a warm climate? The indoor air is really dry even with a humidifier, and I keep my tank at 79 and my house at 70.

[shewlett]

Our tanks are covered but there are small open spaces around the power filter and the heater where we lose evaporation. In the winter we keep our house at around 65 degrees F and the tanks are at approx. 78-79 degrees F. With the dry winter air in the house we lose small amounts of tank water to evaporation. I use the bottled spring water for top-offs because a gallon of it will last several weeks and only costs $1.19 and the pH is right where we want it. Since our tanks are scarcely populated we only do water changes once every two or three weeks and use tap water conditioned with Amquel & NovAqua for the changes.

[yhbae]

Originally posted by anonapersona
If you are trying to replace evaporated water, distilled is most like the water that has left the tank. As water evaporates, it leaves behind the salts and minerals.

If you replace with distilled, you are not adding any extra salts or minerals to the tank. If you are replacie with tap water you are adding extra minerals.

If you have small losses and large water changes, the slowly increasing concentration of the water is not a big deal, but with high evaporation and small water changes, the effect is magnified.

In most cases, it is not a big deal, but it is a reason to test your GH once in awhile, just so you can see if it is rising very much.

Aha that makes sense... I guess in my case, since all my tanks have plants I was more interested in getting additional minerals when I top-up the tank, hence my preference to the tap water... But it certainly seem to make sense why distilled water is used...

[Cearbhaill]

Do you live in a warm climate?
Warm and humid- that must be it. And this time of year windows are open 24/7 to the humid air. But I don't have to top off freshwater during the summer A/C season either.

[yhbae]

Grrr I'm going nuts trying to top-up the tanks! Now I have to do TWO top-ups between weekly water change due to water evaporation...

Its all Canada's fault! :D

On the positive side, the air has never been so moist during the winter before in my house... :D No more humidifier!

[Must4ng s4lly]

I just top off with water run thru my PUR water filter. Works just fine!