Degassing vs water temp confusion

[nosuperstitions]

My water has a lot of gas bubbles in it when it comes out of the tap. Even when I get a glass of water to drink I tend to wait a minute or two and tap the cup on the counter to coax all the bubbles to rise to the surface and dissipate before I drink it.

When I do my water changes, which is every day because I'm cycling with fish at the moment, I try to degas my water in the bucket by running my hand around the side of the bucket and the bottom to bring all bubble to the top. Then I let is sit for five minutes or so before pouring it in the tank. I still get lots of tiny bubbles forming on the plastic plants, heaters, glass, etc... Is this going to hurt my fish?

I have read other threads where it is suggested to let water sit in the buckets for 24 hours before adding it to the tank. This might be an ok solution in summer months when the room temperature is close to the tank temperature but I don't see how this will work during the winter when we keep our home thermostat at 67 or so and I need my water to be 10 degrees warmer than that.

Even if I wanted to do it now I would need to buy an additional two buckets to go with the two dedicated aquarium buckets I have now and have 4 buckets of water sitting out a day before every water change (which as I stated earlier is every day at the moment). That just isn't practical even in warm weather. I have cats and dogs and a soon to be three year old son, all of which would not be able to stay out of 4 buckets of water.

How do you all deal with degassing water properly or maintaining water temps in winter if you leave your water set for 24 hours?

 

[lookit]

I don't know about degassing, but you could get a couple of 5-gallon water jugs (I get mine from my LFS) with screw on caps to store your water for 24+ hours. I buy my RO/DI water from my LFS in these. I also have heaters for at four of the water jugs so that I always have plenty of temp-ready water at hand in case I have to do an emergency wc.

 

[coach_z]

Degassing generally refers to 'aging' your water or letting it sit for 24 hours to let the chlorine to exit your water. Swishing your hand in the bucket is only removing air bubbles caused (most likely) by the aerator in your faucet.

I would suggest using an effective water conditioner (Prime by Seachem is great) to treat your water before adding it to your tank (follow the instructions on the bottle for exact details) and simply matching your water temp as close as possible.

 

[snoopy65]

I agree with coach. The air bubbles you see are basically harmless to all but the most sensitive of fish such as discus. "Degassing" is referring to the removal of chlorine/ chloramines from your water. If you are on a well or if you use a dechlorinator "degassing" is not needed. Even if you are on a well you may want to use a dechlorinator for help with metals in the water.

 

[nosuperstitions]

Degassing generally refers to 'aging' your water or letting it sit for 24 hours to let the chlorine to exit your water. Swishing your hand in the bucket is only removing air bubbles caused (most likely) by the aerator in your faucet.

I would suggest using an effective water conditioner (Prime by Seachem is great) to treat your water before adding it to your tank (follow the instructions on the bottle for exact details) and simply matching your water temp as close as possible.

I live in the country and use well water so chlorine is not a problem. Should I (or do I still need to) use a water conditioner?

My understanding of degassing and gas saturation in general comes from the two books I've read so far - The Simple Guide To Freshwater Aquariums, and The Complete Idiot's Guide to Freshwater Aquariums. They both explain it in very similar ways.

From The Complete Idiots Guide -

"When water is under pressure in your tap, it can absorb more gases. Have you ever drawn a glass of water and noticed that it was cloudy for a minute? Jillions of tiny bubbles eventually float to the top and the water clears. When you fill your aquarium for the first time, you may find a layer of bubbles coating the glass after a few minutes. These bubbles are the result of gas saturation.
Here's the problem. If you place fish into water that is still supersaturated with gases, it is very rough on the fish. These gases may be absorbed into the bloodstream and condense out of the solution there. Bubbles build up in the bloodstream and may kill the fish!"

This is what I'm specifically worried about. Long before I even thought of having fish I have always been irritated with how much air/gas is in our water when it comes out of the tap. It is unavoidable however when you use a pressure tank to push well water.

The obvious solution is to accept that I need four buckets of water sitting for 24 hours before water changes and each will need it's own heater to keep the water at a proper temp. That just seems so impractical to me. I was just wondering how other deal with this situation.

Maybe a better question would be - Is gas saturation really a big concern? Is it common to damage or kill fish this way or are the odds vanishingly small?

 

[snoopy65]

I too am on a well. I have discus which are more sensitive than most. I have bubbles in my water as well. I do not degas the water. I do use water conditioner to help with heavy metals that inevitably are in well water.

 

[excuzzzeme]

The correct term is "off-gas"(ing). It refers to components of your water that are in the form of a gaseous state suspended in the water column. When you age the water you are allowing it to off-gas naturally.

When doing large water changes, you will need to insure that you temp match as close as possible for 2 reasons: 1) to prevent a sudden temperature shift that will stress the fish and 2) to prevent "Supersaturation" of the water.

In a nutshell, SS is when the cold water added mixes suddenly with the warm tank water causing a sudden expansion of the suspened gasses of the new water to release. These gasses form larger pockets of toxic (to fish) components to release when ordinarily they would stay suspended. It can result in nearly sudden death of your livestock.

You can use a python type water changing system without risk provided you make sure the new water going in is very close to tank temp and that the water splashes as it refills the tank.

Again this is a rough Reader's Digest version of the whole scenario and I encourage you to read up more on it.

EDIT: yes your idiot's guide is correct.

 

[coach_z]

I too am on a well. I have discus which are more sensitive than most. I have bubbles in my water as well. I do not degas the water. I do use water conditioner to help with heavy metals that inevitably are in well water.

I am in the same boat, sans the discus

 

[Inka4040]

I agree with coach. The air bubbles you see are basically harmless to all but the most sensitive of fish such as discus. "Degassing" is referring to the removal of chlorine/ chloramines from your water. If you are on a well or if you use a dechlorinator "degassing" is not needed. Even if you are on a well you may want to use a dechlorinator for help with metals in the water.

Tell that to the wcmm that started dying off en masse the last time I forgot to aim the return stream at something and walked away. I have lots of tanks that get changed all at once, so aging water is really not an option. What has worked with moderate success for me is always ensuring that the water is agitated as much as possible on the way into the tank, and that all pumps are turned on as soon as possible. Bubbles on the surface of objects are largely harmless, but microbubbles in the water column can be extremely dangerous. If you ever see bubble streaks in your fishes fin membranes, then emergency action is necessary.

 

[nosuperstitions]

Thanks for all the responses.

What I'm taking away from this so far is as follows -

1) My current method is probably ok. I agitate the water as it goes in the bucket and wipe the sides and bottom of the bucket to release as many bubbles as I can. I pour that bucket into the tank onto a floating bucket lid so it is getting another round of splashing.

2) some bubbles forming on the sides of the tank and plastic plants is probably not a big deal.

3) I should consider adding a water conditioner such as Prime for heavy metals.


Additional info -
I am very careful about trying to match the current water temperature.

I'm way too far away from a water source to use the hose/python method. I'm stuck lugging buckets. No biggie I can use the exercise.