Hot Water Tap

i somehow can not see refilling my tank with straight up 50% replacement of cold water and it not doing far worse damage to my fish from temperature shock than whatever might be in my hotwaterheater

thats why I use prime to take out heavy metals an chlorine

have never had an issue except for when someone without my knowledge pulls either the cold or hot from another tap after ive balanced the temp
 
those are interesting reads sherG the only problem is lead has not been used in plumbing for years due to that very thing... unless your living in a 50 year old building i doubt you will ever have any lead contamination in your water whether hot or cold
 
I don't even get specific when I temp match (some people are like "I am off 1 degree, will it hurt the fish"!) I just put my hand under the water until it feels 'about the same' as the tank, and put it in.

No problems yet.
 
Well, that's an overwhelming response. Thanks to everyone for posting. You guys are great.

:thm:

bushwhacker said:
would you mind giving us your source for that information? if your hot water heater has that much crud in it i dont think id use it to shower with
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No, there's nothing wrong with my hot water heater. And the building I live in was built about 15 years ago... so it's not ancient plumbing.

I don't have any source for that advice, either. It was just a hearsay kind of thing from many years ago. It may have even originated with my parents from back in the 70s when they were keeping fish. I don't even remember where I heard it from. But still, if I'm not sure about something, I'll take the most cautious approach. So I've followed that advice, or warning, all these years just in case.

Our tap water is quite warm here 3 out of 4 seasons. It just gets real cold during winter. So using the cold side only hasn't been anything to worry about. For a few months during winter, it's made water changes a real chore. But I've paid attention to the temp as the water goes in there wouldn't be any drastic change for my fish. I've been basing that "better-stop-before-it-gets-much-colder" point just by feel, too. Didn't bother worring about small changes of degrees. But the drawback, clearly, has been the amount of time it takes if you don't (or think you can't) replace the water all at once. Half the water flowing through the tap gives you about half the water pressure = half the suction while python-ing.

I used to live in a house where all the fish water came in from the spigot outside. The water pressure was great. Now that I'm in an apartment, I have to use the kitchen faucet, so it takes forever to do water changes.

So.. I finally decided to just ask. You guys always give good advice.

Thanks, everyone!
 
I use the warm side as well, but since it takes 30seconds to get warm. My thinking is that the pipes would have been flushed by the time I start using the water, and would just as safe as the cold water line.
 
Riiz said:
I use the warm side as well, but since it takes 30seconds to get warm. My thinking is that the pipes would have been flushed by the time I start using the water, and would just as safe as the cold water line.
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I'd heard that too. Some have said it's never safe - some say it's okay as long as you let the water run for a while first - others say never do it. But in those cases, it's always just one person's opinion. So that's no help. The beauty of this forum here is you get a really good consensus of opinion from people with loads of first-hand experience.

Since I always vac too before adding any water, the faucet does run a long time while it's pulling the water out. By the time that's done, the pipes have been flushed already too.
 
chefjamesscott said:
have never had an issue except for when someone without my knowledge pulls either the cold or hot from another tap after ive balanced the temp
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Or.....flushes the toilet! My sons know they are not allowed to flush the toilet once I start filling a tank! :angryfire: And yes, in case of a toilet emergency I'll shut the fill off and wait...then rematch the water temp when I start again.
 
pinkertd said:
Or.....flushes the toilet! My sons know they are not allowed to flush the toilet once I start filling a tank! :angryfire: And yes, in case of a toilet emergency I'll shut the fill off and wait...then rematch the water temp when I start again.
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never thought about that one pink... its never seemed to cause a problem tho... almost boiled my 75 once but that was my stupidity for not checking the temps more carefully when i started filling
 
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