Ok to use warm water from tap for water change???

Thank you all for the replies / experiences.

Hm... Now it just makes me worry even more because of the divided opinions on this. But judging from replies from this thread and the previous one on this subject. I think I'm going to try the warm tap water + conditioner path. What about boiling tap water? WetmanNY mentioned it's totally deviod of oxygen. I am only adding a small amount to make it warm so I suppose it should be ok?? Or just stick with the warm tap water?!

Rocketman : So dramatic water temps can cause Ick outbreak? :eek: Didn't knew that one. Must keep in mind when doing water change. I suppose Michigan is way up north then eh? :D
 
The statement mentioned in Mulla's last post is true if and only if there is already Ich in the system. If the fish and the system are Ich-free, then Ich will not attack.
 
Yes, it's when the water temperature, (in the tank) changes suddenly and drasticly that Ick attacks. For example, take the LFS I used to go to. This April, after a full week of 30-70 degree (F) temperatures, there was an Ice Storm. Following, the temperatures were about 20-30...A lot of people lost power.

Anyway, the point is that the dramitic air temperature changes, for some reason, influenced the water temperatures in all the tanks and caused a huge outbreak of Ick which infected most their stock.
 
Originally posted by Slappy*McFish


You are correct..there are more bubbles in hot water than cold. Warm water, however, is clear.
Click to expand...

This may not be a bit different, but I always thought that cold water has the capacity to hold more gas than warm water. For example, cold water holds more oxygen than warm (one reason coldwater fish don't do so well in warmer water).

Maybe warmer water shows the bubbles because they aren't held in solution as easily...?

Jim
 
That's what I think, Jim...we warmed the water, but there was no place for the gas to go until it came out of the tap...thus the bubbles of escaping gas!
 
The only time I ever did a water change using water straight from the cold tap. I had an outbreak of Ich a few days later. Since then I always heat the water to the same temp as the tank using a spare heater.
 
For something over 40 years now I have been using tempered (mixed hot and cold) tap water without problems. I do now age all my water (relatively 'new' technique for me, only about 17-18 years), but the reservoirs are filled with tempered tap - which means less work for the heaters and no sweating of condensate on the outside of the reservoirs. If I need water but do not have aged water available, I do not hesitate to use tempered tap with appropriate agents to neutralize whatever purification agent is in use.

But I do have to confess that my current hot water heater is not metal at all. That too is relatively new, less than 10 years.
 
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