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Post by johnbrooks on Dec 26, 2010 11:00:26 GMT -6
I buy the gallon jugs of Distilled Water, to top off, my tanks.
Is this OK?
Just read on Aquatic Critter...questions page......they said distilled water is BAD for fish.
Why is this? And do you agree?
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angel
FORUM BEGINNER
My Husband's A Birdbrain
Posts: 40
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Post by angel on Dec 26, 2010 11:30:39 GMT -6
Fish benefit from the minerals in the water. Particularly, Africans, can use the hardness that minerals create too. Minerals occur naturally in lakes and streams, and fish need them to survive. You can just use tap water and dechlorinator.
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Post by davet on Dec 27, 2010 11:23:32 GMT -6
All distilled water is not good for most if not all fish. As Angel said, fish need the minerals in the water that are not present in distilled water.
When water evaporates from your tank, the minerals remain behind. Adding distilled water to make up for the evaporation will maintain the original level of minerals in your water and should cause no problems. You can, as Angel suggested, add tap water and declor. In this case the mineral level will be increased by the minerals in the tap water added, but in most cases this is not enough to cause any problem assuming you do periodic water changes to prevent a long term buildup of minerals.
I'm not sure about your specific setup, but I do not have to add water to my 55 gal for evaporation. I use a glass cover and do a 50% water change weekly.
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Post by johnt501 on Dec 28, 2010 10:21:18 GMT -6
I keep a 5gal bucket of water under a table at work for filling the tank. I understand that clorine(?) burns off of the water this way but I add a bit of declor too. Water is at room temp and always there when needed.
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rsizle
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Posts: 19
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Post by rsizle on Jul 18, 2011 19:15:40 GMT -6
Do any of you do anything to water aside from removing the chlorine? I'm speaking specifically of airating or aging the water before using it in the tank, but anything I'm missing would be helpful to know as well.
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Post by davidtcb1 on Jul 18, 2011 19:20:14 GMT -6
For fw tanks I just dechlorinate as I'm adding tap to the tank.
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allierw
FORUM PARTICIPANT
Posts: 382
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Post by allierw on Jul 18, 2011 19:34:36 GMT -6
I just top off tanks with tap water. I add enough Prime to dechlorinate the whole tank.
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rsizle
FORUM BEGINNER
Posts: 19
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Post by rsizle on Jul 18, 2011 19:44:11 GMT -6
do you add water warmed from your house's hot water? I read somewhere that bacteria can build up in the hot water heater tank that may not be desirable in a aquarium.
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Post by davidtcb1 on Jul 18, 2011 19:48:19 GMT -6
I just try to match the temp as closely to whichever tank I am refilling, if that means using some warm water, I do it. Never seemed to be an issue that I know of.
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Post by jon carman on Jul 18, 2011 21:40:34 GMT -6
I think most reef water people like to use R/O water and then rebuffer, but most fresh are probably fine on tap. If I had like discus or soft water I would go to greater lengths. I have never heard of water heaters and bacteria. I have had horror stories of my hot water running out and the cold water shocking fish.
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Post by ree123 on Jul 18, 2011 23:31:00 GMT -6
No hot water tank issues I am aware of.
I also get the temp. close, add my own homemade de-clor and run in tap water.
I rarely add top off water as my H2o changes are frequent enough that this is not necessary.
This time of year, as I spoke of in a thread on the water board the other day, you must be conscious of the fact that some city water companies increase the chlorine content to make sure algae is killed for our human consumption. Your de-clor amts. may have to be increased if this applies, this time of year, for you and your aquatics.
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Post by mruble on Jul 19, 2011 10:56:15 GMT -6
I use hot water all the time in my water changes. I have to use a little hot water to get the temperature the same as the tanks. I have never had an issue.
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Post by davidtcb1 on Jul 19, 2011 10:58:32 GMT -6
Don't believe everything you read on the internet! Lol.
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Post by thorace on Jul 19, 2011 13:22:55 GMT -6
My question is what do you guys do in the summer when the water from the tap is a couple of degrees form boiling ?....ok maybe not that hot, ....but you know what i mean ...i just have to let it sit for awhile to cool down.....
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Post by davidtcb1 on Jul 19, 2011 14:06:32 GMT -6
When the cold side is still not as cold as needed I just put it in as cool as I can get it. It will mix with the existing water quick enough and all stabilize out long before there is enough of a difference to affect the fish. I would worry more in the winter, when getting the water up to temp from the cold pipes more than summer. And remember, a lot of fish like African cichlids like a cooler water change. It promotes spawning.
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