# Adding water ?



## welshfin (Jun 21, 2013)

Just so i am not wasting alot of time.

Is it beneficial to boil the cold water and let it cool down for a day before adding prime, tap safe etc to do a partial water change or can i just add the prime, tap safe straight to the water from the tap before adding it to the tank.

The reason i ask, is that a pet shop said we have a high ph in our area and boiling the water may somehow help.

I have been boiling the water the day before a partial water change and it does take so much more time.

any advice please..

My Gold tap safe suggests a cap full every 2 litres and Prime is a cap full for every 200 litres... should i be only using the prime as it helps remove chlorine, chloramine and ammonia.
Also should i put the new water through the filter or disperse it around the tank.

thankyou


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## ameliajane (Mar 26, 2011)

I am no expert but I wouldn't bother with boiling your water - this seems unlikely to lower the Ph - in fact I would think it's more likely to _increase_ it.

If you are keeping captive bred fish, unless they have a particular requirement for a low Ph (in which case i would keep something else) they will adjust to your Ph.

You could try adding some bogwood to your tank, which may help to lower the Ph a little but don't try to use chemicals - these will probably just cause dangerous swings in Ph.

As for the water conditioner, I would definately use the Prime rather than than Tap Safe - if nothing else it works out a lot cheaper! Would not advise using both together.

And you can just add the water to the main tank - no need to put it through the filter.

The best advice of all is: Don't listen to what pet-shop (or aquarium) staff tell you!

Happy Fish Keeping!


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## welshfin (Jun 21, 2013)

Its ok, we have 2 what i think are fantail goldfish and 5 white mountian minnows.. 

What is the ideal temperture for these cold water fish, and i assume it would be better to try and get the new water roughly the same temperture before adding to tank.

Thanks for the advice, saves me lots of time boiling water.


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## NaomiM (Sep 22, 2012)

I agree with ameliajane. The only reason you'd need to use a kettle is if you need to add a little hot water in order to get it the same temperature as the tank. (And if you have a combi boiler, you can just use the hot tap for this anyway.)

Normal room temperature is perfect (unless the tank is next to a heater). Any warmer and their metabolisms will speed up, potentially shortening their lifespan and also causing them to eat and poo more, meaning more ammonia!


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## welshfin (Jun 21, 2013)

Thats great.

tank is at room temperture which seems to be between 20c and 22c but have ordered digital thermostat so i can have a better reading and also an aid to getting the new water the same temperture.

I did have a piece of bogwood when i got the tank but have not used it. Do i need to put a weight on it for it to stay submerged.

you are a great help


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## NaomiM (Sep 22, 2012)

I tend to soak bogwood in a bowl of dechlorinated water until it sinks, then put it in. It normally takes a couple of days. If you can manage to attach a weight such as a couple of pebbles, you can put it staright in, but be aware it will turn your water yellow! (This does not harm the fish.)


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## Dan1234 (Dec 3, 2012)

Just to add on the solid advice you have been given so far. Do not worry at all about your PH. Its something that aquarium stores like to hark on about but in reality all that is important is that its relatively stable. I've kept Discus, who are a lot more fussy than goldies etc about water parameters, perfectly healthy and breeding in a PH of 8. 
As long as you take time to acclimatise your fish slowly to your PH I wouldn't bother trying to change what you have.


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## Lxello (Jul 2, 2013)

Don't worry about it, instead of boiling what you can do is fill a bucket or a container with tap water and take some water from your tank and mix it. Let it be for couple of hours or day. Now you can safely use that water for your tank.
I've been doing this for years and never had a problem.


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## NaomiM (Sep 22, 2012)

I've never heard of this method Lxello - all I do is match temps and dechlorinate. What does adding the tank water do?


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## Phoenix24 (Apr 6, 2013)

I will re-iterate what people have already said - don't bother boiling the water. In fact, it could even be harmful as the process of boiling effectively de-oxygenates the water! 

I also would not worry aboutthe pH. Goldfish are more happy with higher pH's, and unless yours is off the scale, then I really would not worry at all.

I have bogwood in my trop tank which has brought the pH right down to 6.4 (our tap water is 7.6) - which is perfect for my fish because they are all acid loving. You do not need this for your goldfish. If your fish were bought and bred in a hardwater area they will already be adapted for the pH you have, no point in stressing them by messing with it. Equally white clouds will be quite used to what you have, and are pretty tolerant little fish in themselves.

Room temperature is fine - white clouds are happy between 18 and 24C, but can tolerate temperatures much lower. Goldfish can go further, and survive near freezing conditions (perhaps not the fancys, but certainly the standard pond varieties).

Finally, save yourself more money and just use the Prime. One bottle will last you a long time and will deal with everything in the water for you (including nitrites and nitrates). Tap safe is not quite so good - it deals with chloramine by turning it into ammonia (well, part of it), something that prime does not do. You can also use Prime at a 5x dose if you have a nitrite spike. It really is the best water conditioner out there at the moment.


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## nickmcmechan (Aug 1, 2009)

I mix the water drained from the tank into a jug of prepared water. I then use the mixed water (which will be closer to tank parameters than the prepared water alone). But I do have sensitive shrimp (Crystal Red Shrimp)


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## Dan1234 (Dec 3, 2012)

Lxello said:


> Don't worry about it, instead of boiling what you can do is fill a bucket or a container with tap water and take some water from your tank and mix it. Let it be for couple of hours or day. Now you can safely use that water for your tank.
> I've been doing this for years and never had a problem.


That's a strange one. Letting it sit in a bucket may get rid of chlorine, but it won't do anything for chloramine or other heavy metals, and adding tank water does diddly squat.
You either have perfect tap water/ extremely hardy fish or are exaggerating about never having a problem. Either way I wouldn't be advising that method.


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## Lxello (Jul 2, 2013)

NaomiM said:


> I've never heard of this method Lxello - all I do is match temps and dechlorinate. What does adding the tank water do?


I don't really recall the science behind this, I usually do this when I replace the half of my water (bi-monthly). It was done so the water wont make much difference from the existing tank water. By letting it out for day or two will make the water habitable for the bacteria and fishies. Also someone in another fish forum said it would quicken the process.
I have never seen any of my fish been uncomfortable with new water, or seen any die.


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## welshfin (Jun 21, 2013)

New question for you guys.

With the weather being so hot the last few days, i have seen an increase in the temperature of my *cold water tank*.

I will add its not in direct sunlight just room temperature. I have 5 minnows and 2 fantail goldies, so am i correct in saying 20 - 22 degrees should be correct.
I have added a digital gauge to get a more accurate reading and have seen it rise to 24 degrees.

Although over night the temperature will decrease again, should i be doing anything else to keep the water at the correct temperature for the fish.

thanks


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## Phoenix24 (Apr 6, 2013)

You don't need to worry. The fish can cope with natural fluctuations in water temp, and the water isn't changing temperature dramatically, so the fish will adjust as the water adjusts. 

If you plunged a fish that had been in say 19C into water of 24, then you would have a problem. 

You really don't need a heater, and even heated tanks have variations in temp as it takes time for water that's cooled to set the thermostat off - just the variations are obviously much less than a cold tank. Besides a heater won't stop the tank from warming in the warm weather, just wastes electricity keeping the water warm when you don't need it to be. The fish you have are not sensitive, they can survive the range of temps they are experiencing with no ill-effect.


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## NaomiM (Sep 22, 2012)

I've been having trouble keeping my tank temp down too. It's meant to be at around 23C as my panda cory don't like it too hot, but even with the heater switched off, it's been reaching over 27C! I've found that leaving the lid/hood balanced over the top of the tank at an angle, rather than on properly, has helped - but with goldies and WCMM's, you probably don't want to risk this in case they jump out.

You may find that reducing the lighting period helps (or if you don't have live plants, you could leave the lights off altogether) - but as Phoenix24 said, those temps shouldn't be a problem for your fish.


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## Dan1234 (Dec 3, 2012)

NaomiM said:


> I've been having trouble keeping my tank temp down too. It's meant to be at around 23C as my panda cory don't like it too hot, but even with the heater switched off, it's been reaching over 27C! I've found that leaving the lid/hood balanced over the top of the tank at an angle, rather than on properly, has helped - but with goldies and WCMM's, you probably don't want to risk this in case they jump out.
> 
> You may find that reducing the lighting period helps (or if you don't have live plants, you could leave the lights off altogether) - but as Phoenix24 said, those temps shouldn't be a problem for your fish.


Float a food bag full of ice/cold water to keep the temp down. Tropical's won't be as hardy to continuous days of higher temps :thumbsup:


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## NaomiM (Sep 22, 2012)

I've been doing daily 15% water changes with cold water (added slowly into the filter so as not to shock the fish), and I've found with that and leaving the lid open, I can keep it down to around 25.


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