Drip hot/cold or just cold?

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jandb

jandb

Piranha
MFK Member
Jan 18, 2009
947
174
76
Lewis Center, OH
I'm planning a drip system for my 540. Does it make more sense to drip a mix of hot/cold so it doesn't need heated or just drip cold and heat it? I don't know if it's better to have my hot water tank cycling or 1000 watts of heaters running more?

Does anyone have a good step by step thread for this?
 
Check in with Didysis on here. He has been dripping hot and cold for a while now. He should have a decent walk through in one of his threads. This was recently asked also so you may want to scroll through and see what you can dig up.

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It seems wasteful.. it would seem heat would be all lost mostly by the time it got to the end at the rate of a drip unless the output is close to your water heater. Just feel the water an hour after the drip was going to see how warm it still is.
 
Go hot and cold for sure. Saving my behind right now in terms of keeping my tank warm in this cold winter. If your winters aren't cold then go cold only.

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Gas heating water is cheaper than electric heaters in tank to operate. The way I see it, any heat lost in travel helps to heat the room, which is not, then running electric tank heaters as much.
 
Between the added iron and the anode (mine is aluminum, but some are magnesium) leeching into the water and possible calcium build up, my TDS is around 200ppm higher from the hot water. This is with a 4-5 year old tank, and a brand new anode (which I hear are rarely changed.) That's A LOT. That said, when I used hot water for an emergency mid-winter water change I've had no deaths, though my fish did show stress coloration and lethargy for a month. I'm assuming from the TDS swing. This might just be my heater, and I'll likely be swapping it out soon, but it keeps me from using hot water anymore unless absolutely necessary. Someday before next winter I'll have a PEX heat exchanger setup to save $$.
 
I don't have a TDS meter, so I have no idea where mine are at. That said, I bet half the world of fish keepers uses mixed water from the faucet doing a water change from the sink. And none of those people know any different regarding TDS.
 
Sorry to butt in here, but this caught my attention; whenever I use the python to put water back in, I always notice the warn water is cloudy whereas cold water is clear.

Should the warm water be avoided? In terms of TDS etc?

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I think the cloudiness is air bubbles. Notice how it goes to the top and dissipates?
 
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