I have A 3/4" garden hose with the rubber coating on the inside
Is it safe to fill the tank up with
Is it safe to fill the tank up with
Garden hose safe?
- Thread starter turkoman
- Start date
Some newer style garden hoses are made with a chemical agent inside to keep them supple. This may or may not be dangerous for fish.
Hello; I used a garden hose to fill new setups many times over a lot of years (50+). Long before I ever heard of any potential problems. Cannot say I ever saw any immediate problems. Do not know of any long term issues one way or another, meaning if there were problems I did not notice.
I did have some tanks set up an a basement with a floor drain for many years. I would fill the tanks during a water change with a common hose. I did smaller volume WC more often so as to not have a too big of temperature change. Seemed fine to me at the time.
You can get a water hose for an RV that is safe for water consumption by people, so should be also safe for fish. I have seen them at a Wal-Mart so should be available lots of places.
I did have some tanks set up an a basement with a floor drain for many years. I would fill the tanks during a water change with a common hose. I did smaller volume WC more often so as to not have a too big of temperature change. Seemed fine to me at the time.
You can get a water hose for an RV that is safe for water consumption by people, so should be also safe for fish. I have seen them at a Wal-Mart so should be available lots of places.
I have used old hoses for years also, and believe the older the better, as the chemical would have been washed out after a while. I have not had any toxic effects with mine, but read of die offs after people used the newer more flexible type. I always try to err on the safe side, and don't take chances.
Duane is correct, newer hoses can contain various elements, including lead, algaecides, etc. The newer the hose, and the warmer the water, the faster those elements can leach out into ones tank.
I have posted about this for years - caveat emptor.
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Old post I made a few years back on this subject where the OP's fish died - a very expensive fish.
Some garden hoses are treated by the manufacturer with mold & mildew inhibitors, and are not meant for humans to drink out of, or to fill fish tanks, especially if the hose has been outside baking in the sun. PVC garden hoses use lead as a stabilizer, and again when left out in the sun that lead leaches out. I first posted this link 7 yrs ago, which is why the article is so old.
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Consumer/story?id=3369894&page=1&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312
I have posted about this for years - caveat emptor.
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Old post I made a few years back on this subject where the OP's fish died - a very expensive fish.
Some garden hoses are treated by the manufacturer with mold & mildew inhibitors, and are not meant for humans to drink out of, or to fill fish tanks, especially if the hose has been outside baking in the sun. PVC garden hoses use lead as a stabilizer, and again when left out in the sun that lead leaches out. I first posted this link 7 yrs ago, which is why the article is so old.
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Consumer/story?id=3369894&page=1&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312
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Hello; Let me update my post. When I used a hose most often was back in the 1970's -80's. I have used a hose in the last year or two but only for an initial filling of a tank and not for the later regular water changes.
I guess the world keeps moving on and keeping up with the knowledge about new pitfalls around us is not simple. Back to my suggestion about a RV water hose. I used one to hook up to campground water for a slide in camper. Supposed to be used for potable (human drinking) water. Is my assumption correct that these hoses will also be safe for fish tanks??
Buy plastic tubing and a hose to faucet adapter if you're worried. I used to use hoses on all my tanks