Pouring colder water in tanks.
- Thread starter JEAE21
- Start date
It all comes down to how hardy the fish are. For example, I can easily change the water in my Pleco tanks with cold water with no ill-effects, but if I do this to my Chocolate Gourami tank they'll go belly-up. Now the question to ask is, are you willing to take the risk? And while fish may be able to withstand the temperature change it still causes them unnecessary stress unless it's only a 3-4F difference change.
WyldFya;1181499; said:
Land isnt an insulator of anything infact it is a rather better conductor of heat than water. Not that that would be relevant as the temperature of water at depth is always considerably cooler even in the tropics so in fact the substance "insulating" the water is actually cooler water.
I'd very much like to see any data you have to back up your claim that rain is warmer than that of large lakes for instance in the tropics and that it could have a measurable cooling effect on the lake as a whole.
If you had spent anytime in India during the summer you would know just how warm rain can be and indeed how relatively cool are the lakes and rivers.
WyldFya;1181499; said:
Being better than average is no arguenent for the title of good practice. The tanks of pet shops are maintained in the most part for rapid throughput. It doesnt matter if the husbandy techniques are less than optimal so long as the fish can be contained and displayed cheaply and in the short term healthily.
That said, I'd agree that there's nothing bad per se about the filtration practices of fish stores but I would say that representing fish store practices as bench mark fails to consider the differences in their keepers motivation.
thanks, but I think the temp difference in the tap water is waaay more than 5F..
I'll check today.
and i think it was on this thread that I said that the hot top water comes out all white..turns out that I guess it IS oxygen..after a few minutes it cleared up..but I'm still wary of it.lol
I'll check today.
and i think it was on this thread that I said that the hot top water comes out all white..turns out that I guess it IS oxygen..after a few minutes it cleared up..but I'm still wary of it.lol
That white water of yours doesnt leave a white precipitate on the bottom of the container when it clears does it ?
My tap water is over 30F (assuming I'm converting from Celcius correctly) different in the winter and if I wasnt using a dripper I would have a problem if I was adding directly to the tank in any volume.
On the subject of your turtle. I have always found reptiles seem able to burn themselves on heaters given half the chance. I'd feel happier if I were you with a heater guard.
My tap water is over 30F (assuming I'm converting from Celcius correctly) different in the winter and if I wasnt using a dripper I would have a problem if I was adding directly to the tank in any volume.
On the subject of your turtle. I have always found reptiles seem able to burn themselves on heaters given half the chance. I'd feel happier if I were you with a heater guard.
One reason it may be important to match temperature is because in a much larger environment, fish can seek a different temperature if not comfortable.
As for the temperature of rainwater... this interested me so I started googling. My hunch was that rain water is colder than the air temperature and could have an impact on bodies of water... I thought this abstract was interesting (even if I don't understand all of it).
"The thermohaline response of the ocean to a short (10 h) but intense (95 mm) nighttime rainfall event was observed during a transit through the ITCZ. Two CTD profiles and shipboard measurements of air–sea fluxes were consistent with the assumption that rain temperature equals the wet-bulb temperature, within measurement errors. Although the net freshwater input and the net heat loss inferred from the T–S characteristics of the surface layer were ∼30% smaller than those obtained by integrating the measured air–sea fluxes, owing to different spatial sampling, inherent limitations of rain measurement from ship, and contamination by internal waves, the two independent estimates of the net heat deficit agreed remarkably well, within 2.4%, when expressed per unit mass of rain (∼72kj kg−1). The heat flux due to the temperature of the rain accounted for about 40% of the net heat flux during rain, and therefore cannot be neglected."
source: Flament, P., and M. Sawyer, 1995: Observations of the Effect of Rain Temperature on the Surface Heat Flux in the Intertropical Convergence Zone. J. Phys. Oceanogr., 25, 413–419.
As for why rain can be cooler than the ambient air temperature at ground, evaporative cooling came to mind. If you want to estimate the temperature of rain water, use the wet bulb method. We did this back in science class by taking a standard mercury thermometer and wrapping the bulb in damp gauze. When air moves over it, it will cool. By comparing that to the dry bulb temperature you can infer humidity. I think the greater question would be how much rain would it take to change the temperature of a body of water more than a few inches below the surface.
As for the temperature of rainwater... this interested me so I started googling. My hunch was that rain water is colder than the air temperature and could have an impact on bodies of water... I thought this abstract was interesting (even if I don't understand all of it).
"The thermohaline response of the ocean to a short (10 h) but intense (95 mm) nighttime rainfall event was observed during a transit through the ITCZ. Two CTD profiles and shipboard measurements of air–sea fluxes were consistent with the assumption that rain temperature equals the wet-bulb temperature, within measurement errors. Although the net freshwater input and the net heat loss inferred from the T–S characteristics of the surface layer were ∼30% smaller than those obtained by integrating the measured air–sea fluxes, owing to different spatial sampling, inherent limitations of rain measurement from ship, and contamination by internal waves, the two independent estimates of the net heat deficit agreed remarkably well, within 2.4%, when expressed per unit mass of rain (∼72kj kg−1). The heat flux due to the temperature of the rain accounted for about 40% of the net heat flux during rain, and therefore cannot be neglected."
source: Flament, P., and M. Sawyer, 1995: Observations of the Effect of Rain Temperature on the Surface Heat Flux in the Intertropical Convergence Zone. J. Phys. Oceanogr., 25, 413–419.
As for why rain can be cooler than the ambient air temperature at ground, evaporative cooling came to mind. If you want to estimate the temperature of rain water, use the wet bulb method. We did this back in science class by taking a standard mercury thermometer and wrapping the bulb in damp gauze. When air moves over it, it will cool. By comparing that to the dry bulb temperature you can infer humidity. I think the greater question would be how much rain would it take to change the temperature of a body of water more than a few inches below the surface.
I don't know about heater guards... if you have trouble finding some that work, there are few ways to make your own.
I wouldn't worry about the white hot water. I have heard it explained as tiny gas bubbles, but I don't have a source so... if you are using a bucket you could let the water sit overnight until it warms to room temp which is probably a lot closer to tank temp. I wouldn't worry about your hot water too much...
I wouldn't worry about the white hot water. I have heard it explained as tiny gas bubbles, but I don't have a source so... if you are using a bucket you could let the water sit overnight until it warms to room temp which is probably a lot closer to tank temp. I wouldn't worry about your hot water too much...
JEAE21;1180149; said:
Hopefully not if done briefly and slowly ( not left overnight). Looking at this thread, may have to re consider if I ever got more delicate fish.
Another thing is, the hot water over at my parents is run through a water softener. Not a RO unit...just a salt based unit which is for washing clothing and stuff. Which I read wasn't so good for fish.
I think it probably makes a different what temp the tanks are kept at. Pouring cold water into a tank kept at 78-80 F would be a greater temp swing and possibly more problematic.
My tanks have long been kept at colder temps because my parents' house was chilling them by outside cold temps. Even with 800 watts my 150 is barely holding at 72 F.
