what is the truth about adding tap to tank
- Thread starter charles-n-charge
- Start date
I have never used RO in 25 years of fishkeeping. thats for planted, salt, reef and my present tank with wild discus. however, I would never even think of doing a wc without conditioner. some people with well water can get away with it, but for most of us it's needed.
Water conditioner is cheap and they make it for a reason! The chlorine in tapwater will burn the gills of your fish. Using small amounts may not cause any noticible changes, but why would you do that to your fish? It's kind of like subjecting them to large amounts of secondhand smoke. Sooner or later, it can cause long term health issues. Also, tapwater can vary greatly in different areas. Our tapwater is very good. A little bit of water conditioner and it is almost as good as r/o. If I lived in the country and had heavy metals and other stuff in the water, I would probably use r/o.
3dees;4975296; said:
Never saw the use for it as well... and tbh when I kept salt I didn't use RO either. I successfully bred clowns and pipefish in the water and rarely had an issue with algae.
I've been told the water in my area is horrible.. but I've had little issues keeping of my fishes water quality good. I wouldn't dream of doing a water change w/out aqusafe though...
im just asking because i ran out of conditioner and was curious. at least i asked first before doing itsharkcop;4975460; said:
now i know for hold off on my weekly change for a few days til i get more conditionerAlso I think tap water and Chlorine content are different everywhere. NY state water works fine for me.
I hear a lot of people say that they let their water sit for some period of time before adding it to their tanks. What is the benefit to that? I always just run a hose from my sink directly to the tank and add prime while its filling.
Bonus second question: is it better to have your new water a bit too warm as opposed to a bit too cold? I know it's ideal to have it exactly the same temperature as the tank water, but that's impossible with my crappy sink and I have to go either too warm or too cold. Which is better?
Bonus second question: is it better to have your new water a bit too warm as opposed to a bit too cold? I know it's ideal to have it exactly the same temperature as the tank water, but that's impossible with my crappy sink and I have to go either too warm or too cold. Which is better?
breakspirit;4975863; said:
Letting water sit out allows the chlorine to evaporate, so no dechlorinator is necessary.
A clarifying note: Unlike chlorine, chloramines do not evaporate from water. Therefore if you are going to use this method rather than using a conditioner that removes chloramine/ammonia in addition to chlorine, you must first determine if your tap water contains chloramine.
breakspirit;4975863; said:
With warm water fish too warm is better than too cold, though both have their own lists of problems with large sudden temperature changes. If the temperature is only 1-2 degrees off, then this isn't enough to cause problems either way.
