50% Water Change with Tap Water (not aged)?

[CammieTime]

Question for you all: If I do a 50% water change and put tap water from the shower directly into the tank to refill, is there any problem with this? How bad are the nitrogen bubbles? I can get the shower water to be the exact same temp as the tank. I can use some water conditioner as well.

[atlantadiscus]

As long as you do not have major PH swing from aging your water,go for it.Most of us did it this way for decades.

[CammieTime]

As long as you do not have major PH swing from aging your water,go for it.Most of us did it this way for decades.

I am not going to age my water, I want to fill the tank directly from the tap. Im trying to understand what if any negative consequences come from doing this on a 50% water change.

[woopaul5]

If there are no pH swings and no issues with micro bubbles there should be no issues.

[twocat]

I have a few tanks and it is normal for me to do water changes with a garden hose, The number one issue is make sure you put water conditioner in the tanks (Prime...). I do large water changes daily on all of these (20s ,35,75s, 100s) and have no problems. Do not run the water at full blast, let it flow in at a reasonable rate. Others may disagree but on my adult tanks I make sure the water is a few degrees cooler. I think it may encourage breeding behavior.

Mark

[Dhavalsp]

If ph is fine, u are good ...Micro bubbles may be an issue... if you see your discuss unhappy then discontinue it immediately ... there are multiple ways to curb micro bubble do look in to it.... my fish hate it in winter because the micro bubbles go up a lot.... also dose dechlorinator for entire tank even if you are doing 50% WC.

[Willie]

Cammie:

As the soil temperature drops, the tap water in our area is going to be around 33F coming into the house. The microbubble problem is going to get worse because cold water has much higher levels of dissolved gases. I would do small water changes at first and monitor the reaction of the fish.

Willie

[CammieTime]

Update: This direct fill plan did not work, as water out of the tap is 7.5pH and swings to 8.4 in about 10 hours, and I was able to dramatically reduce, but not eliminate, the micro-bubbles by filling a barrel first then pumping the water from the barrel to the tank. I now age my water overnight, with aeration and heat to match tank. Eliminates micro-bubbles and pH issues.

[Discluv]

I fill straight from the tap as I have a negligible pH swing. To eliminate gas bubbles I stuff my python hose with filter floss... the bubbles then come out larger and dissipate at water surface.

[CammieTime]

I fill straight from the tap as I have a negligible pH swing. To eliminate gas bubbles I stuff my python hose with filter floss... the bubbles then come out larger and dissipate at water surface.

This is what I was hoping to do but could not. The fish were temporarily stressed by the pH swing but always recovered just fine. I did not lose any, but they did not grow big fast either.

[geo57]

Wow, I never would of thought you could use water straight out of tap, my ph right outta of the tap is high, probably about 8 range, after it settles like 24/48 hours later it will measure in 7 range. I condition my water for 7 days, heat to temp and run the water thru a HOB all week long while also throwing in a air line to stir the bottom of my reservoir of water. Good Luck.

[CammieTime]

24 hours with airstone and heater to match tank temp gets the pH match perfectly with tank pH.

[bluelagoon]

Wow, I never would of thought you could use water straight out of tap, my ph right outta of the tap is high, probably about 8 range, after it settles like 24/48 hours later it will measure in 7 range. I condition my water for 7 days, heat to temp and run the water thru a HOB all week long while also throwing in a air line to stir the bottom of my reservoir of water. Good Luck.

Most of us can't/won't condition the water for 7 days if using a conditioner.This can cause issues while aging;best to use conditioners just prior to WC's,especially if chloramine is used by the water supplier.And why the filter in an aging reservoir?Not a good idea either.

[MendoMan]

Most of us can't/won't condition the water for 7 days if using a conditioner.This can cause issues while aging;best to use conditioners just prior to WC's,especially if chloramine is used by the water supplier.And why the filter in an aging reservoir?Not a good idea either.

Why is it best to use conditioners just before WC? I've been aging my water for three days in two 40gal. brutes and I add the conditioner when I fill the brutes before aging.If I wait to add conditioner after aging ,just before WC, my aging barrels become covered with bio-slim. If I add conditioner when filling the barrels there is none. Just interested in your thoughts,

[bluelagoon]

That would be the opposite with my water.You don't want bacteria in the aging water,so leave the chlorine;it will evaporate within 24 hours on its own.You don't want a cycle to start in the aging barrel,so no need for a filter.My understanding with chloramine is the bond with conditioners are time limited and when in the tank the filters and BB will break down the ammonia in the bond removing it completely(this might be something I read some place and may not be correct).I have never had slime in my aging barrel.The barrel hasn't been cleaned for years.