Help/Question: Hot Water Line Turning Water Rusty

[GVB]

Hello all,

As is the case with discus keeping I have come across a problem that I have not seen before. Long story short, I have drum connected by PVC lines to my houses main water pump, this water is straight up cold water. Recently I made a modification to allow the house's hot water tank to be utilized as well. Both the hot and cold lines merge before a filter which then travels into my 55gal water aging drums. I have valves installed so that I can control the amount of hot/cold water are entering the drums.

Here is what happened:
7am: 100gal water change (two drums worth), no issues
I left for work so my father filled the drums back up... not sure if he used the hot water line at all.
3pm: 100gal water change again, no issues. Filled drums up with both hot and cold lines.
9pm: 100gal water change again, ISSUE.

ISSUE: immediate red/brown cloudy water entered 4 of my 55gal tanks which I did 50% changes on. Water is still brown at 10:30pm.

To test issue: got an empty 60gal and ran cold line into it... no discoloration. ran hot water line into it... discoloration.

So I think that the hot water tank has a rust issue. But I am not sure. I considered that the city water blowing out there lines.

Question: Is the iron/rusty water harmful to the fish? Is it worth trying to do water changes with my hot water line again? There is nothing I can do right now as I filled up my drums with straight 60 degree cold water so it will take a day to heat with my heaters.

[atlantadiscus]

Sounds like water heater is rusting inside,the usual way they fail.Blessing in disguise,change the water heater before it "lets go" and floods your floors.You could run activated carbon to help remove the metals from your aquarium,or just do massive water changes once your clear water comes up to temp. including vacuuming bottom of tanks to help remove particles.

[GVB]

Sounds like water heater is rusting inside,the usual way they fail.Blessing in disguise,change the water heater before it "lets go" and floods your floors.You could run activated carbon to help remove the metals from your aquarium,or just do massive water changes once your clear water comes up to temp. including vacuuming bottom of tanks to help remove particles.

Thanks for your input. We are going to get rid of this heater and install one of those new instant water heaters. I can't really change too much water besides the 100gals I age but that takes a day to heat up because it has to heat from 60 degrees to 80+. I have 600gals worth of aquariums so what is done is done until I can get my hands on the new water heater.

Do you think that the iron / whatever got released into the water is harmful to the fish? I am raising fry and growing out 3month olds and am worried for them. The water has since cleared up for the most part from last night but those metals are definitely still in the tank.

[atlantadiscus]

Do the fish seem bothered at all? Rust is iron,but really iron oxide,not sure it is as soluble in water.

[GVB]

Do the fish seem bothered at all? Rust is iron,but really iron oxide,not sure it is as soluble in water.

I was thinking the same thing too. I did see some iron precipitate out to the bottom of the tank. The fish seem fine but I am worried for something unforeseable or an issue arising later on.

[Leland F.]

I'm a plumber, what you're seeing is sediment that has accumulated in your water heater, that is being stirred up when the water heater is heating. I'm assuming you don't flush your water heater on a regulat basis due to the sediment. You should flush it every year at least once, twice a year is better. You don't get rust in your water heater, they're glass lined. You get rust from galvanized steel water lines, if you have them. It's common for sediment to be red or brown, depending on the composition of your water source. Heat speeds chemical reactions and causes mineral precipitation, that why sediment for,s in a water heater. You can try to flush the heater to remove the sediment, but depending on how much is in it, it may be next to impossible to get out if you've never flushed it, and the water heater is 10 years old or older for example. You may need to replace the heater. If there's a ton of sediment in the heater it doesn't have long before it leaks anyway.

-Leland

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[Leland F.]

Thanks for your input. We are going to get rid of this heater and install one of those new instant water heaters. I can't really change too much water besides the 100gals I age but that takes a day to heat up because it has to heat from 60 degrees to 80+. I have 600gals worth of aquariums so what is done is done until I can get my hands on the new water heater.

Do you think that the iron / whatever got released into the water is harmful to the fish? I am raising fry and growing out 3month olds and am worried for them. The water has since cleared up for the most part from last night but those metals are definitely still in the tank.

Gas powered tankless water heaters are great in the right situation, I have one, and I install them regularly, but they are not for every house. It depends what your total gpm hotwater demand for your house is. Electric tankless water heaters are junk. Do not install one. They cannot handle the flow rates people need in their homes. The sizes that handle larger flow rates, use tremendous amounts of electricity, more than anyone want to pay for. If the heaters are not sized appropriately, they will be a huge headache.

-Leland

[GVB]

I'm a plumber, what you're seeing is sediment that has accumulated in your water heater, that is being stirred up when the water heater is heating. I'm assuming you don't flush your water heater on a regulat basis due to the sediment. You should flush it every year at least once, twice a year is better. You don't get rust in your water heater, they're glass lined. You get rust from galvanized steel water lines, if you have them. It's common for sediment to be red or brown, depending on the composition of your water source. Heat speeds chemical reactions and causes mineral precipitation, that why sediment for,s in a water heater. You can try to flush the heater to remove the sediment, but depending on how much is in it, it may be next to impossible to get out if you've never flushed it, and the water heater is 10 years old or older for example. You may need to replace the heater. If there's a ton of sediment in the heater it doesn't have long before it leaks anyway.

-Leland

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Thank you for the detailed response, helps alot. I think what we are going to do is buy one of those insta t water heaters. Do you think that will be aquarium safe?

[gunnerschh2]

Leland is spot on. If i was still in busness i would hire him. Harry

[GVB]

Gas powered tankless water heaters are great in the right situation, I have one, and I install them regularly, but they are not for every house. It depends what your total gpm hotwater demand for your house is. Electric tankless water heaters are junk. Do not install one. They cannot handle the flow rates people need in their homes. The sizes that handle larger flow rates, use tremendous amounts of electricity, more than anyone want to pay for. If the heaters are not sized appropriately, they will be a huge headache.

-Leland

Ok I will have to see what type of heater we are lookinng at. I definitely do not want something that will be a pain in the butt for me. I change perhaps 100-400 gallons per day so definitely go with the gas heater?