Can garden hoses be toxic?

[youngdiscus]

I Had left a garden hose attached too my submersible pump in the water barrel.. changed water today, and the water is very cloudy.. and has the strong smell of the cheap plastic garden hose in the tanks water.........


The fish are pointing upwards one minute then towards the bottom the next.. do not seem very happy with the new water?

The plastic smell is very strong........ I Have no Water dechlorintaor and have too work a 10hour shift very soon.. wonder if they will be alirght for a day or so? can garden hoses be toxic?

[wolfbane]

I'm not entirely sure, but garden hoses carry a warning on thier labeling, not to be use for drinking water. I bought 2 RV drinking water hoses at WalMart, that's what I use.

[Moon]

I woud have someone do a WC ASAP. Some plastics do leach toxic compounds.

[youngdiscus]

Thanks Wolf.. Ill check for the RV Hoses.....Do they come long enough though? I have too push the water about 49ft..


This garden hose was a cheap piece of junk anyways.... Made the house smell of plastic and always kinked up....

[youngdiscus]

Are rv drinking hoses expensive?

[kaceyo]

I wouldn't leave the fish in that water for 10+ hrs if they reacted badly that quickly.

Kacey

[youngdiscus]

I know i shouldnt, But i must be out the door in 45min for work... I work too 4am nightshift..... I dont know if i will have time too empty The water barrels then refill.. Then do a large water change on a 135gallon..... Ill do what i can, but only have the garden hose too use.. for now

[billeagan]

I fill my tanks with a garden hose with no problems, but I run the hotest water possible through them before using.....

But, this is a very valid point and I'll have to look into RV hoses.

[youngdiscus]

Well i managed too get ahold of my sister she has dechlorinator and aggreed too change the water asap.... the fish will have too deal with a ph swing, due too no time too age the water, but i guess its better then toxic water.........

[April]

get the rv hoses. cheap. they are white. they are for drinking out of. the do come long..or you can get two 25 footers.
i use rubber from canadian tire i got it cut to length. but it made rubber marks on my walls..
it says not to drink out of them. id be concerned..they are most likely made in china..who knows..

[bikhu]

I have been using garden hoses for years without a problem. I too rinse them first with hot water as I figure that water sitting in the hose between water changes could foster the growth of bacteria that I may not want in the tanks. I believe this is the reason they are not considered safe for drinking water. I have been told that hoses listed as safe for drinking may contain anti bacterial compounds that could be hazardous to fish. I do not know this to be true... simply something I was told.
peter

[Don Trinko]

I use the rv hoses they were abought $8 for 25'..... Seems cheap when you have $50 plus fish. Don T.

[Wahter]

One time I went over to K-Mart and noticed some of the garden hoses there were labelled "not to be used for drinking". I think they were made from recycled tires or something!


HTH,


Walter

[Polar_Bear]

Hoses can be lethal but two things need to happen. The hose must be new, and you need to have let the water sit in the hose for some time. The reason for this is that garden hoses are treated with anti-fungals. They are completely safe if water does not remain in them, or you flush them out before using though.

Wal-Mart sells 10' RV hoses for $6 and 25' RV hoses for $10. These are what I use, mainly because they happen to be exactly the right length for me.

[korbi_doc]

:D I've been using a 5/8" garden hose for yrs, but I did run hot water then cold thru it for cpl days; it's never been a problem, but then I run the water into plastic barrels & heat & age it too.....wanted a coil hose, all seem to be too small, 1/2" is all could find....the larger hose seemed to move the water faster...JME, Dottie ;)

[Greg Richardson]

Wal-Mart sells 10' RV hoses for $6 and 25' RV hoses for $10.

What size ID are those?

Next new pump I'm going to be switching my inside hose. Been using Goodyear brand of outside hose from HD for over year now from faucet to my fish room barrels. They are great.

[Polar_Bear]

Greg,
They are either 1/2" or 5/8" I'm not positive (even though I own 5 of them <g>). They look just like a typical garden hose except they are white.

[April]

ive got the coil hose..its not bad..as its in my shop..but it does get caught on things..and if you dont hold it down..it starts whirling...with the water running. ok if you have a heavy nozzle. but i dont have to wind it up...

[youngdiscus]

Well my sister got the waterchanged,, and all seem too be doing ok... No more toxic plastic smeel coming from tank and fish are active again

Payday this friday will look for the rvdrinking hoses..thanks for the idea

[mmorris]

I recommend paying the price and getting something made for aquarium use - like the Python. I bought a garden hose once, trying to do it on the cheap, and when I got it home I noticed the warning label. I called the garden center where I bought it and they told me NOT to use it in a fish tank. Martha

[Kindredspirit]

I agree with our Martha here ~ plus that, creatures lurk inside of hoses ~ well if kept outside they do!!

I never used one to fill up our dogs bowls I woudn't use it to drink from or in my tanks;)


"ive got the coil hose..its not bad..as its in my shop..but it does get caught on things..and if you dont hold it down..it starts whirling...with the water running."


April this would be a sight to see, woman!

[Don Trinko]

If you have a hose you have been using for years with no problem thats fine but if you need to buy a hose there is so little difference between regular hose and RV hose I would pay the extra.
discus are expensive. it's not a good idea to go cheap on the accesories and your total cost savings will be a very small percentage of your total cost. (fish $50 and up, Tank $100 and up, RO water $300 and up, Hose $10) Don T.

[Apistomaster]

It is the newest garden hose that has the greatest potential toxicity.
Whether or not they have an anti-fungal agent incorporated they do need some time to eliminate the various chemical like others have suggested by pre-flushing. I suspect old hoses also may form an oxidized layer that makes them safer than new.

I never saw the percentage in risking them so I have used RV water supply hoses for years. Garden hose threads are useful for the way I use hoses. I construct an inverted U out of PVC fittings including a garden hose threaded union. I hang this over the side of the tank and use a slip fitting connection on the inside of the U to facilitate interchanging different lengths of the pipe for different depths of tanks so I can select the depth I want to drain the tank.
I also use a DIY inlet that is about 2 inches in diameter so there is no chance of the suction damaging a fish. I usually have a bit of nylon fly screen over that inlet, held in place with a rubber band, to prevent accidentally siphoning out small fish.
I'm able to siphon out the door on to the lawn or other drain.
I have also installed GHT adapters to a MagDrive 9.5 pump. I can use this to very quickly pump out stored aged prepared water or to transfer water from one tank to another, a handy thing to be able to do sometimes. If siphoning is too slow for me this pump will empty a tank very quickly.

I refill directly from the faucet which has a GHT adapter. I get by with two 25 feet hoses. It allows me to siphon with one while refilling with the other except a couple of tanks where I need the full length of both to refill them.

I think RV hose inside diameter is somewhat larger than 1/2 inch and less than 5/8 inch. They can be a little slow if you are used to a large diameter garden hose but they happen to work well for me and are much cheaper although no safer than Pythons or similar systems made for aquarium use.

[ed8t]

I used to use the potable white rv hoses, they are 1/2" inside diameter. It worked well enough but I went to 3/4" ID clear vinyl hose, picked up a 50' length from Jehmco. Makes a huge difference in draining, saves at least 10 minutes draining 40 gallons of water. Adds up when you do daily WC. It's only just a little faster pumping in with the larger hose.