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Water Temp

Tue, 04/20/2010 - 19:46 — Niekomaster

Question
If I clean tank and replace the water, can I use warm water from my tap? I use tap water with chemicals anyway, but does it make a difference if I use a little bit of warm, so my fish dont get cold when I add in the water?

Comments

Tue, 08/17/2010 - 21:02 — gracer

My 2 new BP

I am VERY new to the fish world and Sunday I bought my daughter the 2 BP's she was begging for. I did everything the man at Petsmart(kicking myself for that one) told me to do. Bought the tank, set it up,let it sit for 5 days then put my fish in. The 2nd day Bonnie was on her side all day in her little safe spot and I thought she was dying, but at night she burst into life again and fed great. Today same thing, hiding, not very much movement. The guy at Petsmart told me also to use the LARGE Topfin Cichlid pellets which I fed to my poor fish and she could barely get it in her mouth but did so, actually eating 3-4 large pellets. I have since learned they were 3 x too large for her as my fish are only about 2 1/2-3" in length. I have my fish in a 20 gallon tank which I also am learning is too small, but I plan to buy a 30 gal. in a couple of weeks. Any ideas or suggestions? I need to add some water to the tank as well. Should I add any conditioner when I do. It only need maybe a gal or so.

Wed, 04/21/2010 - 01:35 — Niekomaster

Re: Water Temp

i did a change today and used warmer than straight tap and added my aquasafe to the water. i used less than the amount that it says, cause I don't think that it has to be that strong. I also add about 1/4-1/2 amount of aquarium salt. I heard it is good for just about any fish. is that good?

Wed, 04/21/2010 - 01:56 — Peanut

Re: Re: Water Temp

I don't know about the dosage of the conditioner. I always use the amount suggested. But, I have horrible water. You might want to test your tank water for cholrine and see if you are adding enough conditioner. The fish may not react if there's not enough. But, it would compromise their immunity.

I think Chrisplosion keeps salt in his tank at all times. I use to. But, I noticed that the fins on my fish were fraying a bit. So, now I just use it if something is amiss. If you're just keeping Aquarium salt in the tank for good measure, it wouldn't need to be any stronger than 1 tablespoon per 10 gallons. If you are treating the fish for parasites, you would want to follow the directions which I believe is double that.

Aquarium salt aids in gill function as well as slime coating. There are a few fish who do not do well in salt. But, I can't remember what fish those are. Maybe someone else can tell us. Blood Parrots are good with salt.

Wed, 04/21/2010 - 02:00 — Chrisplosion

Re: Re: Re: Water Temp

I do use the salt but I have run low so I have't been putting it in. But I put usually put between 1 Tbs per 5-10 gallons.

Wed, 04/21/2010 - 02:04 — Peanut

Re: Re: Re: Re: Water Temp

I thought I remembered you saying that you kept salt in your tank. I think a lot of ppl do actually.

BTW: Great jumping videos. Love that Marley!!

Wed, 04/21/2010 - 02:09 — Niekomaster

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Water Temp

I am just glad I can use warm water, that cuts out alot of time with my cleanings. Our water is well water and is ice cold from the tap! It was taking me FOREVER to replace water. I am going to buy a few big buckets also. I have been using kitchen bowls and pitchers for clean water to place in the tank. I hook it up ghetto style! LOL

Wed, 04/21/2010 - 02:07 — Chrisplosion

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Water Temp

I do but I only have about 3 tablespoons left and I haven't been adding it during water changes. I need to go pick some more up.

Tue, 04/20/2010 - 22:29 — Peanut

Good choice!! I've become

Good choice!!

I've become friends with a man in his 60's who's owned his fish store for about 30 years. His major in college was bio chemistry. He know's more about fish and chemistry than anyone I've ever met. He's really passionate about fish. He won't even sell his fish to ppl who haven't cycled their tanks. He wants to make sure his fish are taken care of. lol!!

He did a test on a bunch of water conditioners. I only remember the best (AquaSafe) and the worst (Amquel). The others he tested were somewhere in the middle of the two.

I really hate Amquel. There was a time about a year ago that my fish were flashing like crazy. I just knew they were going to die. But, I couldn't figure out what they had. I actually ended up treating them for velvet. I just knew they had some horrible disease. Come to find out, it was the Amquel. Once I started using the AquaSafe, I never had a problem again. The Amquel was really irritating the fish for some reason.

One of my friends did a water change and added Amquel. She came back into the room 10 minutes later and three of her fish were dead.

Wed, 04/21/2010 - 01:39 — Niekomaster

Re: Good choice!! I've become

I am really thankful for this site! the store folks are idiots, from what I have dealt with! I am amazed their fish are alive! I wish there was a wise store owner here in town! Thanks for the info!

Tue, 04/20/2010 - 21:50 — Peanut

Re: Water Temp

The water needs to be within a degree or two of the tank water. If not, it will compromise the fish immunity. You should run the tap water over a themometer to insure it is the same temp as the tank water before adding it to the tank.

Not all water conditioners work as quickly as others. I use AquaSafe by Tetra. It works within five minutes. However, Amquel takes a little over an hour to work.

Tue, 04/20/2010 - 21:59 — Chrisplosion

Re: Re: Water Temp

Really only 5 minutes? Thats what I use.

Tue, 04/20/2010 - 20:13 — Chrisplosion

Re: Water Temp

I make it so its a bit warm then put the condition in and let its sit for an hour or two. So by the time I put it in its not to cold.