Storing Tap water for water change

1

1goodcatch

New Member
Hi there
does anyone store Tap water for water changes?
is there any advantages using stored Tap water instead of water straight from the tap when doing a water change?
If so how long should the water be stored to allow the chlorine to dissipate?

thank you
 
cheon

cheon

New Member
Yes from wat I have read and been told yes aged water is betterfor wc. Now amount depending on ur tank size and I say 24-48 hours for the dissipation.
 
1

1goodcatch

New Member
I have started to store water for a few days before water changes. Basically I fill a Jacuzzi tub that I do not use often and siphon the water into the tank during water changes.
I have done this twice now and notice that the fish remain active. In the past fish mellow down for a few hours after a water change and now their behaviour does not change. Guess storing the water does help
thanks
 
Joey

Joey

Moderator
Chlorine starts to dissipate as soon as it hits the air. Throw an air stone in the container to help speed the process. 24 hrs is generally enough time with good circulation.

This does nothing for chloramine though.

Check with your local water supply to see if they treat it with chloramine as well.
 
RTG

RTG

New Member
Just go buy the biggest barrel u can get and put the following items into it with the tap water:

1. Air Stone
2. Heater
3. Power head w/ long enough hose to just pump water into your tank.
4. Thermometer Optional.

Everytime u fill the barrel with new tap water Add Prime and let the water sit for atleast 24 hours before WC. Chlorine should be nutrilized with prime and air stone... for Chloromine i think prime clears that up as well no problems.
 
1

1goodcatch

New Member
thank you for all the input.
looks like storing will not help removal chloromine. I did call the City and apparently Markham is part of the Toronto Water works and they do use chloromine in treating tap water. Will have to use water conditioners that remove chlorine and chloromine and ammonia
 
Y

Yam

New Member
Chloromine only gasses off after about 2 weeks. The reason most cities use chloromine as the water they send out takes days sometimes to get to the end use, and have to make sure the water is clean. Chlorine is too volatile and gasses off easy.

If you have kids, the only warning I would say of putting a big barrel of water in your house, is to make sure your kids can't get to it. I had big barrel and caught my kid pushing a chair beside it to take a look inside. He is 3 years old. If he fell in, he is dead. After I saw that, I stopped using the barrell and just use an old 40G tank on a stand now.

If you google some of the custumer feedback threads from Seachem, Prime destroys chrolmine on contact. So aside from PH, the tap water is pretty much ready to go once you put Prime. PH of water changes over time, that is why it is good to let it sit.
 
goldenchild

goldenchild

New Member
I've been aging 60G (food grade container) of tap water for Water changes for about 1 year now. Best results so far. I don't use any chemicals in my tank (3 years now).
This is what my container look like but in My garage and white.
rain-gutter.jpg

My fish remain active during and after water changes so that's one good sign. Everyone has different techniques/routines for the almighty water change and everyone has different results.

I have an airstone, powerhead and heater running during the aging. 4-7 days at a time. Depending on wether I have time for 1 or 2 water changes a week.

FYI: I have a 220G tank.
It would be cool to see everyone's aging techniques and equipment maybe. I'll snap a pic later.
 
H

howardhsieh

Member
depend on the bio load, most time i would do 30-40% water change from store aged water.

From other forum, many member convince me to do 75% or even 85% water change, under the condition that water had been treated; because bacteria doesn live in the water column, so more % of water change the better it is.

so what is your comment on doing 75% water change?
 
m_class2g

m_class2g

Sponsor
i wish i had room to store water but no room so for more sensitive fish like black rays, i do 2 smaller changes a week. my big aro and dat, 50 percent water change once a week. aro and tiger dont seem to mind the bigger water changes.
 
RTG

RTG

New Member
howardhsieh said:
depend on the bio load, most time i would do 30-40% water change from store aged water.

From other forum, many member convince me to do 75% or even 85% water change, under the condition that water had been treated; because bacteria doesn live in the water column, so more % of water change the better it is.

so what is your comment on doing 75% water change?
Click to expand...

I think when the storaged water is prepared properly a massive WC like that is absolutely doable to even with the most sensitive of fish... I've seen LFS do 90%WC's 2-3 times a day to discuss fish with no problems or death.
 
skynoch

skynoch

Moderator
I'm not a big fan of manual water changes compared to a drip waterchange. We need to discuss theories like this alot more so please challenge me on this.
 
RTG

RTG

New Member
skynoch said:
I'm not a big fan of manual water changes compared to a drip waterchange. We need to discuss theories like this alot more so please challenge me on this.
Click to expand...

I was always curious as to How much prime those chambered filter uses.. lets say per month?
 
H

hondas3000

New Member
I was at the pool supply the other day to buy Chlorine test kit and guess what, there is very very low Chlorine in BC water. It is too low that the guy try to test it from the tap water and it is clear nothing to read on the chart and he said our tap water has been filter so there is no Chlorine in it, so why are we ageing to remove chlorine if there is non in our water? Have anyone test their Chlorine from the tap water before?
 
RTG

RTG

New Member
hondas3000 said:
I was at the pool supply the other day to buy Chlorine test kit and guess what, there is very very low Chlorine in BC water. It is too low that the guy try to test it from the tap water and it is clear nothing to read on the chart and he said our tap water has been filter so there is no Chlorine in it, so why are we ageing to remove chlorine if there is non in our water? Have anyone test their Chlorine from the tap water before?
Click to expand...

I agree.... I have yet to buy a chlorine test kit and test the waters of Toronto to see how much Chlorine there is. However; i know that during certain times of the year the city will sometimes add extra doses of Chlorine into the water without us knowing so if we directly put that kind of water into our tanks that could be asking for trouble with our fish esspecially the sensitive ones. Better to be safe than sorry.... I definately would sleep better knowing that the water in storage is 100% safe for WC.
 
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