since the weather has been cold is it safe to still do a cold water change?

[Kiko]

(before i do it)

Heres the scenario my hot water is bad and i was wondering if its okay if i do a regular water change with cold water during this weather.. its been about 2 weeks since i did a water change and i think its time the fishy's to get new water... i tested my hot water today and it looks horrible, it was tan color...
any suggestion?

its only a 20L and a 20T(filled half way)

[Mzungu]

From where are you getting your hot water? Is your shower water, for instance, the same tan/brown color? Or are you taking your fish water from a different source? If you are, does running it for a while clear up the color of the water?

[Mzungu]

Also, if it's only 20 or so gallons for each tank, you could think about setting cold water out for a few hours inside your house in a container and let it warm up for a bit before doing a water change. You could even put a small heater in there to speed up the warming, and then do a water change with that water. Just an idea, if you absolutely can't use hot water.

What we do with our big tanks is use two hoses - one from the outside spigot and one running from the tap inside that's mainly warm/hot water, and fill the tank up with both at the same time. It takes a bit of tinkering, but eventually you get the right temperature water. Then you know you're not shocking your fish with water that's 30 degrees colder than their tank. :) For my small tanks, I just use tap water and adjust the temperature before filling the tanks.

[aquabee]

Agreed. It's much easier to let the water warm up in your apartment or with a separate heater if you're doing water changes on smaller tanks. When I first turned on the hot water this season, it was brown like that too. I ran it for 10 minutes and still it didn't clear completely. The management at the complex asked all the residents to run their hot water for a minimum of 20 minutes, all faucets at the same time. It eventually cleared up, after about 25 minutes. Good luck!

[Mzungu]

Carbon bottles also work wonders! :)

[Kiko]

thanks... but i have no bucket big enough to hold 20 gallons... lol... my hot water is tanish for a while now... and a carbon bottle for a 20 gallon seems unnecessary... i dont know what to do... lol... i dont live in an apartment i stay in a house... can i leave water in a 5 gallon and put 10 gallon of cold water? the ratio would 1:2 warm to cold is that good enough?... 50% water change which makes it 1:2 cold to warm in the tank... with the two together it makes neutral... lol idk...

[Crude]

I thought a lot about where to place my tank when I was setting it up, and decided on the "best" area due to its proximity to the outside garden hose.

Had to scratch that due to winter weather (as you mentioned), and the need to add Prime.

Anyway, I just went down to Lowes and bought a ~20g rubbermaid tub (~$10), 20' of tubing (~$6), and a ~$30 pond pump. I let the water settle to the right temperature (I actually just monitor it and add hot/cold til its right, but you could use a heater). Then I use the pump to pump it in. If somehow you can get the tub at a higher point than your tank, you obviously wouldn't need the pump, but I don't have that luxury It all just sits in the bathtub.

Good luck!

[algarciajr]

.. i tested my hot water today and it looks horrible, it was tan color...
any suggestion?

Your pipes might be full of rust or sediment from the inside. I have seen this in house's that have galvanized pipe, not so common with copper pipe or pvc.

[danielp]

I fill my buckets from the kitchen faucet in the winter time.

I run the water at a moderate temperature, treat the water let it sit for a day or two like i typically do then make my water change.

[Complexity]

If none of those options work, then maybe you could approach the problem a different way. Have you checked the temp of the cold water? How many degrees colder than the tank water is it? That would help with deciding just how big of a water change you can do safely with the cold water without dropping the overall tank water temperature too much.

For example, you could try doing two 25% water changes each week instead of one 50% water change. That would make it so there would be less cold water mixed in during each water change, lessening the negative effect of the cold water being added.

Also, watch your tank's water temperature to see if it's cooler in the morning when the lights have been out all night, and if so, then that would be a better time to do the water change because the temperature difference would be less drastic.

[rage]

If you only need 20g total, boil a few G and mix it in.

[Kiko]

thats what i figured thanks...

[eklikewhoa]

I would never use hot water from the water heater.

Even in the freezing weathers I would use cold water, let it run a while longer and the temps wont be as freezing as when you first turn on the water. What I suggest is doing smaller amounts of w/c but more of them. A lil temp drop isin't gonna kill them and if you have the patience to slowly drip water back in they will be fine as well.

I've done large tanks at almost 80% like this and never had any fish die from it.

[rage]

I would never use hot water from the water heater.

Even in the freezing weathers I would use cold water, let it run a while longer and the temps wont be as freezing as when you first turn on the water. What I suggest is doing smaller amounts of w/c but more of them. A lil temp drop isin't gonna kill them and if you have the patience to slowly drip water back in they will be fine as well.

I've done large tanks at almost 80% like this and never had any fish die from it.

If it's freezing outside, how long do you run your cold water faucet and what temp does it rise to when you put it in your tank?

[Kiko]

ima use that python to run the water until it not as cold... ill do it when i get home today...