# Water Changes straight from the tap



## Jaap (8 Feb 2016)

Hi,

I am adding water directly from the tap and just throwing in Seachem Prime during the filling up. Is this ok or does it kill all the beneficiary bacteria?

Thanks


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## DRG93 (8 Feb 2016)

As long as your filter is switched off during the water change then I don't see it being a major problem. As you say, you are adding Prime as you are filling up therefore I would not worry. Most of the bacteria is housed within the filter media so you will be fine.

I hope that helps


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## nduli (8 Feb 2016)

I do this on my low tech, not seen any issues.


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## Julian (8 Feb 2016)

I do it the same way, turn my filter off, once tank is full, add dechlor and switch filter back on.


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## jagillham (8 Feb 2016)

I'm doing the exact same. Just have to dose enough Prime for the whole tank volume, not just the volume of the water being changed.


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## Heagney (8 Feb 2016)

Is there a problem with using your hot tap along with you cold? Sure i read that somewhere


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## Tim Harrison (8 Feb 2016)

Not usually.


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## zozo (8 Feb 2016)

Heagney said:


> Is there a problem with using your hot tap along with you cold? Sure i read that somewhere



I also did read some people saying hot water will contain more copper when running through copper and there for shrimps should be at risk because they are extra sensitive to minute quantities of copper in the water.. I actualy do not know in how far this could be true and if so i also do not realy believe it is something for us to worry about..

What i do know is that above 60 degree celcius, boiler scale will form and attach to the inner pipe wall. Generaly we use a temperature of minimal 70 degree celcius for hot water, because this is the temperatur most nasty bacteria which could come with it will die at 70 c and above. Anyway so your hot water copper pipe if not brandnew will always have a (thin) layer calcium/magnisium on it's inner wall, so the hot water doesn't even touch any copper.

After some years in hardwater areas it could even look like this..


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## ian_m (8 Feb 2016)

zozo said:


> I also did read some people saying hot water will contain more copper when running through copper


It is not a worry. People are confusing copper piping and lead piping. If the copper did dissolve in water in measurable and shrimp poisonous amounts then all the copper pipes in our houses would soon dissolve and we would suffer leaky pipes all the time. Also the layer of hardness, whether natural or phosphate added by water company in soft water areas, will quickly coat the pipes preventing any copper coming into direct contact with water.


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## Heagney (8 Feb 2016)

That's very interesting. One thing I do notice when running my hot water tap is that it starts slightly cloudy before settling down quickly?
I just worry if doing larger water changes that the cold water may affect the fish


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## ian_m (8 Feb 2016)

The cloudiness is just dissolved gas coming out of solution when pressure is released.


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## greenmac75 (8 Feb 2016)

I water change using hot tap with cherries and ammano,
No problems, tank running for two years.


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## alto (8 Feb 2016)

I always leave my filters running during water change:
-  python system connected to toilet or outside for draining step
-  then hook up to tap & set water temp
-  begin tank refill
- add Prime diluted into ~ 700 ml container & place refill device into this container as it prevents any substrate disturbance

Having had shrimps/sensitive fish wander directly into my tank chemical additions (not so nice an effect especially for the shrimp ) I now always use this dilution method


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## andyone (8 Feb 2016)

Same here drain, add declorinator, leave filter running full on to disperse it though the remaining volume and fill direct from cold 50% water change. Drops temp up to 5-6 degrees but the fish don't seem to mind in fact the ottos and shrimp seem to love it.


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## Swordplay (9 Feb 2016)

Have done this using hot and cold water and Seachem Prime for many years and have not had any problem with shrimps or fish. I think it is advisable especially in the winter to mix the cold water with warm water as the temperature of the water is colder, and if doing large water changes can drop the temperature in the tank too much. I have found that sometimes Cardinals can be intolerant of this and have known them to break out in Whitespot due to the stress of the temperature change.


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## Wisey (9 Feb 2016)

alto said:


> I always leave my filters running during water change:
> -  python system connected to toilet or outside for draining step
> -  then hook up to tap & set water temp
> -  begin tank refill
> ...



I like the look of this python system, I will have to check if my taps have the threading, I am not sure that the mixer taps in my kitchen or bathroom do. I currently fill up 25 litre containers in the shower, by taking the shower head off and just using the hose. That hose does have a thread in the end for the shower head, do you think that is the same size thread as the python requires and would it still work attached to a shower hose?


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## ian_m (9 Feb 2016)

Do also note there have been reports of people cracking/exploding their tank heaters when the cold tap water comes into contact as they left them on during water change.


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## Aeropars (9 Feb 2016)

I have to say I do not use any dechlorinator and I fill directly from the tap. No problems at all!


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## ian_m (9 Feb 2016)

Aeropars said:


> I have to say I do not use any dechlorinator and I fill directly from the tap. No problems at all


Until the water company put extra chlorine/chloramine in due to "issues" and you will wipe out your tank. People have lost £1000's of fish due to incidents like this.


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## Protopigeon (9 Feb 2016)

jagillham said:


> Just have to dose enough Prime for the whole tank volume, not just the volume of the water being changed.



This is what I do. Not one issue so far.


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## Wombat (9 Feb 2016)

jagillham said:


> I'm doing the exact same. Just have to dose enough Prime for the whole tank volume, not just the volume of the water being changed.


Oh, I just dose for the amount being changed but I do it per bucket not once it's all in the tank. Heard it was better that way although it's a pain in the rear putting fractions of a ml in at a time.


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## jagillham (9 Feb 2016)

That's fine if you dose before putting it in.

You can buy syringes on eBay etc allowing you to dose accurately to fractions of a ml. Only cost couple £.


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## stu_ (9 Feb 2016)

jagillham said:


> That's fine if you dose before putting it in.
> 
> You can buy syringes on eBay etc allowing you to dose accurately to fractions of a ml. Only cost couple £.


Boots sell em too,behind the pharmacy counter.1ml & 5ml sizes


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## alto (10 Feb 2016)

Wisey said:


> I like the look of this python system, I will have to check if my taps have the threading, I am not sure that the mixer taps in my kitchen or bathroom do. I currently fill up 25 litre containers in the shower, by taking the shower head off and just using the hose. That hose does have a thread in the end for the shower head, do you think that is the same size thread as the python requires and would it still work attached to a shower hose?



There are various branded systems which function much the same
- most come with a variety of tap adapters (some will "come with", some may need to be special ordered), note the white plastic faucet adaptor is 2 pieces & some taps will fit the wider (inner) thread
Amazon.co.uk has the Python listed along with a recommended "universal faucet adapter" - when shopping, I found that Python had the best quality "tubing"

I do find that the "faucet pump" (green bit) does need to be replaced occasionally (likely my fault - think I've broken it in every way possible  so now I just always have a replacement on hand)
You can also strip out the threads re plastic vs metal so I have replacements of those as well (yes I have multiple tanks) - lfs don't stock the Python any more (I prefer it over the Lee)

I rarely use faucet pressure for draining tanks - just start syphon in usual way with faraway hose end *secured* in whatever drain location
Set temp etc for refill at tap, then recheck temp from hose end (back pressure can impact hot/cold mix depending on your water system)
I dose Prime for entire tank volume when refilling, sometimes double dosing when tap chlorine levels are high (local water board lists min/max chlorine levels, also daily monitoring reports from various substations, note that if you are just downstream of a "dosing" station, localized chlorine etc levels may be much higher)

Seachem lists


> Use 1 capful (5 mL) for each 200 L (50 gallons*) of new water. This removes approximately 1 mg/L ammonia, 4 mg/L chloramine, or 5 mg/L chlorine.


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## Dead Bonsai (10 Feb 2016)

I've got a 240L tank and do a weekly water change of 110L, I'm guessing this is pretty close to 50% when you take into account substrate, rocks, etc. 
I just use a 120L food grade plastic bin, with roughly 60% cold/ 40% hot water from the tap, never any issues with hot tap water to be fair, then dose with 1 cap (5ml) of Prime, this is a higher dose than recommended on the bottle, but never had any problems with this method.


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## Wombat (10 Feb 2016)

stu_ said:


> Boots sell em too,behind the pharmacy counter.1ml & 5ml sizes


That's good to know. Thanks


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## Wombat (10 Feb 2016)

Meant to add, the reason I add prime to each bucket is I'd heard on the interweb that adding several buckets of untreated water in one go - in my case approx 60 litres (and adding the prime in one go straight after) could be fatal to some livestock. If this is not the case then I'd much prefer to do it this way.


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## xim (10 Feb 2016)

Wombat said:


> Oh, I just dose for the amount being changed but I do it per bucket not once it's all in the tank. Heard it was better that way although it's a pain in the rear putting fractions of a ml in at a time.



Have you considered using a dropper? I have measured mine and it is 21-22 drops per 1 ml.
I also treat each bucket before adding into the tank.


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## Wombat (10 Feb 2016)

I have an ancient 1ml dropper /syringe. I think it came from one of those aquarium start up kits. I just use approximately 1/3 of that per 9 litre bucket. It's a pain cos my dropper/syringe thing is old + tired


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## sciencefiction (14 Feb 2016)

I've been changing the tank water straight from the tap(hot/cold mix) for several years now, maybe 6 years, on several tanks. I change 50% at a time on any tank.  I've never had a problem so far.  I dose dechlorinator straight into the tank for the tank volume, normally as soon as I start filling. I don't dose before or after or in increments.  I've had tanks with external and only internal filters and no issues whatsoever. I've had fry and shrimp and did the same with no problems. I've never killed a fish by doing that and I've got fish as old as I've been changing the water like that.
   I'd say go for it without any worries.  It really takes off the pressure of having to carry buckets for ages. Plus it's so easy getting the water temperature right too. I use my hand to get it approximately right. A swing of up to 2C downwards is ok. I normally avoid getting the tank water warmer than it originally was.  Until I got used to it, I checked the incoming water a couple of times during filling to make sure it gets out right. Sometimes, if you run out of hot water, only cold starts coming out. During winter the water from the cold tap has quite the low temperature here so I am careful then just in case. But if you have just the one tank, it's unlikely you'll ever run out of enough hot water.


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## ray copeland (14 Feb 2016)

Jaap said:


> Hi,
> 
> I am adding water directly from the tap and just throwing in Seachem Prime during the filling up. Is this ok or does it kill all the beneficiary bacteria?
> 
> Thanks


Using same products prime I also dose at every water change with stability. Never had any problems.


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