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I have a 75 g aquarium and was wondering when I do water changes, am I supposed to filter the water that I am putting in or just go straight from faucet to aquarium? I heard some people leave it in a bucket overnight (don't know why, just heard it) Wasn't exactly sure and want to make sure I am doing things properly so I don't harm any fish. thanks in advance.

Some people leave it in a bucket for 24 hours to help dissipate the chlorine. This won't work if your water contains chloramine....as most seem to do now. So, to be on the safe side most folks use a good dechlorinator....I use Aquasafe by Tetra, but there are several others.

If you're using a Python you can add the correct amount of dechlorinator directly to the tank as the water is going in. If your still on the bucket brigade, like me, I add the dechlor to each gallon that goes back in, but I use straight tap water.

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~~Melissa~~
"Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder."

So if I use the dechlorinator (like aquasafe) then I would just put the tap water into the tank then put the aquasafe into the tank? A little confused. or do I need to combine the 2 before I add the tap water to the tank?
thanks for replying

if you have the equipment that adds the water to the tank straight from the tap (no buckets required) than you add correct amount of declorinator to the tank.

However if you use buckets of water to fill the tank then you add the declorinator to the bucket before you add the water to the tank instead of adding it straight to the tank.

Also i think people leave buckets of water for 24 hours to allow the temp of the water to adjust to room temp before adding to the tank

hope that helps !

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Truth doesn't always win friends but it influences them

it is much easier to adjust the temperature straight from the tap then it is to let it sit overnight or or 24h. I usually match the temp within .5F when doing the discus tank I care for. As for the dechlorinator, make sure the one you use also neutralizes heavy metals!(aqua plus from hagen does)

Usually using warm water from the tap is not suggested. It carries more impurities and in my case it actually has sulfur gas which is toxic. Copper from the pipes is another of the main concerns with hot water use. Adding somewhat colder water is usually not a big deal and often used to trigger fish to spawn. When I was using wellwater it would come out at 50F and so long as I didn't add too much at once I never had any fish health problems due to temperature. I did have other issues with the water that caused me to leave it sit for 48hours before using it. If your doing a water change around 25% or more it would be better to at least bring the water up to room temp or it could possibly drop the tank temp too much too fast.

If you add the water directly from tap to tank the dechlor directions usually say to add the dose based on the whole tank. So if you have a 75g tank and your changing around 20g you'd still add the dose for 75g to the tank instead. If you add it to the buckets before dumping in the tank you only need to dose for the amount of water your changing. So this way if your using 5g bucketfuls to refill the tank you add the dose for 5g to each bucket.

This is what I have done for many years as a matter of practice.

I store 2x25lt and a 11lt for one week. I add a dechlorinator as that is all that is required. On change over day I heat the water in a water trough of hot water never test temp just use the fingers to make sure it is about correct temp.

Another reason I store is to make sure there is no Ich in the water.
My origional water comed directly from the tap.

Have a look in [link=My Profile] http://www.fishprofiles.com/forums/member.aspx?id=1935[/link] for my tank info

Look here for my
Betta 11Gal Desktop & Placidity 5ft Community Tank Photos

Keith

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I also use a big 200 Litre container, where i store the water for 2 weeks & then use it for my water changes. I don't add anything with the water.

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