Temporarily using bottled water for "top offs"??

[KristiLee]

Here's the deal:

Next week I'm leaving the state to visit some family over spring break. My mom has agreed to watch Henry, but refuses to do water changes (which is for the better; she'd probably end up killing him if she tried, even if I show her how to do it properly).

So, I'll be doing a mega water change on Saturday night (I leave Sunday morning), and then another one when I get back the following Saturday.

His 2.5 gal tank will hopefully be filtered (after his fins frayed and tore I turned off the filter because it was just making things worse, but his fins are doing a lot better so I'm trying the filter again and seeing how things go), and it is heated.

When I have the filter plugged in, the water level drops a little bit each day. My question is:

When the water level gets too low (about a centimeter lower than I normally have it) can I instruct my mom to just top it off with room temp bottled water? It would be too difficult to measure out water conditioner for such a small amount of tap water, and bottled water doesn't have any hard metals in it. Also, his tank is kept between 79*-81*, and I don't really think a small amount of room temp water would alter it too much, would it? If it was just a few fractions of a degree, it shouldn't be so bad. He's handled more drastic temp changes before (oh the joys of being an inexperienced, first-time fishie mommy trying to figure out how things work) with virtually no issues; he's a tough little boy.

Also, if his filter starts causing issues again, would he be fine for a week without it? Of course I'd have my mom feed him a bit less than normal so he produces less waste.

Thank you =]


Edit: Oh yeah. And she'd only need to top it off 2 times max.

[dramaqueen]

You could always fill a bottle with conditioned tap water instead of the bottled water.

[KristiLee]

Oooh true!! I did not think of that!! Or even just aged tap water..

[fishmadcraig]

Position the filter a bit lower in the water to lower the effect of condensation on the lid, works for me :)

Also, you should always really let water sit for at least a week (for me) before adding it to the tank anyway. Its not essential, but it allows things to settle down for a while after the waters had the necessary medicines/treatments added. Its also very easy for water parameters to change quickly in anything smaller than 10 gallons, and this just helps avoid stressing the fish out really.

[KristiLee]

I can't get my filter any lower than it is =[... It's one of those *must go HERE* filters that comes with the tank.

And as for letting the water sit out for a week regardless, I wouldn't be able to get it to the right temp if it was just sitting out.. I could always go buy another small heater, but I'm in a dorm room with very limited space, so I'd have nowhere to put the water anyways =[

[fishmadcraig]

HaHa! "Must go here" Filters :P Made me Lol.

Maybe just let it sit by a radiator or infront of a small heater for an hour or two before putting in it the tank, just an idea really. It should be fine, just i myself have had a couple of nasties in the water around here that have killed some fish and i dont want you to make the same mistake :)

[1fish2fish]

I never age my water.. don't see the point.. you still would have to dechlorinate it. I would just fill a bucket with treated water and have your mom dump a little in if the water level goes down.

If she's not doing water changes I HIGHLY suggest she not feed the fish.. a 2.5 gall uncycled really needs 2 water changes a week so if no one is going to be doing them I wouldn't feed him during the week.. or only feeding him once halfway through the week. This wont hurt him and he won't be producing waste so his water will stay cleaner.

[kelly528]

I always have a bottle of dechlored water handy for top-offs. Also handy for priming filters should you choose to fiddle around with them between water changes.

[dramaqueen]

If there aren't going to be water changes then I would limit the amount of food being fed or not feed at all.