How does everyone do water changes in the winter months?

[MSG]

I tried searching the forums for winter and water changing/conditioning, but found nothing....


It's starting to get chilly now & I was wondering...

• Normally when I gather water in the water cooler bottles for conditioning, I use COLD water.

• Also I usually leave the container out for a day or two ahead of time so it can reach room temperature & for any other chemical evaporation that may happen.

• Is it okay to use/condition the water from warm/hot water pipes? Or is it NOT recommended due to the heavy metals that could be leached from the pipes?

• The bettas are in 78-88 degree water.

• The water coming out of the tap is about 70-72 degrees & it's only going to get cooler.

I've only had these fellas since mid summer, but don't want to get them all sick in the next couple months with messed up water changes. My bettas are pretty right now, but not when they're clamped & sick. I would like to prevent that from happening if possible.

• Luckily for me I have a vintage brown 50w heater that can reach 150 degrees in about 10 seconds, but don't know how long it would take to heat up 2.5 gallons. I'll test that out later on when I have more time. I can't figure out what else to use this 10-20yr old heater that may or may not will cook the fish if left unattended.

• Let me know what you guys do during the colder months to minimize the fluctuations in the temperature during a water change.

Thanks.

[ChoclateBetta]

I use sink and bathtub water always or you could leave it out but you still need to De chlorinate

[BettaQi]

Originally Posted by MSG

I tried searching the forums for winter and water changing/conditioning, but found nothing....


It's starting to get chilly now & I was wondering...

• Normally when I gather water in the water cooler bottles for conditioning, I use COLD water.

• Also I usually leave the container out for a day or two ahead of time so it can reach room temperature & for any other chemical evaporation that may happen.

• Is it okay to use/condition the water from warm/hot water pipes? Or is it NOT recommended due to the heavy metals that could be leached from the pipes?

• The bettas are in 78-88 degree water.

• The water coming out of the tap is about 70-72 degrees & it's only going to get cooler.

I've only had these fellas since mid summer, but don't want to get them all sick in the next couple months with messed up water changes. My bettas are pretty right now, but not when they're clamped & sick. I would like to prevent that from happening if possible.

• Luckily for me I have a vintage brown 50w heater that can reach 150 degrees in about 10 seconds, but don't know how long it would take to heat up 2.5 gallons. I'll test that out later on when I have more time. I can't figure out what else to use this 10-20yr old heater that may or may not will cook the fish if left unattended.

• Let me know what you guys do during the colder months to minimize the fluctuations in the temperature during a water change.

Thanks.

What I am planning to do is use my 5 g plastic bucket with an air stone to help circulate the heat to prep the water ahead of time with dechlor to the correct temperature using an extra heater.

Bc my tanks are small And somewhat cycled will just use a turkey baster and do 25% water changes.

[Bettanewbie60]

I am having this same question..right now my tap water is very warm. Our pipes are close to the surface and my "cold" water comes out of the tap at 80 degrees lol...I don't know how I'm going to do it in a week or so...

[starrlamia]

i use water from my kitchen sink and never had any issues.

[babystarz]

I match the temp from my kitchen sink to 80 degrees by feel, treat it with Prime, then add it directly to the tanks without aging it. No problems so far :) My plants eat any minerals that might be in the water (and I know there's iron, this being MN). I do let the water run for at least 2 minutes before putting the bucket under the tap just to flush out any minerals that might have settled.

When I get my breeding tank started up I will add water from my planted 20 gal to it.

[Oldfishlady]

Adjust your water temp at the tap to within 5-10 degrees of your tank water using an independent thermometer-Let the water run for a bit to flush your pipes-Fill your container with the needed replacement water-add the proper amount of dechlorinator and refill your tank as usual.

If you removed your Betta for the water change-Re-acclimate by-dumping half the water out of their holding container you have them in-Then fill or top it off with the new dechlorinated tank water-net and add the Betta back to the tank-provided that they tolerated acclimation. You may or may not need to repeat the process.

[Leeniex]

Originally Posted by babystarz

I match the temp from my kitchen sink to 80 degrees by feel, treat it with Prime, then add it directly to the tanks without aging it. No problems so far :)

Ditto.

[Bettanewbie60]

Originally Posted by babystarz

I match the temp from my kitchen sink to 80 degrees by feel, treat it with Prime, then add it directly to the tanks without aging it. No problems so far :) My plants eat any minerals that might be in the water (and I know there's iron, this being MN). I do let the water run for at least 2 minutes before putting the bucket under the tap just to flush out any minerals that might have settled.

When I get my breeding tank started up I will add water from my planted 20 gal to it.

That sounds good, I'm just wondering how I'm going to tell what the temp is...I'll figure it out somehow.

[Leeniex]

You get the feel for it. I can adjust now so it is almost exactly 80 when I fill the tank.