Water change question

[sarbear]

Hello, I have a quick question about water for water changes. I use tap water and add conditioner to it for weekly water changes. I had been filling a pitcher of water and letting it sit overnight for the last 2 water changes (I've had the betta for 3 weeks). But someone suggested filling empty gallon water jugs with water and keeping them stored up so I can always have some ready in case I forget to fill the pitcher.

My question is should/can I add the conditioner to the jugs when I fill them or is it best to wait to add the conditioner until I'm ready to use the water?

I also asked a question in the Bowls, Habitats and Accessories thread about my heater if anyone has time to hop over there and answer it if you can.

Thanks :)

[Oldfishlady]

I would make water changes-use the pitcher-add dechlorinator- re-fill the tank, skipping the sit the water out all together. Dechlorinator works on contact so the water is safe to use at that time, unless something else is going on with your tap water.

If you use the gallon jugs-I would add the dechlorinator when filled... so its not forgotten.

[sarbear]

I read that I have to let the water sit out for 24 hours before using it. Is that not true? Thanks for your reply :)

[Oldfishlady]

In the USA- IMO it is not needed unless it is for water temp reason and you can't use the warm water mix with cold due to old pipe or old hot water heater.
If you have an aerator on the faucet that causes lots of bubbles in the water you can use friction to get rid of them before use.

[sarbear]

Ah, I was just reading another thread and people were suggesting to let the water sit out for at least 24 hours to remove chlorine. So maybe that's why I've read that other places. Thank you for your help. :) I just got Princess Peach, which is what my 4 year old daughter named our female betta, and a ball python, named Steve by my 6 year old son, both 3 weeks ago and so I'm just trying to streamline the process of all of the animal cares lol.

Do you have much experience with a marineland stealth pro heater?

[Oldfishlady]

What are you needing to know about the heater?

And true when we only had chlorine in the water letting it sit for 24 hours would take care of it, but now with the chloramine addition that is just as bad for fish- letting it sit won't do much good.

Love to see some pic of your new Betta...cute name btw, one of my horses name is Peaches....

[sarbear]

I didn't think I needed the heater for now because it's not falling below 78 in our house. The thermometer has been reading between 78-83. But the last few nights it's been lower because when I woke up in the morning the thermometer for the tank said 74 or 75. So I plugged it back in, but then this morning the thermometer for the tank said 88 so I unplugged it again lol. I was just wondering if this is normal for the heater. I thought it was supposed to automatically turn off once the water got to 78 degrees. I think it's defective so I bought a new one and will return this one if anyone knows if it's defective. Or is this normal for the heater in the summer and I should just leave it unplugged for the summer.

Wow, that was a lot of rambling, I hope it makes sense lol

I'll post a pic as soon as I figure out how to get it on here. I also have a new iMac so I have to figure that out too haha.

Thanks for the info on the water, it's nice to be able to remove an unnecessary step :)

[sarbear]

And just to be clear, I meant the thermometer in the tank has been reading between 78-83.

[Oldfishlady]

How many watts is the heater and how many gallons is the tank?

Sometime the heater is too big for the tank and even with the pre-set temps on them it can get too hot when in too little water.

[sarbear]

It's a 10 WATT heater and a 3 gallon tank. The package said up to 3 gallons.