Water Change Tips (Calfo)

Some good points to keep in mind from Anthony Calfo, re: water changes


The following is an extract from, Water Changes/Ex-changes, by Anthony Calfo

"... As with all incoming water, whether for evaporation top-off or salted for exchanges, be sure to aerate and slowly warm new water for at least one day in advance. Using untreated tap water can be bad for several reasons. First of all, the dissolved oxygen coming out of mains is low in dissolved oxygen, which can be quite a shock for aquarium livestock. All tap water needs to be aerated to reach equilibrium or saturation with the atmosphere of the room that the aquarium is kept in. It also needs to be heated slowly over hours or a couple of days to match the system’s temperature. [HL="red"]It can be dangerous to heat water quickly and use it right afterwards in the aquarium! When pouring oxygen-poor hot water into oxygen-rich cool water, there is the risk of driving oxygen off/out of solution and even causing oxygen/air embolisms in fishes much like divers that get “the bends” from nitrogen[/HL]. It should also go without saying that the salinity of new water should be adjusted to match the salinity of aged/out-going water. While plastic hydrometers are handy and durable, please keep an extra hydrometer made of glass or a refractometer on hand to check the accuracy of plastic handheld hydrometers periodically. And finally, you should not underestimate the caustic nature of newly mixed seawater. Chemical reactions in dissolving synthetic sea salt mixes take time to complete. To temper the harshness of newly mixed seawater as well as insure thorough dissolution, mix freshly salted water for some hours up to one day in advance of use in the aquarium..."

Synopsis:

Aerate incoming water.
Age for at least a few hours.
Make sure temp and salinity same as outcoming water.
Make sure to crosscheck salinity reading with more then one hydrometer...or better yet get a refractomer. (Better yet, measure exact amount of salt mix needed for a given volumn of water. --- if over time more or less mix needed to reach desired salinity...measuring source may be whacky)
Do often.


“The Solution to Pollution is Dilution.”
(Anthony Calfo)

FYI

 

Very helpful info. Thanks

 

Excellent post. Thanks. K+

 

PS: (overlooked) - Always test salinity level of exchange water at aqauarium tank tempertature before using....can be way off what you want otherwise...8)

 

Hey! Thanks Scott! Wise words!!!!

 

Thanks "Mr. Chemical Camilsy" --- am sure you undersand chemical reactions going on much better then most of us here...

BTW

One more thing to add/or at least emphasize to above...

Always know close approximation for how much salt to use for a given salinity in a given volume of water. ie. 12 cups salt for 30 gallons of water, 2.2 cups for five gallons...

Not doing so, caused me a major disaster (one of several ) when just starting out...

Is only way to provide check against misreading hydrometer or refractometer...unless you have a couple of different ones and use both to test every time water mixed...

I keep hand made chart out in garage that I made up over time that shows me how much mix to use, almost to the teaspoon for different amounts of exchange water I want to make - also at water temp mixing at. (I try to be consistent.)

Over time and when confidence established, just about eliminates need for Hydrometer/Refractometer for mixing water...

Easy to do if using specific size containers, salt mix bucket, plastic garbage pail, etc. ---just right down exact amount of salt used each time and note down on paper hanging on wall...just remember it all goes out the window if you change brand/type salt mix...

FWIW



Scott