GeraldtonWA Posted July 13, 2012 Report Share Posted July 13, 2012 With bettas requiring large water changes, I'm wondering how many of the experienced fish keepers on this forum heat the water first? Also, can plain salt be added instead of the more expensive salt sold in LFS? What rate is recommended because I have seen quite a variation - from 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon per 20 litres ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shadoh Posted July 13, 2012 Report Share Posted July 13, 2012 I age my water in 20lt buckets and heat before I use for water changes. If I remember, I drop a heater in the bucket when I get up in the morning, if not, I boil up a kettle and add to the bucket. Before using the water, I add some ketapang (IAL) tea to the water so it has a slight amber tint to it. I also add a sprinkle of rock salt - not so much a measurement, but I would guess it to be a heaped teaspoon. As for the salt, as long as it is NOT iodized, then it is safe to use for fish. Most salt that is labeled as pure sea salt will not be iodized. Always check the back of the packet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CNgo2006 Posted July 13, 2012 Report Share Posted July 13, 2012 (edited) As long as the fish are older than a month old, I don't worry about heating the water first (30% and under water change) straight from the tap cold and have had no problems, of course you should always remove the chlorine, etc. with a dechlorinator or use aged water. I find if you heat the water all the time the fish become use to it and when you do get lazy and don't heat it there will be trouble, so I just put in dechlorinated tap water unheated as soon as they reach 1+ month (no problems with as yet with the fish). I sprinkle a bit of salt depending on the amount of water just added (never really measure as long as not too much). Only time I do measure the salt is when a fish is in the hospital tank. Edited July 13, 2012 by Chi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
somchai2500 Posted July 13, 2012 Report Share Posted July 13, 2012 Heating depends on the room temp the aged water has been sitting in. In Melb water temp in my aged water is 6 deg..so I heat to 18-20 deg. I have some coral pieces and IAL in the buckets. As Jarrod said if it is cold, add boiled water just to take the edge off. Sea salt or Rock Salt.From the super market. Cold water shock for tropical fish is not good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melbournebetta Posted July 13, 2012 Report Share Posted July 13, 2012 I'm a slacker I stick my finger into the buckets as they fill (checking temp when I get back to the fishroom, but I've developed the uncanny ability to mix hot and cold water from the tap to 24-26 degrees) Then treat water with Aquarium Salt/IAL/Carbonate hardness powder/Decholorinator/Love And then dump it in on un-suspecting fry/adults/etc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
les Posted July 13, 2012 Report Share Posted July 13, 2012 I follow Jarrods procedure the water has to be as close to what they come out of and the same aplies to the PH many problems can arise when there is a dramatic change in water temp sudenly and the same aplies to ph. If I put it like this your taking a nice warm bath then sudenly your wife walks in and chucks a bucket of ice cold water over you. MMM some marragies wouldnt survive Like fish. I say always air on the side of coution if you value your stock. Cheers Les Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeraldtonWA Posted July 13, 2012 Author Report Share Posted July 13, 2012 Thanks - quite a range of different practices. It does appear from the responses that I'm perhaps adding too much salt ie 1 tablespoon per 20 litres. I'll slowly cut down. I heat my aged water with one of those stainless steel aquarium heaters. It brings 20 l up to 27 degrees quick smart. Again - thank you everyone for the responses ...... this is a great forum ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wild Nut Posted July 14, 2012 Report Share Posted July 14, 2012 I just fill my bucket up with warm water from the tap, use my finger to sort of gauge the difference in temperature, add Prime and then siphon it back into my tanks. This is the method I use on all my fish tanks, including those with fry in them and I have never had issues with it. However, with that said even though the pH in my tapwater is higher than my tanks, the KH value is roughly the same so the pH comes down pretty quickly once added in. This is why when I was doing 100% water changes I had to use a buffer as the pH in my tanks was maybe 6 or below and the water coming out of my tap was around 7. I only used the buffer after I noticed that my bettas took a while to acclimatise back to it and weren't looking as good as I'd have liked. I do use slightly colder water in my wild tanks when I change them as it induces spawning and I only do 25% changes at a time so it isn't a huge difference in temperature. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Posted July 14, 2012 Report Share Posted July 14, 2012 I age all my water in tubs. Add conditioner, IAL and sometimes a pinch of salt. It's all heated there, so there is always warm, clean water on hand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
briztoon Posted July 14, 2012 Report Share Posted July 14, 2012 (edited) Is salt really necessary? I don't add any to my water changes and haven't noticed anything wrong with my bettas. Edited July 14, 2012 by briztoon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fletch Posted July 14, 2012 Report Share Posted July 14, 2012 Salt helps prevent problems from arising in the first place. A lot of products that advertise. "slime coat improver " ect, usually just means salt added. :-)Ps...... I don't normally bother with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afr3178 Posted July 14, 2012 Report Share Posted July 14, 2012 I'm really lazy with my water changes- but I've never had any problems with it in the 2 years I've been doing it. I just add tap water that feels about the same temperature. With my betta I'll have an IAL sitting in the tank that will eventually leach out and they're all got an airstone, but I don't add anything like dechlorinator. I want to get a tank set up which I can adjust and heat but I don't have the space to put it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hazell Posted July 15, 2012 Report Share Posted July 15, 2012 I'm pretty slack too, I just test the water, often boil it. Wait until it's still warm from the boiling, then add some salts and wham! All ready. It appears I have had no problems with mine! ;D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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