Brass fittings

[Krumpet]

hi all,

Just bought a fitting to attach to my kitchen sink so i can do water changes straight from the tap (no more f__king buckets), thing is it is made from chrome plated brass and i was wondering if this could be harmful to fish?

Thanks in advance,

Krumpet

[AHC]

not sure about the materials effects - but how will you treat the water if your filling straight from the tap?

[Krumpet]

well i was thinking i might get a carbon pre-filter installed under my tank so i can just add the water straight away, but i have seen heaps of pets stores that just top up the tank again with tap water and then put the de-chlorinator in afterwards... I assumed this was doable? although never really done it myself was always too scared considering the price of my fish...

whats the go with this?

[AHC]

Did the LFS poor water from an untreated tap source at (possibly) below tank temps straight into tanks? :evil: Could we give them the benefit of the doubt and say it could be from a seperate water supply? Sadly, i wouldnt be surprised if its normal tap water. Some people should never be in the business and i have also seen bad practices before.

Well you have come to the right place. Never poor cold/hot untreated water into the tank. The only way you should hook up hoses to a tap is if the water was not coming from the normal water supply but from treated water storage somewhere. The water needs to be dechlorinated before it hits the tank. Not only is chlorine bad for your fish but it will kill the tanks good bacteria. Then you have to fix the PH at what the tank PH is - before the water hits the tank. PH shifts will stress and harm your fish. Next, the water temp needs to be the same so there is a smooth transitition with water changes. Temp changes will stress and harm your fish.

[Krumpet]

cheers mate, glad i cleared that up... i should note that i'm not sure that the petshop in question was using water straight from the tap. I do know that they just "squirt" some in the tank afterwards i have def seen this. Anyways they are way over priced so i dont go there anyway...

Thanks for the advice
Matt

[AHC]

no worries mate :) . They could be adding an extra dose to rain water or pre treated water etc. Either way, stay with a strict regime and you will be fine. You will find improvements and ways of doing things easier as time goes by. Just make sure that in the end, the water going in is suitable and all other process's will soon be streamlined. Good luck and thanks for checking about that - there is never a silly question, especially when it comes to looking after our fishies.