Water Ageing

[vitara1]

Time for silly questions :oops:

If I have tap water in a drum/barrell that I aerate for a few days will that be sufficient ageing enough without adding a water ager?

I know that I need to get ph and temp same as my tank water to be able to use is for water changes, but wasn't sure if I needed to use a water ager as well since it will sit for 3/4 days before I need it.

[Mr Wild]

not so much a water ager but a dechlor product is still required. Read on your ager and see if the product neutralises chlorine, while it will gas off with aging and aeration it is my opinion you still need a dechlor as chloramine is produced which still needs neutralising.

[BigDaddyAdo]

not so much a water ager but a dechlor product is still required. Read on your ager and see if the product neutralises chlorine, while it will gas off with aging and aeration it is my opinion you still need a dechlor as chloramine is produced which still needs neutralising.

+1. Products such as Prime do a whole lot more than just neutralise Chlorine.

[vitara1]

Thanks for the quick reply. Prime it is then.

If I have a 200 ltr drum but only use say 150 litres to do a water change, do I need to get rid of the rest? Or can I just top the drum up? I will be doing a water change once to twice a week.

[Merrilyn]

I'd discard any leftover water, dry your drum and let it sit empty until 24 hours before your next water change.

You only need to age and heat your water for 24 hours, so no need to have the drum filled all the time. Remember too, that once something like Prime has been added, the chlorine, which was added by the water board to stop bacteria growing in the water, has been removed, so your water is "raw" and bacteria can proliferate.

[vitara1]

Thanks for that. I might save some power by not running an extra powerhead and heater for days on end if I don't need to.

What do I add first? Do I adjust the PH or add Prime first?

[Merrilyn]

Add Prime, then let your water age for 24 hours, at the end of that time, adjust your pH if necessary then add to your tank. Easy :P

[vitara1]

Thanks Merrilyn.

Another question for you. Do you need to worm your Discus on a regular basis or only if you see a problem?

Rob

[Merrilyn]

Rob, I worm them when I receive new fish, while they are in quarantine, to make sure they are 'clean' before they go into my tanks. That includes something like neons, cardinals etc.

A breeding pair will always be wormed and treated for gill and body flukes before going into breeding tanks.

Non breeding, or display fish are wormed regularly every 6 months.

That's because I have large numbers of fish, and I breed them.

If you had only one or two display tanks, then you would probably only need to worm your fish when your first receive them, or when you add new fish, and then maybe once a year.

[vitara1]

Thanks for your quick replies.

I am getting some fish from Marlon's Discus tomorrow and was considering getting some of their worming medicine as well. I might just worm all my fish since I am at it.

Thanks again,

Rob

[Merrilyn]

Marlon (boxters) has some pretty good looking fish on his website. Good luck with them :P

[vitara1]

Picked up my Discus off Boxters yesterday. To say I am very impressed is an understatement. The quality of fish he gave me far exceeded my expectations. Very happy.

[boxters]

Thanks for your kind words. Hope they bring you plenty of joy