Boiling the Water

xtn1179

Hi,

Just curious, what are the benefits of boiling the tap water before using it for water change in a freshwater aquarium setup?

Geomancer

Very little, you can boil water to remove the KH (Alkalinity) if you needed to for some reason.

Use of a water conditioner that detoxifies chlorine, chloramine, and heavy metals is all that is needed to make water safe for fish.

Mikaila31

Wouldn't boiling just increase the KH and GH?

xtn1179

the reason i asked is that some of the forums i've read, says that it lowers the hardness of the water. I live in southern california, Los Angeles as a matter of fact and the water parameters here are horrible, though my fishes are fine and plants are fine.

Though lowering the hardness of my water supposedly will promote faster plant and fish growth.

Tap Water
pH 8
GH 300
Alkalinity is 150

the only thing i've done with my water is add Prime when i do my water change which is once a week.

Geomancer

Boiling will reduce KH, but not really effect GH. GH is dissolved solids (minerals) that don't go anywhere when you boil.

To reduce GH (and also KH) the best option is to mix RO/DI water with tap. You can also use rain water, if you are not in too air polluted of an area which I imagine LA to not be stellar in that regard.

On the other hand, you have great water for live bearers who thrive in hard, basic water.

lorax84

Unless you are running a still and capturing/cooling the the steam, boiling would have no effect. You are better off doing what geomancer said and buying RO/DI water and mixing it with your water. Most aquarium stores sell RO for 30-50 cents a gallon.

xtn1179

thank you very much for the all the help. everyone's comments are most appreciated.

AbbeysDad

What, stop makin 'shine in order to distill some water? - never, you mus be nutso <hehe>
You might add a gallon or two of RO/DI or even bottled or distilled water with your water during water changes to lighten the load so to speak.