Water Change Temp

trapperwolves

To achieve the levels of proper gh and kh for live-bearers I mix 50% RO water and 50% tap water. This gives me readings at about 10 to 12 gh and kh.

The tap water comes from a spicket before my water softener and comes out at 55 degrees f. The RO water comes from my RO filter and comes out at about 62 degrees f.

To bring the water temp up to 78 degrees I bought a plastic storage container that I typically keep about 26 gallons (13 gallons tap and 13 gallons RO) of water in at a time. I keep a 200w heater in the container along with a power head for water movement. There is also a pump I keep in there so when I need water I just flip a switch to pump some water out.

So now for my questions:
1) Am I crazy for doing all of this and is there an easier way to get water to a good temp before doing water changes? I know a couple people who do water changes directly from their tap and don't care about water temp. at all.
2) Every 4 to 6 weeks I start getting a slimy build up on the power cords, plastic hose, and sides of the container. Is there anything I can do to eliminate the slimy build up-maybe a filter or a uv light?

Please note that I do 50% water changes so really cold water would affect the aquarium water temp.

Sorry for such a long question and thanks for any responses in advance.

AbbeysDad

Is there a reason you just don't use your tap water at an appropriate temperature?

You might consider treating your RO water with Seachem Replenish and Neutral Regulator + Alkaline Regularor for hardness and pH and not using tap water at all? I am currently using treated DI water in 5g water bottles that I cycle a small heater between 24 hrs before the water change.

Short of using temperate tap water, you need to heat the water some. If you reduce the volume of your water changes, you could use room temperature water. After all, with good (or better) filtration, you don't really need 50% weekly.

trapperwolves

I have no control over the water temperature. I have to use water before my water softener which is straight out of a spicket in my basement with water coming directly from outside the house. The RO filter I have is under the kitchen sink and again there is no control over water temperature. It has cold water coming in only as hot water will damage the membrane of RO units and it filters to 1 faucet.

Because I have no control over water temperature using this method I am stuck with having to heat the water after mixing using the method described in my post above.

The reason I need to do 50% water changes is that my daughter raises fry in tanks that at times way over populated with baby fish. I need to do large water changes to keep the fish healthy until she finds homes for them or they get big enough to sell to the LFS. In our other tanks we typically do 35% water changes once per week. It is not unusual to have to do 50% water changes twice a week in the fry tank. Yes I know I need a bigger fry tank. But for now that is the situation.

Thanks for your your help AbbeysDad.