# Adding room temperature water to tank while fish is in it?



## lmwaters (Apr 16, 2013)

Sorry if this has already been asked but I could not find a thread on it. 

I keep reading that you should not remove your fish from the tank when you do a water change because it will stress them out. So my question is, how do you add the new water to the tank without the temperature dropping? My room temperature water is around 70 degrees, so I am afraid that if I add it to the tank while the fish is in there the temp will drop quickly and harm my fish.

Presently when I do a water change I remove the fish, take out 50% water, add the new water, then let the tank sit for an hour or so until the water is back to normal temperature. Then add the fish back in slowly by letting him float in a cup on the surface for 45min or so while slowly adding some new water to the cup so he can adjust to it. It is kind of a long process. Is that not necessary? Can I just leave him in there while adding the new water? 

Also, I have a 5.5 gallon tank, heated, with no filter. So I plan to do 50% water changes every few days.

Thanks


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## sareena79 (Sep 10, 2012)

I was wondering the same thing. My last fish was real chill when I moved him around for water changes but this new one does NOT like to be taken out of his tank, he acts a damn fool lol and Im afraid hes gonna either give himself a stroke/heart attack or hurt himself flailing around like that in his holding "tank"...I try to get my tap water to around the same temp but its hard to tell ya know


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## Basement Bettas (May 12, 2012)

Well, I am probably going to be different from everybody else.. and remember I have a lot of fish and do not have time for things others do...

But my water is room temp in large trashcans. I have no issues do 90% water changes and adding the cooler water. In the wild a rain storm will drop water temps several degrees. So I don't worry about it. My house is also warmer than most.. 76* except at night.


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## sareena79 (Sep 10, 2012)

thats true...


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## JellOh (Mar 13, 2013)

Most people follow some pretty simple steps.
1) Ready some water that is the same temperature as the water in your tank
2) Add a water conditioner like Seachem's Prime to rid the water of harmful chlorine 
3) (optional) Take the fish out of his/her tank. His depends on how big the tank is, how much water you are taking out, and the temperament of your fish.
4) Use a gravel vacume to suck out the desired amount of water
5) Add the new water in carefully so as not to create a strong current that could upset the fish and send your decor into disarray
6) Re-add the fish if he/she was taken out
7) Dump the old water

Ta-da, a clean tank and a happy fish.


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## mermaid77 (Feb 24, 2013)

My brother keeps a heater in his bucket of clean water for his salt water tank...(which I'm thinking about doing myself as I would prefer to age the water too ) although he didn't bother to give it to me since I've been tanksitting for him for the past month while he's finishing renovating his new house. So...I resorted to using my own current method...I use two empty gallon jugs with those tape on thermometers that are only $2/ea on them and just run the tap until it shows it's 78*....I add conditioner, wait 10 min and pour it in (whole lot longer and painful process for salt water tanks, let me tell ya....:shock: as I have to then dump the water in another large bucket first, while this motorized siphon thing works to dissolve the salt. Beautiful fish, but I don't think I'd ever keep one of my own :roll. So far it's been pretty accurate for me...maybe off by one degree or so by the digital thermometer's reading...but not too bad, and most importantly, the fish don't seem to mind


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## Jayloo (Mar 13, 2013)

I have my babies at 86 degrees and I have heated aged water at 78-80 degrees that I do water change with. I'm sure the temp drops somewhere near to 82-83 degrees but they show no acclimation problems and they are only 3 week old fry...


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## bettacrazygirl86 (Jan 21, 2013)

I have a divided 10 gallon. Each time I do a water change, I cup them. They don't like it, but I think they wouldn't like the siphon and water adding more than the cups. I uproot all of my plants and move things around every time too, so I think they'd be really stressed if I left them in. I also unplug the heater, so I'm worried they'd get too cold. Better off in cups, I think. For my fish, that is.


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## lmwaters (Apr 16, 2013)

mermaid77 said:


> I use two empty gallon jugs with those tape on thermometers that are only $2/ea on them and just run the tap until it shows it's 78*....I add conditioner, wait 10 min and pour it in


I think I am going to try this...thanks everyone for the advice!


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## Jexx (Feb 2, 2013)

I have three 5.5g tanks. I leave my fish in. They are happier in their tanks than in a cup. I use a gravel vacuum. I move the decor around, vacuum the gravel and debris, siphon out 50% of the water at the same time. (Before starting I unplug the filter, heater and light for safety) Then I fill up a 4 gallon bucket with 3 gallons of tap water by combining the hot and cold to make it the same temp as the tank water. I add my conditioner and vitachem and then use the siphon to get it back into the tank. That way the water goes in slowly.


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## Myates (Aug 2, 2011)

It depends on the size of tank, filter, etc whether or not to remove a fish during a water change. 

If a fish is healthy it can go through a sudden drop/raise in temp as long as it's not too extreme- but a few degrees either way is fine. 

If anything, when you fill up the tank/bucket just use one of those glass thermometers to adjust the temp to get it close.


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## ryancalif (Mar 10, 2013)

I usually use the glass thermometer from the tank to set the water temperature.


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