Hot water heater question

[Will Billy]

I cant remember where i seen it, but i read somewhere somebody was recommending using only cold tap for aquarium water and to not use hot tap where water has been through your water heater. Is there any validity to this? Or is this some made up pseudo science?

Edited January 17, 2021 by Will Billy

[ScottieB]

I’ve heard the same thing, I think it stems from hot water pulling more minerals from copper pipes. Not sure how valid that is anymore. Honestly I mix in some hot water during water changes in my fish room to get  the temp about 75f and never had any problems,

 

[lefty o]

two possible reasons, neither of which hold any water. 1, water heaters have a zinc anode in them. it does nothing to your water so no concern. second some places plumb water softeners only through the hot water side of the plumbing, and it does remove hardness from your water, but most people are more concerned with the salt, which is also a non issue as so little salt makes its way into the water. i personally use both hot, and cold water and mix to get to approximately tank temperature to avoid shocking the fish with cold water.

[Daniel]

7 hours ago, Will Billy said:

I cant remember where i seen it, but i read somewhere somebody was recommending using only cold tap for aquarium water and to not use hot tap where water has been through your water heater. Is there any validity to this? Or is this some made up pseudo science?

Might it have been this post from @Coronal Mass Ejection Carl?

 

[Coronal Mass Ejection Carl]

Is corrosion in drinking water systems a problem?

If not then all the concern over "heavy metals" is unjustified.

As well as the corrosion control programs implemented by municipal drinking water plants.

 

[lefty o]

LOL people worry about what's in their hot water heater, dont dare ever open up your pipes, as you would be horrified in most cases.

[Coronal Mass Ejection Carl]

Pipes are better than pipes plus water heater.

[Will Billy]

Thanks for the input. Yeah i had heard something to the affect of heavy metals and that its especially bad for invertebrates like shrimp and snails. I wasnt sure, being cold outside my water hose froze up recently and i had to carry 5 gallon buckets up and down the stairs. I normally pre-heat my water with extra tank heaters, and was curious about using the hot tap to achieve the same goal. Just wanted to make sure my hot water tank wasnt going to hurt anything

[Ben_RF]

On 1/17/2021 at 12:44 AM, lefty o said:

two possible reasons, neither of which hold any water. 1, water heaters have a zinc anode in them. it does nothing to your water so no concern. second some places plumb water softeners only through the hot water side of the plumbing, and it does remove hardness from your water, but most people are more concerned with the salt, which is also a non issue as so little salt makes its way into the water. i personally use both hot, and cold water and mix to get to approximately tank temperature to avoid shocking the fish with cold water.

Just saw this thread, so a bit late to the game.  So there are different types of anode rods.  Depending on the type of heater you are buying and areas of country will very on what type of anode rod that you get.  The most common anode rod you will encounter is a zinc anode rod; but what is interesting about that is 90-95% of the it is actually aluminum while 5%-10% typically is zinc.  The second most common will be magnessium.  

[Ben_RF]

If a water heater is properly serviced, then you really shouldn't have to worry about build up.  Most people don't flush their water heater units, which is a crying shame.  By annually flushing your unit and servicing it, you should be able to meet or extend past the expected life expectancy of your water heater unit. 

Most tank style units on the market today have a life expectancy of 8 to 12 years.  Flushing your unit removes the majority of the build up in tank style units that may get passed along to your tanks.  In regards to tankless units, you particularly need to flush them annually in most areas in the country or you will drastically reduce its life. In regards to build up, unless you go years without flushing it, you really don't have to worry about to much build up getting passed on. 

Note, if you haven't flushed a tankless in the first five years of its life you most likely don't want to flush the unit as it is most likely to far damaged and could further complicate damages if you go and flush it.  In certain instances technical support for your unit may advise flushing an older unit that has been flushed when the unit begins to fail as an effort to resolve an issue before the unit completely dies.  In regards to tank style units, also as a general rule if you haven't flushed it in the first five years of its life, you may run the risk of clogging up the valve to drain the unit.  

If you would like a professional to flush your unit, then expect to pay anywhere between $80 - $140 around the country.  The company I work for, we charge $129 but that includes a full checkup of the system.    

It is generally wise when flushing your units to use chemicals to flush.  In most cases white vinegar or cleaning vinegar is comparable to most chemicals you can buy on the market.   You generally can get away with tank style units not to use anything, but in my personal opinion you get a lot more out of using a chemical like vinegar.  I generally use 1 gallon of white vinegar per 20 gallons on my water heater in my home.  

Flushing your unit, whether tankless or tank style (traditional and hybrid/heat pump) is pretty easy to do yourself and takes about 30 minutes or less.  There are tons of videos on youtube and resources on the internet to show you how to do it..  Its really not hard at all.