Cold Water vs. Boiled Water

AirstoND · 05-30-2012, 04:23 AM

Would boiling tap water significantly increase dissolved carbonate for plant uptake?

Would it also reduce deposits on tank rim?

**jreich** · 05-30-2012, 04:39 AM

I think it would make more deposits on the rim bc its concentrating the solids into less liquid than when u started

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slavecorps · 05-30-2012, 05:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jreich

I think it would make more deposits on the rim bc its concentrating the solids into less liquid than when u started

Sent from my HTC Inspire 4G using Tapatalk 2

Agreed.

PlantedRich · 05-30-2012, 02:32 PM

It sounds like you are asking to do two things which are not possible at the same time. Boiling the water so that some of it is lost through evaporation will make the calcium percentage higher in the water left. But then that means you will get MORE calcium deposits from water drying on the tank rim.

Neither are worth the effort, however.

reignOfFred · 05-30-2012, 02:42 PM

All boiling does is kill off living organic properties - water boils off, all the salts and minerals are left behind. if you take the steam and use that as water, you would have what you are looking for - you would essentially have distilled water. You do have the option of using distilled or reverse osmisis water and revitalize it yourself so you can control the amounts of minerals and carbonates, but really only the hard core people and those with unusable tap/well water generally go with this.

Canuck · 05-30-2012, 04:12 PM

Quote:

Temporary Hardness
Temporary hardness is hardness that can be removed by boiling or by the addition of lime (calcium hydroxide). It is caused by a combination of calcium ions and bicarbonate ions in the water. By boiling the water, it promotes the formation of carbonate from the bicarbonate and will precipitate calcium carbonate (the limescale) out of solution, leaving water that is less hard after it has cooled.
When it has been heated, less carbon dioxide is able to dissolve into the water. Since there is not enough carbon dioxide around, the reaction cannot take place, and therefore the calcium carbonate will not "dissolve" as readily. Instead, the reaction is forced to re-establish equilibrium, and the solid calcium carbonate is formed. Heating water will remove hardness as long as the limescale that precipitates out is removed. After cooling, if enough time passes the water will pick up carbon dioxide from the air and the reaction will again proceed, allowing the calcium carbonate to "redissolve" in the water.

Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_th...#ixzz1wN0U9COs

Boiling water also removes all dissolved oxygen. Temporary hardness refers to the kH or carbonate hardness of water. If your water is hard due to sulphates/chlorides, it wouldn't even have this temporary effect on hardness.

AirstoND · 06-02-2012, 04:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PlantedRich

It sounds like you are asking to do two things which are not possible at the same time. Boiling the water so that some of it is lost through evaporation will make the calcium percentage higher in the water left. But then that means you will get MORE calcium deposits from water drying on the tank rim.

Neither are worth the effort, however.

This seems to be my consensus also. Although I should have probably said warmer instead boiling water

(I figured it would have also boiled off chloramine/chlorides)

**chad320** · 06-02-2012, 05:11 AM

Boiled water is actually very helpful, especially if you have very hard water. The trick is to allow it to cool so that all of the minerals that precipitate out of solution can settle to the bottom and only siphon off the top portion of the water. Boil some water and pour it into a clear jar and leave it overnight, you'll see all of the minerals at the bottom in the morning.

m8e · 06-02-2012, 09:56 AM

Yeah. Bring the water up to a boil, pour it into another container, and when it cool carefully siphon it into the tank. If you have really hard water you will now have sligtly softer water.

Or if you want harder water you can boil it to remove(evaporate) some of the water.

Both are usually a waste of money and energy.

**chad320** · 06-02-2012, 02:03 PM

On the same note of wasting time and energy, you can also get it slightly softer by freezing it and thawing it and siphoning it again the same way

05-30-2012, 04:23 AM	#1
AirstoND Wannabe Guru (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: NJ Posts: 1,189	Cold Water vs. Boiled Water Would boiling tap water significantly increase dissolved carbonate for plant uptake? Would it also reduce deposits on tank rim?

06-02-2012, 05:11 AM	#8
chad320 Planted Tank VIP (View User Tanks) PTrader: (101/100%) Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Spring Valley, IL Posts: 7,532	Boiled water is actually very helpful, especially if you have very hard water. The trick is to allow it to cool so that all of the minerals that precipitate out of solution can settle to the bottom and only siphon off the top portion of the water. Boil some water and pour it into a clear jar and leave it overnight, you'll see all of the minerals at the bottom in the morning. __________________ My 65g jungle October rain http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/ta...s-65g-new.html

06-02-2012, 02:03 PM	#10
chad320 Planted Tank VIP (View User Tanks) PTrader: (101/100%) Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Spring Valley, IL Posts: 7,532	On the same note of wasting time and energy, you can also get it slightly softer by freezing it and thawing it and siphoning it again the same way __________________ My 65g jungle October rain http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/ta...s-65g-new.html

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05-30-2012, 04:39 AM	#2
jreich Planted Tank Guru (View User Tanks) PTrader: (3/100%) Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: philadelphia Posts: 2,940	I think it would make more deposits on the rim bc its concentrating the solids into less liquid than when u started Sent from my HTC Inspire 4G using Tapatalk 2

05-30-2012, 02:32 PM	#4
PlantedRich Wannabe Guru (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Pflugerville, Tx Posts: 1,513	It sounds like you are asking to do two things which are not possible at the same time. Boiling the water so that some of it is lost through evaporation will make the calcium percentage higher in the water left. But then that means you will get MORE calcium deposits from water drying on the tank rim. Neither are worth the effort, however.

05-30-2012, 02:42 PM	#5
reignOfFred Planted Tank Enthusiast (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Calgary Posts: 703	All boiling does is kill off living organic properties - water boils off, all the salts and minerals are left behind. if you take the steam and use that as water, you would have what you are looking for - you would essentially have distilled water. You do have the option of using distilled or reverse osmisis water and revitalize it yourself so you can control the amounts of minerals and carbonates, but really only the hard core people and those with unusable tap/well water generally go with this.

06-02-2012, 09:56 AM	#9
m8e Planted Member (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Sweden Posts: 201	Yeah. Bring the water up to a boil, pour it into another container, and when it cool carefully siphon it into the tank. If you have really hard water you will now have sligtly softer water. Or if you want harder water you can boil it to remove(evaporate) some of the water. Both are usually a waste of money and energy.