Basic Water Changing Question

[reefgreenhorn]

I am VERY new to this and have what seems to me like a stupid question but with the sensitivity of the marine animals I thought I would ask.

When replacing water due to evaporation I have read on this board that using Distilled water is fine(no salt mix needed).
Dumb question number 1. Do you simply pour a gallon of it in the tank at room temp or do I need to heat it before I pour?

When performing 10-20% water changes, here I have to add salt mix and again I ask do I have to heat the water to 80 before adding to the tank?

Thanks and I look forward to when I can help someone with questions on this great board.

 

[HClH2OFish]

When making up my water for water changes, I prepare the water a day or so in advance...5 gal buckets from HomeDepot are great for this.
I add the salt, mix the water and then have an airstone in it to aerate and mix. I have an extra heater I add so it's the same temp as my tank.
Then after 1 or 2 days, I just do my water change and add straight from the bucket. Easy as pie

 

[WannaBeReefer]

Make up/Top off water for evaporation should be fresh water, distilled is fine. (Could be expensive ) Fresh water evaporates from your tank, so you add back fresh water. When doing water changes you remove salt water from the tank so you need to replace with salt water.

Once your tank is filled and salinity is good, mark your sump/tank with a water line. This way it will make it easy to know how much fresh water to add back into the system to keep your salinity in the acceptable range.

 

[ChrisRD]

As mentioned above, water change water should be temp matched to your system water.

When topping off evap, generally the quantity going in is so small you don't have to worry about temp differences.

HTH