eTwee Posted August 8, 2009 Share Posted August 8, 2009 Hi guys I have 3 tanks. 5ft, 4ft, 3ft. all needing 15% water change a week. how do you guys efficiently do water change. it seems to take me a few hours a week. anyone got any good methods ? such as using piping.. taps or something? at the moment i use gravel siphon into a large 90 liter container. i empty that out then i fill that container up which takes a while. then i use a skateboard and drag the whole thing back to the tanks and refill using a bucket. looking forward to ur suggestions thakns adrian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbish84 Posted August 8, 2009 Share Posted August 8, 2009 hi adrian i have 12 tanks running and i use a long hose connected to a 3500ltr pump to to drain the water and then fill it up with the hose connected to the tap that only takes about 30 mins to do the lot it should only take u 10 mins Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eTwee Posted August 8, 2009 Author Share Posted August 8, 2009 hi bish thanks for hte reply i was going to do that however i was thinking what bout making the water dechlorinated? do you have that problem? also im guessing you skip the gravel clean? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Posted August 8, 2009 Share Posted August 8, 2009 I have 3 tanks. 5ft, 4ft, 3ft. all needing 15% water change a week. how do you guys efficiently do water change. it seems to take me a few hours a week. anyone got any good methods ? such as using piping.. taps or something? G'day Adrian Please have a look here for Bucketless Water Changes or Even Better install My Nearly Automatic Water Changer If you have any questions, ask away cya Matthew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mdk54 Posted August 8, 2009 Share Posted August 8, 2009 I Guess I'm lucky as my tank is right near a window.I just open the window and use some flexible 3in tube I got from bunnings to syphon water out onto the garden. Normally only takes about 10mins to drop 200L (about 50%). Then when I've done that, I put the hose in on slow, and use the water current from that to mix the salts and ph buffer into the water again. I can do the 'fill up' a lot faster, but I prefer to do it slow, as I feel it has less effect on the temperature. Cheers, Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbish84 Posted August 9, 2009 Share Posted August 9, 2009 i run all my tanks with no gravel and when i fill the tanks i just add prime and i never have a problem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crick13 Posted August 10, 2009 Share Posted August 10, 2009 hi , i have a 6 x2x2 and a 4 foot,,, i have a tank under my 6 foot that i fill the day before with a hose from my laundry. i leave a heater running in it over night and add the clorine nuetraliser. and the next day i connect the same hose to my gravel vacume and the other end in my toilet and clean both tanks . when finnished i connect the same hose to a pump i have in my water change tank and pump the new water back into my tanks and the jobs done. i live at the top of a 4th floor unit so this is the easiest method ive found to move that much water,,,,,,,, otherwise id be there for ever with a bucket ,,, hope this helps... good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ziad Posted August 10, 2009 Share Posted August 10, 2009 hi , i have a 6 x2x2 and a 4 foot,,, i have a tank under my 6 foot that i fill the day before with a hose from my laundry. i leave a heater running in it over night and add the clorine nuetraliser. and the next day i connect the same hose to my gravel vacume and the other end in my toilet and clean both tanks . when finnished i connect the same hose to a pump i have in my water change tank and pump the new water back into my tanks and the jobs done. i live at the top of a 4th floor unit so this is the easiest method ive found to move that much water,,,,,,,, otherwise id be there for ever with a bucket ,,, hope this helps... good luck! Please remember not to suck on the hose that you had in the toilet... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eTwee Posted August 11, 2009 Author Share Posted August 11, 2009 Hi guys thanks for the info, also to matt for his webiste some of you guys have suggested HOSE > TANK. For these methods i ask, what about cold water shock to fishes? and i guess if you have the tanks outside for ages they will lose chlorine yes? For draining, ill use your method Matt, with the SIPHON>HOSE ATTACHMENT>HOSE>GARDEN. But 1 thing, did u have any issues connecting your siphon to hose attachment? seems like it will leak easily. For filling, Im looking to do BATHROOM hose with heated water > tank. but then the water wont be dechlorinated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kilroy Posted August 11, 2009 Share Posted August 11, 2009 I use 220L drums for my water changes. I used to use a 1000L cube when I had 10 tanks going in the garage and I was using 1000L a week. It used to only take me an hour to do the whole 10 tanks. I add salts, buffers and I age my water for a couple of days, add a heater on the day of the change to get it up aroung 16-20C, and then do the change. To drain the tanks, I use a gravel syphon joined onto a garden hose. I drain the water out onto the lawn and into the garden. I use a submersible water pump in the drum with some flexible hose to pump the new water into the tank. I've never had a problem with the colder water, but I do heat it so the temperature difference is not too severe. The water out of the tap here is often in the single figures this time of year and I would be very hesitant to put water of that temperature straight in the tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mdk54 Posted August 12, 2009 Share Posted August 12, 2009 Hi guys thanks for the info, also to matt for his webiste some of you guys have suggested HOSE > TANK. For these methods i ask, what about cold water shock to fishes? and i guess if you have the tanks outside for ages they will lose chlorine yes? For draining, ill use your method Matt, with the SIPHON>HOSE ATTACHMENT>HOSE>GARDEN. But 1 thing, did u have any issues connecting your siphon to hose attachment? seems like it will leak easily. For filling, Im looking to do BATHROOM hose with heated water > tank. but then the water wont be dechlorinated. G'day Adrian, In regards to cold water shock, I guess it depends how much water you are doing at a time and how quickly. As I mentioned in my post, I only do it very slowly, so that while the temp is very slowly coming down, the heater is also working to warm it up. Touch wood, I have never had any issues in regards to this. Cheers, Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rapapa Posted August 12, 2009 Share Posted August 12, 2009 I drain mine out the nearest window onto the garden. I then hook up a hose to the kitchen tap (you can get adapters from the hardware that will fit onto the aerator on the tap). That way you can adjust temp. I add dechlor as its going in without an issue yet but you can always fill up the buckets at the tank and add it into the bucket as you go if you prefer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crick13 Posted August 12, 2009 Share Posted August 12, 2009 hi , i have a 6 x2x2 and a 4 foot,,, i have a tank under my 6 foot that i fill the day before with a hose from my laundry. i leave a heater running in it over night and add the clorine nuetraliser. and the next day i connect the same hose to my gravel vacume and the other end in my toilet and clean both tanks . when finnished i connect the same hose to a pump i have in my water change tank and pump the new water back into my tanks and the jobs done. i live at the top of a 4th floor unit so this is the easiest method ive found to move that much water,,,,,,,, otherwise id be there for ever with a bucket ,,, hope this helps... good luck! Please remember not to suck on the hose that you had in the toilet... no need to suck on hose when its connected to my gravel vacume,,, the diameter of the vac hose fits snugly into the hose , and the vac gets the flow goin for u Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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