Water Change Fish Loss?

It also takes longer, and waist salt.

The way I do water changes, is I make the new salt
water slightly saltier than the aquarium water, then
pump the new water into the aquarium into a sock at
the bottom of the tank. The new water stays at the
bottom, and the old water goes over the overflow. I
also hook a hose to the side output valve of the
return pump plumbing, so I can at the same time,
pump old water from the sump down the drain in the
bath tub. Salt water works great for the septic
tank. So the water in the aquarium does not drop,
except for a tiny bit because there is less water
flowing in the tank to keep the water higher than
the overflow. I can do a 50% water change very
easily this way.

Wayne Sallee



wolfdogg wrote on 11/27/2007 2:47 PM:
i call it the stress free method,

you siphon your tank into your water change container that has fresh
mixed salt water, and simultaneously you take second siphon hose and
siphon the water change container into the sump(assuming the sumps on
the bottom), you need to adjust the hoses with a Kink, or Knot in
them, or simply raise or lower the water change container until the
flow reaches an equilibrium. Then the sump receives water at the same
rate as the tank loses it. its the way i learned from Marc. this way
your tank water level doesn't drop at all, and anything sucked up
will end up in the bucket consequentially.
this way is better than siphoning out water, having your Weir stop or
your water level drop, then pouring water back in which slightly
stresses the creatures, then having to restart the flow again.
some setups wont have the weir (u tube) problem, others will, but
overall its a stress free way to do a water change.

"Wayne Sallee" wrote in message
...
It also takes longer, and waist salt.

The way I do water changes, is I make the new salt water slightly saltier
than the aquarium water, then pump the new water into the aquarium into a
sock at the bottom of the tank. The new water stays at the bottom, and the
old water goes over the overflow. I also hook a hose to the side output
valve of the return pump plumbing, so I can at the same time, pump old
water from the sump down the drain in the bath tub. Salt water works great
for the septic tank.

salt isn't particularly good for a septic tank. figure if you're using a
bucket of salt in a year, and it all goes into the tank, where does it go
from there? a lot of time it's still in there, or in your field, and it
doesn't do any good for the bacteria that should be in the tank.

i use mine for killing weeds in the driveway. however, you have to watch
where the salt will migrate to during rains. in az, that doesn't happen
frequently.

So the water in the aquarium does not drop, except for a tiny bit because
there is less water flowing in the tank to keep the water higher than the
overflow. I can do a 50% water change very easily this way.

Wayne Sallee


regards,
charlie
cave creek, az

Bacteria still grows just fine in the septic tank,
just like it does in our aquariums, and the salt
kills the tree roots that try to grow in, and clog
the drain lines, assuming you do enough volume in
salt water for this. It's kept my septic system
going well for many years.

Wayne Sallee



charlie wrote on 11/28/2007 12:57 PM:
"Wayne Sallee" wrote in message
...
It also takes longer, and waist salt.

The way I do water changes, is I make the new salt water slightly saltier
than the aquarium water, then pump the new water into the aquarium into a
sock at the bottom of the tank. The new water stays at the bottom, and the
old water goes over the overflow. I also hook a hose to the side output
valve of the return pump plumbing, so I can at the same time, pump old
water from the sump down the drain in the bath tub. Salt water works great
for the septic tank.

salt isn't particularly good for a septic tank. figure if you're using a
bucket of salt in a year, and it all goes into the tank, where does it go
from there? a lot of time it's still in there, or in your field, and it
doesn't do any good for the bacteria that should be in the tank.

i use mine for killing weeds in the driveway. however, you have to watch
where the salt will migrate to during rains. in az, that doesn't happen
frequently.

So the water in the aquarium does not drop, except for a tiny bit because
there is less water flowing in the tank to keep the water higher than the
overflow. I can do a 50% water change very easily this way.

Wayne Sallee


regards,
charlie
cave creek, az

Wayne Sallee wrote:
It also takes longer, and waist salt.

The way I do water changes, is I make the new salt water slightly
saltier than the aquarium water, then pump the new water into the
aquarium into a sock at the bottom of the tank. The new water stays at
the bottom, and the old water goes over the overflow. I also hook a hose
to the side output valve of the return pump plumbing, so I can at the
same time, pump old water from the sump down the drain in the bath tub.

Then you would add fresh water to the tank to get the salinity right again?

George Patterson
Worry doesn't improve the future; it just ruins the present.

Well, let's say, that the salinity in the tank was
1.024. Then I would make the new water 1.025 to
1.026. Doing a 50% water change would change the
tank water to 1.0245 to 1.025.

So when doing the water change, I would end with the
sump water level slightly lower, where the sump
water level would be at that salinity. I drip lime
water to maintain water levels, so that will slowly
bring the water level back to normal position.

If I am going to do a water change, and I feel that
the tank needs more fresh water, then I add some
fresh water, and then do the water change. I use
well water, so it's cheap.

Now that I have both well water, and city water, I
will eventually hook up a RO unit to the city water,
one of these days. :-) The well water is so high in
iron, that I don't want to hook up a RO unit to
that. But my well water works great for the
aquariums. It's also very high in hydrogen sulfide,
which is deadly for the fish. But that degases very
quickly in the storage bins, and the iron
precipitates out.

Wayne Sallee



George Patterson wrote on 11/28/2007 10:41 PM:
Wayne Sallee wrote:
It also takes longer, and waist salt.

The way I do water changes, is I make the new salt water slightly
saltier than the aquarium water, then pump the new water into the
aquarium into a sock at the bottom of the tank. The new water stays at
the bottom, and the old water goes over the overflow. I also hook a
hose to the side output valve of the return pump plumbing, so I can at
the same time, pump old water from the sump down the drain in the bath
tub.

Then you would add fresh water to the tank to get the salinity right again?

George Patterson
Worry doesn't improve the future; it just ruins the present.