Easy Water Changes

Sorry, I thought I'd write about the way I solved my water change problems,
but it got a bit LONG! I have 5 tanks in different locations within the
house

I wanted to do this but couldn't find a hose coupling to fit our kitchen
faucet. Also I wanted to ensure the water temp was as close as poss to the
tank water, and with hot & cold taps you'd loose your setting if you turned
the taps off to attach the hose. Then there was the matter of needing a 20m
hose to get to my various tanks, and the logistics of siphoning, and storing
the tube, without splashing water in the house, keeping my wife happy.

In NZ many homes have "Supertubs" in the laundry. These have a detachable
water outlet, much like a detachable shower head with H&C supply. (You
could use the shower as a water supply too) I tee'd off this tube (in the
cabinet underneath) and added a tap to each outlet and a hose coupling to
connect my hose to. ( from the gardening section at the local hardware
shop).

I needed a 20m hose to run to the tank furthest from the laundry. The hose
has a tap at each end (right at the end to minimise mess), and is stored
full of water. There is also a hose coupling at one end and suction cups at
the other. ( I keep water in the hose so that it starts the siphon next
time, and because getting the water out is potentially messy ) The water
stored is always clean chlorinated water, because the last step from the
previous week was to refill the tanks. The stored water never ends up in the
tank as the first job the following week is to siphon out. It is usually
only there for a week.

To do a water change, I put one end ( with suction cups) into a tank, and
open the tap at that end, then take the other end to a drain outside and
open that end. Water siphons out. When enough's out, I close the tap at the
aquarium end only and take the hose to the next aquarium, immerse and open
the tap to start the flow. At the last tank, I leave the tap on in the
aquarium but turn off the drain end. I take this end to the laundry and
click it to the hose coupling. I adjust the temp of the water coming out of
the supertub and then open the taps underneath to direct the flow down the
hose into the aquarium, and (almost) close the tap to the supertub outlet.
When the first tank is full, I close the tap at the aquarium end and move
that end to the next. When finished, turn the water off, close all the taps
on the hose line and fully open the one going to the supertub, and put the
hose away.

This has saved me a lot of time, and I can now do the maintenance on the
tanks one evening, rather than on the weekend

Leong



"~Vicki ~" wrote in message
...
I think they are talking about plumbing from cold water only taps, like
from the garden or the garage, thoug if I was going to go to the trouble
of permanently plumbing water into a tank, I would probably try to make
it a hot/cold supply.

That is exactly what I meant. And for that reason I take my water out
of the tap in the kitchen which is the proper temp for my tank.

Vicki

Visit me on line at http://shamrock4u.250free.com

Sorry Bob K, didn't realize you were the expert about keeping fish...

I bow to your oh-so-ever-abundant-knowledge....



"Bob K." wrote in message
...
Often, hot water heaters have more metals in them and some of them can,
not
always, but can get into the water... I've only heard of iron(which may
or
may not be bad) can come in the water from the hot water heater... but I
was
told that by a reefer, so whether it has any bearing on FW tanks, I can't
say...

Calcium can be another story in and of itself....

Oh my gosh.. Nearly 50 years of doing the wrong thing..
Will my fish ever forgive me?

Oh.. wait, you were TOLD that .. Ahha, was that a
goldfish keeper?


Bob

Exactly like my earlier fear of tapwater chlorine instantly killing
my fish. In fact I don't even put dechlorinator on some of my
Central American Cichlid tanks. Have we just busted a whole
section of the aquarist industry there?
And I utilised the same hose techniques as you did.
I actually place one end of the hose inside my tank,
turn on the tap and pull out the hose when the
whole length of the hose is filled w/ water. When you
pull out the hose from the tap mouth, gravity will suck
your tank water down.


"Pokey" wrote in message
t...
I'm presently using a much easier way to do the weekly water changes in my
tank. Instead of dealing with filling buckets of water I just use a garden
hose siphon to take out about 50% of the water. Then I just connect the
hose
and add the water back in. I add a couple of capfuls of dechlorinator
while
I'm adding the water. I've never done this in the past fearing that the
chlorine would still be present and kill my fish. The water temperature
after the addition drops from 78F to 74F but the two heaters bring it back
up within a few hours.

It doesn't seem to affect my fish using this method and it's a whole lot
easier than the bucket method. Anybody else use this technique? Comments?

Python makes a product to aid in draining & filling. I just use gravity
when draining.

--
Bob Alston

bobalston9 AT aol DOT com
"alex crouvier" wrote in message
...

Exactly like my earlier fear of tapwater chlorine instantly killing
my fish. In fact I don't even put dechlorinator on some of my
Central American Cichlid tanks. Have we just busted a whole
section of the aquarist industry there?
And I utilised the same hose techniques as you did.
I actually place one end of the hose inside my tank,
turn on the tap and pull out the hose when the
whole length of the hose is filled w/ water. When you
pull out the hose from the tap mouth, gravity will suck
your tank water down.


"Pokey" wrote in message
t...
I'm presently using a much easier way to do the weekly water changes in
my
tank. Instead of dealing with filling buckets of water I just use a
garden
hose siphon to take out about 50% of the water. Then I just connect the
hose
and add the water back in. I add a couple of capfuls of dechlorinator
while
I'm adding the water. I've never done this in the past fearing that the
chlorine would still be present and kill my fish. The water temperature
after the addition drops from 78F to 74F but the two heaters bring it
back
up within a few hours.

It doesn't seem to affect my fish using this method and it's a whole lot
easier than the bucket method. Anybody else use this technique?
Comments?

and for me, I never have to do any maintenance.







"Leong Goh" wrote in message ...
Sorry, I thought I'd write about the way I solved my water change problems,
but it got a bit LONG! I have 5 tanks in different locations within the
house

I wanted to do this but couldn't find a hose coupling to fit our kitchen
faucet. Also I wanted to ensure the water temp was as close as poss to the
tank water, and with hot & cold taps you'd loose your setting if you turned
the taps off to attach the hose. Then there was the matter of needing a 20m
hose to get to my various tanks, and the logistics of siphoning, and storing
the tube, without splashing water in the house, keeping my wife happy.

In NZ many homes have "Supertubs" in the laundry. These have a detachable
water outlet, much like a detachable shower head with H&C supply. (You
could use the shower as a water supply too) I tee'd off this tube (in the
cabinet underneath) and added a tap to each outlet and a hose coupling to
connect my hose to. ( from the gardening section at the local hardware
shop).

I needed a 20m hose to run to the tank furthest from the laundry. The hose
has a tap at each end (right at the end to minimise mess), and is stored
full of water. There is also a hose coupling at one end and suction cups at
the other. ( I keep water in the hose so that it starts the siphon next
time, and because getting the water out is potentially messy ) The water
stored is always clean chlorinated water, because the last step from the
previous week was to refill the tanks. The stored water never ends up in the
tank as the first job the following week is to siphon out. It is usually
only there for a week.

To do a water change, I put one end ( with suction cups) into a tank, and
open the tap at that end, then take the other end to a drain outside and
open that end. Water siphons out. When enough's out, I close the tap at the
aquarium end only and take the hose to the next aquarium, immerse and open
the tap to start the flow. At the last tank, I leave the tap on in the
aquarium but turn off the drain end. I take this end to the laundry and
click it to the hose coupling. I adjust the temp of the water coming out of
the supertub and then open the taps underneath to direct the flow down the
hose into the aquarium, and (almost) close the tap to the supertub outlet.
When the first tank is full, I close the tap at the aquarium end and move
that end to the next. When finished, turn the water off, close all the taps
on the hose line and fully open the one going to the supertub, and put the
hose away.

This has saved me a lot of time, and I can now do the maintenance on the
tanks one evening, rather than on the weekend

Leong



"~Vicki ~" wrote in message
...
I think they are talking about plumbing from cold water only taps, like
from the garden or the garage, thoug if I was going to go to the trouble
of permanently plumbing water into a tank, I would probably try to make
it a hot/cold supply.

That is exactly what I meant. And for that reason I take my water out
of the tap in the kitchen which is the proper temp for my tank.

Vicki

Visit me on line at http://shamrock4u.250free.com

we're glad chip.... yippee....
"chip" wrote in message
om...
and for me, I never have to do any maintenance.







"Leong Goh" wrote in message
...
Sorry, I thought I'd write about the way I solved my water change
problems,
but it got a bit LONG! I have 5 tanks in different locations within the
house

I wanted to do this but couldn't find a hose coupling to fit our
kitchen
faucet. Also I wanted to ensure the water temp was as close as poss to
the
tank water, and with hot & cold taps you'd loose your setting if you
turned
the taps off to attach the hose. Then there was the matter of needing a
20m
hose to get to my various tanks, and the logistics of siphoning, and
storing
the tube, without splashing water in the house, keeping my wife happy.

In NZ many homes have "Supertubs" in the laundry. These have a
detachable
water outlet, much like a detachable shower head with H&C supply. (You
could use the shower as a water supply too) I tee'd off this tube (in
the
cabinet underneath) and added a tap to each outlet and a hose coupling
to
connect my hose to. ( from the gardening section at the local hardware
shop).

I needed a 20m hose to run to the tank furthest from the laundry. The
hose
has a tap at each end (right at the end to minimise mess), and is stored
full of water. There is also a hose coupling at one end and suction cups
at
the other. ( I keep water in the hose so that it starts the siphon next
time, and because getting the water out is potentially messy ) The water
stored is always clean chlorinated water, because the last step from the
previous week was to refill the tanks. The stored water never ends up in
the
tank as the first job the following week is to siphon out. It is
usually
only there for a week.

To do a water change, I put one end ( with suction cups) into a tank,
and
open the tap at that end, then take the other end to a drain outside and
open that end. Water siphons out. When enough's out, I close the tap at
the
aquarium end only and take the hose to the next aquarium, immerse and
open
the tap to start the flow. At the last tank, I leave the tap on in the
aquarium but turn off the drain end. I take this end to the laundry and
click it to the hose coupling. I adjust the temp of the water coming
out of
the supertub and then open the taps underneath to direct the flow down
the
hose into the aquarium, and (almost) close the tap to the supertub
outlet.
When the first tank is full, I close the tap at the aquarium end and
move
that end to the next. When finished, turn the water off, close all the
taps
on the hose line and fully open the one going to the supertub, and put
the
hose away.

This has saved me a lot of time, and I can now do the maintenance on the
tanks one evening, rather than on the weekend

Leong



"~Vicki ~" wrote in message
...
I think they are talking about plumbing from cold water only taps,
like
from the garden or the garage, thoug if I was going to go to the
trouble
of permanently plumbing water into a tank, I would probably try to
make
it a hot/cold supply.

That is exactly what I meant. And for that reason I take my water out
of the tap in the kitchen which is the proper temp for my tank.

Vicki

Visit me on line at http://shamrock4u.250free.com

Ahhhh......the rewards of keeping fake fish

Hey Chip,

If you kept your fish in oil, it wouldn't evaporate as readily and
would be able to do even less maintenance.


Mark
http://www.cichliddomain.com


"RedForeman ©®" wrote in message
...
we're glad chip.... yippee....
"chip" wrote in message
om...
and for me, I never have to do any maintenance.

There was a time not so long ago when we galls were taught to not take
hot water out of the tap to use for cooking. The reasoning behind it
was the possibility of poisoning the family with lead. The experts
thought that hot water would remove some of the lead in the joining
compound and it would be in the water which we cook in. For this reason
I always let my hot water run for a min before using it or I just use
cold. Times have changed tho and most all joining compound used for
interior pipes are lead free and these days a lot of homes are built
with pcv pipes. Water tanks have also come a long ways and many of the
old ones which my friend Red spoke of have gone by way of the dinosaur.

Good tip tho when using hot water is to let it run a min before mixing
with the cold and toping off the tank.

Vicki

Often, hot water heaters have more metals in them and some of them can,
not always, but can get into the water... I've only heard of iron(which
may or may not be bad) can come in the water from the hot water
heater... but I was told that by a reefer, so whether it has any bearing
on FW tanks, I can't say...
Calcium can be another story in and of itself....

Visit me on line at http://shamrock4u.250free.com

*rotflmao* Suppose OTS might be taking place? If not now, perhaps soon..

Tim..


"Mark" wrote in message
...
Ahhhh......the rewards of keeping fake fish

Hey Chip,

If you kept your fish in oil, it wouldn't evaporate as readily and
would be able to do even less maintenance.


Mark
http://www.cichliddomain.com


"RedForeman ©®" wrote in message
...
we're glad chip.... yippee....
"chip" wrote in message
om...
and for me, I never have to do any maintenance.

When I had six tanks up and going, I would set aside 15 to mins every second
day to vaccum and change water.. It never took me long to do the
maintanence, and my shrubs quite enjoyed the extra water they were getting..
winter and summer.. I fill up two 7 gallon water containers and let the
water sit over night and to let it stabilize to room temp.. ( of course the
holding tanks were filled with warmer than room temp water and the tops were
left off to let the fumes of nasty chemicals disappear ).. Of course when I
get my own place and settle down I will incorperate a pair of 55g food grade
plastic drums for this purpose.. ( aprox 1m/3ft of the floor.. )

Tim..

"Bob Alston" wrote in message
news:BOAib.68433$Ms2.61164@fed1read03...
Python makes a product to aid in draining & filling. I just use gravity
when draining.

--
Bob Alston

bobalston9 AT aol DOT com
"alex crouvier" wrote in message
...

Exactly like my earlier fear of tapwater chlorine instantly killing
my fish. In fact I don't even put dechlorinator on some of my
Central American Cichlid tanks. Have we just busted a whole
section of the aquarist industry there?
And I utilised the same hose techniques as you did.
I actually place one end of the hose inside my tank,
turn on the tap and pull out the hose when the
whole length of the hose is filled w/ water. When you
pull out the hose from the tap mouth, gravity will suck
your tank water down.


"Pokey" wrote in message
t...
I'm presently using a much easier way to do the weekly water changes
in
my
tank. Instead of dealing with filling buckets of water I just use a
garden
hose siphon to take out about 50% of the water. Then I just connect
the
hose
and add the water back in. I add a couple of capfuls of dechlorinator
while
I'm adding the water. I've never done this in the past fearing that
the
chlorine would still be present and kill my fish. The water
temperature
after the addition drops from 78F to 74F but the two heaters bring it
back
up within a few hours.

It doesn't seem to affect my fish using this method and it's a whole
lot
easier than the bucket method. Anybody else use this technique?
Comments?