Water changes with a big tank

[sombunya]

I have Bluegills in a 100 and a 40 gallon tank. They are messy fish that generate lots of waste, especially since I feed them well.

I use the "python" type vacuum to remove Detritus and poo. I used to use buckets to fill them because although PRIME says it's ok to treat the entire volume of the tank it is better to treat only the new water.

What I have now is a 55 gallon plastic drum that I fill with water treated with PRIME. I then use a submersible pump for a Koi pond and pump the water through a (brand new) garden hose. It's kind of slow, but not too bad. And there's no spillage either. I do 25% changes on all my tanks twice a week.

I was just wondering what other folks here with big tanks do when it's water change time?

 

[iexiak]

i was actually wondering how i might go about this, since i have to hook my python up to my hose and the water is incredibly cold when it comes out...

my plan was this: get a really big bucket, or drum as you have. then ill fill with water purifier, and let sit (maybe with a heater) till it warms up to tank temperature. then use my old vacuum to get it back into the tank.

where did you acquire your drum? what material is it and how heavy?

 

[brian1973]

I fill striaght from the tap and add prime to treat the entire contents with no ill effect..i even do this with some more sensitive native species and have seen no ill effects

 

[Toam]

When I was running my 75 gallon, to be honest I used a gallon bucket I dedicated simply to water changes. I used a simple $15.00 gravel vacumm(small hose and an attachment for the gravel) to drain the tank into the bucket, than filled from the bathtub, checking the temp every bucket.

Took a while, but at least I knew the exact temp of each bucket going in and coming out. And I was doing 30% water changes bi-weekly at one point. All comes down to personal preference, ensuring the water is the right temp, and ensuring you use a good water treatment(Prime from my understanding is one of the best, and is what I use.)

As for the temp, your faucet's should have a hot and a cold side, just get the outgoing water to the right temp before you start filling anything.

 

[emmanuelchavez]

I just use a garden hose to pump out water on my 100g.... and then use the garden hose from the outside to fill it back up. I add Prime after it's full. There is very little temp fluctuation, since it doesn't stay too cold in Houston for very long.

 

[brian1973]

I just use a garden hose to pump out water on my 100g.... and then use the garden hose from the outside to fill it back up. I add Prime after it's full. There is very little temp fluctuation, since it doesn't stay too cold in Houston for very long.

HAHA..yea my tapwater on full blast cold is about the same temp as my tanks

But if your using a python thry to adjust the temp before you fill to get it as close to possible if your not in a warm climate.

 

[iexiak]

thats the problem for me, i can only hook it up to my garden hose...and the temperature here fluctuates so much that a garden hose doesnt seem to be the most reliable way to do it. I will probably end up buying totes and then puncturing holes in the lids (so i can keep the cat out, but still let the chlorine escape) and then priming them before i even start vacuuming the tank.

 

[brian1973]

thats the problem for me, i can only hook it up to my garden hose...and the temperature here fluctuates so much that a garden hose doesnt seem to be the most reliable way to do it. I will probably end up buying totes and then puncturing holes in the lids (so i can keep the cat out, but still let the chlorine escape) and then priming them before i even start vacuuming the tank.

Why cant you connect a python to a sink inside the house? I know when I had a waterbed the adaptors didnt fit my sink but with the python, which uses the same valve assembly came with the one I needed for my sinks.

 

[sombunya]

I fill straight from the tap and add prime to treat the entire contents with no ill effect..i even do this with some more sensitive native species and have seen no ill effects

I suppose that one cap full or two does not matter. I guess it's just personal preference.

where did you acquire your drum? what material is it and how heavy?

There is a sausage company about 10 miles from my home (I live near Los Angeles) and the casings come in theses barrels. The 55 gallon barrels are made of plastic and are very strong. They have good, tight fitting lids and the guy wants me to take as many as I can as he's over-loaded with them.

As far as temp goes, if you add the water slowly (as in a pump) and only add 25% will the temp swing that quickly, or that much in a large tank? I suppose some species are very sensitive to temp changes, especially tropicals.

 

[brian1973]

As far as temp goes, if you add the water slowly (as in a pump) and only add 25% will the temp swing that quickly, or that much in a large tank? I suppose some species are very sensitive to temp changes, especially tropicals.

figure 25% is 25 gallons so yes it will change the over all temp, in your case I dont think it will hurt so mush, my native tank when I lived in Colorado would drop up to 20 degrees over night with no ill effects.

 

[homebunnyj]

thats the problem for me, i can only hook it up to my garden hose...and the temperature here fluctuates so much that a garden hose doesnt seem to be the most reliable way to do it. I will probably end up buying totes and then puncturing holes in the lids (so i can keep the cat out, but still let the chlorine escape) and then priming them before i even start vacuuming the tank.

You can go to any hardware store and buy the adaptor to hook it up to your sink. I remove the aerator from my bathroom sink, screw the adaptor in, and I'm good to go. It's hardly any trouble at all, much less than trying to use the hose and barrels and such. All that really defeats the purpose of having spent to get a Python in the first place.

 

[widebody2]

I used to be worried about matching temperatures and getting rid of chlorine etc....Now since I have the tank in the wall it is very difficult to add water with a bucket. I also don't have faucets that will hook up to the python type water filler.

I have permanent 3/4 inch pvc drain and fill lines going into the tank. I fill with cold tap water. I do 15% water changes twice a week like this and when I vacuum I do a 30% change. I do not use prime either....just straight cold tap water. When I do the 30% change I use 4 half full buckets of warm water along with the cold tap, so the tank doesn't drop too much. The fish are perfect. The tank has been set up like this since Nov. 8. I haven't had any fish die or even get sick. I believe my tap is 52 degrees. Doing the 15% water change drops the temperature of the tank by about 4 degrees.

I don't believe there is enough chlorine in tap water to kill fish anyway. Tap water tests at nearly zero ppm chlorine. I own a pool company and we have a digital chlorine tester. I have tested tap water all over long island and haven't seen even .15 ppm anywhere on Long Island. Obviously you can't just fill a tank with straight tap and drop fish in but I don't believe it is the chlorine that kills them.

I have personally witnessed bull frogs living in water with 3-5ppm chlorine for an entire summer. That is about 25 times more chlorine than tap. That was also 4 months...not a few days before the chlorine dissipates as it would in a tank. Also I have seen algae still grow in water that has over 10ppm chlorine. I am sure most will disagree but I see no reason to let your buckets of water sit for 24 hours or add anything

Just say there is .15ppm chlorine in your tap...which there is not even. Lets say you do a 25% water change. That would make your total ppm chlorine about .04. There is no way that is enough chlorine to kill anything....not even the most delicate fish or bacteria.

 

[Chris_A]

I've actually heard something about this... I believe the person who told me had read it in a Barr Report (could be wrong though, this was a few months ago and I'm not signed up to read his reports). That said... I still wouldn't recommend it, just personal preferance. Not only that but the majority of urban water supply (in Canada anyway, don't know about the stats in the US) actually use Chloramines which don't outgas anywhere near as easily as Chlorine. The risk of a build up is enough to keep me using Prime . Not only that, but the cost of some Prime compaired to the potential risk of losing fish/corals is well worth it IMO.

Chris

 

[bmoraski]

You can go to any hardware store and buy the adaptor to hook it up to your sink. I remove the aerator from my bathroom sink, screw the adaptor in, and I'm good to go. It's hardly any trouble at all, much less than trying to use the hose and barrels and such. All that really defeats the purpose of having spent to get a Python in the first place.

Curious,
how much hose do you use to go from your bathroom sink to your tank ?

 

[homebunnyj]

Heheh... about three feet these days... and maybe 20 feet for the other one. Before I moved, when I bought my Python, I had to buy it plus a 25' extension to reach my furthest tank. (Is that 50'? I don't remember how long the Python is.) I was running 3 55's, 2 29's, a 20, a 10, and a 2 gallon tank at the time. Now I run a 29, a 55, and a 2.5... and the pond right outside the back door.

Why do you ask?

 

[bmoraski]

im TIRED of BUCKETS ! LOL
im only about 25-35 feet from nearest bathroom downstairs tank
i figure ill get the 50 foot ( upstairs tank is a little farther )
it just seems the best way to go

 

[BlueStraggler]

just a thought Bryan but if outside is closer than your bathroom you can dump that water outside and it would be good for a garden if you have one.
You wouldn't have to feel like you are doing something wrong.
I have a python but I don't use it to refill the tank because its hard to get the temp right(It has to be attached to the sink before you turn the water on).
Buckets may be the way to go especially for the smaller tanks.

 

[thanatos0203]

what i do is have a vacuum going while im filling it with water at the same time till the ammonia is at zero, or until ive gotten all the waste, its takes no time at all and is so easy

 

[homebunnyj]

It isn't that hard to adjust the temp, really.

• You run the water through the Python as if you were siphoning, only you have it shut off at the end of the hose with the little lever so it won't keep sucking out your tank.
  
• You stick the thermometer under the water flow, adjust until it matches the tank temp, then push up and turn the thing to switch it from siphon to refill, then open the valve at the end of the hose.
  
• Pour some dechlor in the tank around where the refill water is flowing in, and periodically check the water temp by sticking your hand in the tank and feeling if the outflowing water is close to the tank water's temp.

That's all. Really.

You'd rather lug buckets full of water, risk splashing your floors and clothes, instead of this simple little procedure that takes less time than running a single bucket of water? Why would anybody spend all that money on a Python and still carry buckets???

I'm not trying to be rude, I'm just incredulous.

Learn to use your Python and you will never go back.

 

[sombunya]

I don't believe there is enough chlorine in tap water to kill fish anyway. Tap water tests at nearly zero ppm chlorine. I own a pool company and we have a digital chlorine tester. I have tested tap water all over long island and haven't seen even .15 ppm anywhere on Long Island.

I work as a water treatment plant operator for LADWP and use one of these in the field. This is a colorimetric type that uses a reagent. Very accurate. Not sure what the rules about "free chlorine residual" are in New York but the California Dept. of Public Health mandates a minimum .2 ppm free Chlorine residual at the furthest point in the distribution system. It is always well above that. In many of our processes we dose 2.0 ppm up to 2.5 ppm. While there is demand in the system I've personally tested 1.75 ppm from a restaurant tap in Los Angeles. The tap water at my house (San Gabriel Valley Water Company) is usually at around .8 ppm. When we de-Chlorinate a main the water must not contain more than .05 ppm before it goes into a storm drain. Bad for fish the D.P.H. says.

I have personally witnessed bull frogs living in water with 3-5ppm chlorine for an entire summer. That is about 25 times more chlorine than tap. That was also 4 months...not a few days before the chlorine dissipates as it would in a tank.

Bull Frogs do not have gills. That is what Chlorine attacks on a fish. By the way, the Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) set by the USEPA for Chlorine in drinking water is 4 ppm. That means that water containing 4 parts per million or less free chlorine is considered "safe to drink". It may not taste very pleasant but it is safe to drink.

Also I have seen algae still grow in water that has over 10ppm chlorine.

I have had a pool for 18 years at my home (unfortunately). When I keep a minimum 3.0 ppm free chlorine residual there is no algae at all. I can tell if the Chlorine is low when algae starts forming in the shaded areas.

Chloramines? We have two stations that treat with them and I can tell you all about that process. The use of PRIME is definitely advised.