Storing Water

[jc102]

This may sound like overkill, but I am wanting to store my tap water in a large bucket or trash can for my water changes. I was thinking about adding a heater and dosing it with Prime so that it's ready to go when I do my changes. I will use my pond pump to push the water into the tank when it's time to refill.

Heres why I want to do this. I had a bad knee and leg injury which resulted in me having surgery. I have recovered from surgery (it's been a few months) but I was left with debilitating leg pain. It only emerges when I am walking/standing for more than 5 minutes or so. When I'm resting or sitting, it doesn't bother me. I'm looking at another surgery to repair some nerve damage to fix the problem, but it looks like I will be stuck like this for a few more months.

It takes me about 2 hours to do a water change on my tanks. I used to get it done in about 30 minutes. This is because I have to stop and take weight off of my knee every 5 minutes or so, let the pain subside, and go again for 5 more minutes. Then repeat. It's horrible and very discouraging!

I want to eliminate some of the more complicated steps, like connecting hoses to my sink, fiddling with the water temp on the faucet, and carrying the buckets to the tank. Note: I tried both an Aqueon and Python water changer, but my water pressure is too low and they would not work.

I tried using a stool and sitting down at the sink when setting things up, but that wasn't ideal as I have a wide counter and short arms.

What are your thoughts on storing pretreated and heated tap water for water changes? Do you have any other recommendations or ideas for me to try until I am back on my feet? Ideally, I'd like to fill up a big enough bin to do 3 or 4 water changes, but I'm not sure if the treated water would be good after a few days.

 

[coralbandit]

I have 4 Rubbermaid garbage cans with water in the.
1[44g] is for RO no DI it also has the lid on it,1 [32g ] is for tap with heat and airstone,1 [32g ] is for RO no DI with heat and airstone and the last 32g is for RO/DI.This has lid on it also .
I use a heater and airstone in 2 of them.
Water can last indefinitely like this although I use it up pretty quick.
I have the 'cart/dolly' by Rubbermaid on 3 of them and my 44 g barrel is elevated on a water heater stand so I can fill other barrels from it.
I have always changed a lot of water but doing all this makes large water changes easier on the fish and me.
I can change out 50g in my 180 in about 5 minutes with the barrel and pump .

 

[jc102]

I have 4 Rubbermaid garbage cans with water in the.
1[44g] is for RO no DI it also has the lid on it,1 [32g ] is for tap with heat and airstone,1 [32g ] is for RO no DI with heat and airstone and the last 32g is for RO/DI.This has lid on it also .
I use a heater and airstone in 2 of them.
Water can last indefinitely like this although I use it up pretty quick.
I have the 'cart/dolly' by Rubbermaid on 3 of them and my 44 g barrel is elevated on a water heater stand so I can fill other barrels from it.
I have always changed a lot of water but doing all this makes large water changes easier on the fish and me.
I can change out 50g in my 180 in about 5 minutes with the barrel and pump .

Thanks, it's nice to know that others store their water. I'm hoping this type of setup helps me out.

 

[rlederer]

Similar to coralbandit, I store water but use 40 gallon horse trailer water tanks- tall and thin and fit in a corner. One is R/O water and one is straight from the tap. They are elevated a few feet and when full provide pretty good pressure to move water to tanks.They are in my fish room heated to 80 degrees so they don't need a separate heater.
If you have chlorine in the water you can just let it sit and off-gas for 24 hours, no chemicals needed.

 

[Meesh]

I have a 55 gallon tank and change out 5 gallons every 4 to 5 days. After I'm done I refill the five gallon bucket for the next time. So I guess I store the water. I also use a small electric pump to get the water easily from the bucket into the tank without lifting or having to ladle it out. I find it very helpful.

Unless I'm doing a big cleanup and rearranging the tank (alga builds up to a point that about once a month I like to pull everything out and wipe it off in the used tank water, and I find rearranging the territories makes the fish more curious and happy) anyway, if I'm just doing a PWC and cleaning misc spots off the glass it takes less than 20 minutes, closer to 40 for the Big Clean and Rearrangement.

 

[jc102]

Similar to coralbandit, I store water but use 40 gallon horse trailer water tanks- tall and thin and fit in a corner. One is R/O water and one is straight from the tap. They are elevated a few feet and when full provide pretty good pressure to move water to tanks.They are in my fish room heated to 80 degrees so they don't need a separate heater.
If you have chlorine in the water you can just let it sit and off-gas for 24 hours, no chemicals needed.

Thanks for the tips! I usually dose with Prime with every water change. So, if I let my water age for 24 hours, I no longer need to do this? My water chemistry is mostly stable with nitrates only elevating if I neglect water changes. I only use prime as a de-chlorinator and on new tanks.

 

[Meesh]

I leave my water sit but I still use Prime. Doesn't hurt.

 

[coralbandit]

I use Safe which is the dry form of Prime.
If you choose to off gas your water instead of use prime make sure you supplier is using chlorine and not chloramine.
Chloramine is chlorine and ammonia bonded and does not off gas like chlorine.It must be treated.
Prime also detoxifies heavy metals in our water which could also become an unknown problem.

 

[jc102]

I will still dose with Prime just to be on the safe side. I'm not sure about my water having chlorine or chloramine.

 

[kashif314]

Well you should not stress your leg. I think you should not store water and carry have buckets. If you don't need RO water then really I suggest invest in water changing system. There are many out there. Its very very easy to do a water change with them. Really you can add prime after you pour your tap water to your tank and it won't make any difference as Seachem itself say that you can add prime later too. Your health comes first. Hobby is secondary. A water changing system will make it very easy for you.

 

[kashif314]

I want to ask others as I read you guys use heater for stored water. May I know its significance? Thanks.

 

[jc102]

Well you should not stress your leg. I think you should not store water and carry have buckets. If you don't need RO water then really I suggest invest in water changing system. There are many out there. Its very very easy to do a water change with them. Really you can add prime after you pour your tap water to your tank and it won't make any difference as Seachem itself say that you can add prime later too. Your health comes first. Hobby is secondary. A water changing system will make it very easy for you.

Yeah, I need an easy way to do water changes until I get better. That's why I was thinking about storing water in a bin and using a pond pump to fill/drain my tanks. I really like the idea of the python water changers, but they won't work for my setup.

 

[kashif314]

Yeah, I need an easy way to do water changes until I get better. That's why I was thinking about storing water in a bin and using a pond pump to fill/drain my tanks. I really like the idea of the python water changers, but they won't work for my setup.

I see. Then you can store and use pump with a hose to fill and take out water from tank. I hope someone else can guide you because I don't store water. I store only for my nano six gallon but I store because it has Taiwan Bee Shrimps which are very delicate. So I make sure to put only healthy detoxified water. I don't use RO but they are doing good.