Problems and Questions

[mommytron]

it should not affect the tests.

make sure you dechlor any and all water before putting it into your tank. because you just started adding dechlor, i'm guessing you have no bacteria built up. your cycle will probably begin here. it's possible it will take up to 6 weeks from now to be fully cycled. hang in there! you're on the right track!

 

[dkpate]

If you have ammonia and nitrite in the tank, you WILL get a false positive reading on your liquid tests. The bottle should tell you exactly how much ammonia and nitrites the Prime can detoxify.

 

[ejaramillo01]

Agree with momytron.... You need to use PRIME (Intsructions in the bottle) to treat the tap water that you are adding in the PWC.

The chlorine will kill your good bacteria.

 

[fixXxed]

Day 28

I started adding dechlor... This is my problem. I just don't have the means to treat the water before adding it to the tank and have to dechlor after refilling tank.

I have a solution in the works and hope to have this fixed by tomorrow. This is what I am thinking. I have an old brine tank I was going to clean up and use to store the water. I was going to buy a submersible utility pump tomorrow to put in the brine tank to pump out the conditioned water to the fish tank. I will have to pump it into a bucket for now and haul it to the tank, but this will be fixed once I do a little plumbing. I also want to put a heater in the water storage tank to keep it close to the same temp as my aquarium. I am also thinking about maybe throwing a powerhead in the storage tank to keep the water moving. So these are my questions.

1. I will probably use some kind of detergent to clean the brine tank but will rinse thoroughly. Will this be okay?
2. Is there any pump suggestions?
3. If I hook a garden hose to the pump, will it contain harmful chemicals? I have an RV hookup hose I could use. Would that be better?
4. Should I put a powerhead in the conditioned water storage tank to move water around, or is that not needed?
5. Should the conditioned water set for awhile before moving to tank? If so how long?
6. Some pumps I looked at seem to pump pretty quick, I was curious if there was a way to slow it down if I needed to. I am assuming a dimmer switch would hurt the motor. Would putting some kind of control valve in the plumbing hurt it?
7. Any other thoughts, and/or suggestions?

I will get some pics here soon of my tank. Thanks everyone.

 

[dkpate]

You can clean with a 10:1 white vinegar solution.
RV hookup hose is better, since it is specifically made for human consumption, so it's fine for the fish too.
When I used my Python water hose, I put the dechlor in the tank, and then filled it up. I never had any problems.

Those are all the answers I have, not sure about the rest of it.

 

[BigJim]

Is there a reason that you need to store water? I get my tap temperature close to tank temp, add dechlorinator to the tank, and refill the tank. No need to store any water.

1. I will probably use some kind of detergent to clean the brine tank but will rinse thoroughly. Will this be okay?

+1 on the white vinegar. Don't hesitate to use some at full strength to get the really stubborn stuff off.

2. Is there any pump suggestions?

I've heard lots of good things about MagDrive pumps.

3. If I hook a garden hose to the pump, will it contain harmful chemicals? I have an RV hookup hose I could use. Would that be better?

+ 1 for the RV hose. Your local home improvement store should carry potable water hoses that will also work.

4. Should I put a powerhead in the conditioned water storage tank to move water around, or is that not needed?

I wouldn't bother with a powerhead for the storage of fresh water.

5. Should the conditioned water set for awhile before moving to tank? If so how long?

Properly conditioned water doesn't have to sit at all if it's near the tank temperature.

6. Some pumps I looked at seem to pump pretty quick, I was curious if there was a way to slow it down if I needed to. I am assuming a dimmer switch would hurt the motor. Would putting some kind of control valve in the plumbing hurt it?

If you need to reduce the output of the pump, add a tee to the return line. Put a valve on one leg of the tee and run a hose back to your storage tank. The tee will split the output, sending some water to the display tank and some to the storage tank. Use the valve to control the ratio.

7. Any other thoughts, and/or suggestions?

I will get some pics here soon of my tank. Thanks everyone.

 

[fixXxed]

Um wow. I way over looked this thing. I seen someone say you should never introduce chlro.. to the tank, and that the water should be conditioned before adding to the tank. I guess I was thinking that if I didn't, that the chlro in the tap water would instantly kill the good bacteria before being dechlro by the Prime. So for now, it is ok to add the Prime as I start to refill the tank from tap!? Good to know. I will put the money into something else.

 

[BigJim]

Add Prime to the tank before you refill and don't pour straight tap water into the filter and you should be good. If you're really worried, dose for the entire tank volume, not just the volume you replace.

It's easy to overthink things with an aquarium. Remember the KISS principle.