diy idea for water changes.

[Kribensis]

Im thinking about getting some 55 gallon plastic drums. Putting them into th garage. Fill them wirh water from the outside garden hose. Placing a aquarium heater in each one. Then every week I clean the gravel all you have to do ia connect a water pump and transfer the water from the heated drums in the garage to fill the tanks.

Just a idea. What do ya'll think?

 

[Lepomis]

It would work fine.

However it only makes sense to me on certain situations. 1. large tanks 2. tank set up against wall shared with garage (drilling and plumbing only way to go)

In my opinion smaller tanks it would be a complete waste of time and end up taking more time than just having an empty brute trash can handy.

 

[Kribensis]

I was thinking about less stress or even shock on the fish. And with a airstone in the tank. You could pre-treat the water. B4 it hits there environment. I have 2 125g and one 90g tank. So about 150 gallons of water is being changed every week.

 

[T1KARMANN]

Never seen the point in heating water for water changes

Keep your tank temp high at 86 the fish feed and grow better and you stand less chance of parasites as if you ever get problems the first thing people say is add salt and up the temp

Also buy adding cooler water to your tank simulates rain fall or the temp the water drops at night in the wild

I have found breeding stingrays that the temp drop tricks the rays into breeding as they think its the rainy season

I'm not talking a missive drop but with a 25% water change which is the most you should do weekly the temp will only drop from 86 down to 80-82 depending on the time of year which is nothing

Why have the extra expense of heating up 2 x 55g drum you may as well run another 2 tanks then at least you have something to look at rather than 2 ugly drums in you garage where the water can get any kind of toxins oil car fumes anything as a garage is hardly the cleanest of places

When I used to do what're changes I used to drain the 25% then dose the full tank with seachem prime then fill right from the tap

If cost is you main issue the use seachem pond prime as its the same stuff and lots of info on the net to confirm this and it $49 for 4 liters than will last even a big tank keeper a loooooooong time

 

[Kribensis]

I'm not talking a missive drop but with a 25% water change which is the most you should do weekly the temp will only drop from 86 down to 80-82 depending on the time of year which is nothing

A friend talked me into doing 50% water changes every week. and what got him telling me that was also because I have been getting brown alge in my 90 gal, and one of my 2 125g tanks. But he also says it will help the fish and plants grow faster. So that is why and how I came up with the thought of pretreated water containers. Correct him if he is wrong.

When I used to do what're changes I used to drain the 25% then dose the full tank with seachem prime then fill right from the tap

If cost is you main issue the use seachem pond prime as its the same stuff and lots of info on the net to confirm this and it $49 for 4 liters than will last even a big tank keeper a loooooooong time

Really? You are saying that the "pond prime" would be safe on my Cichlids? And its cheaper and get alot more? Is that what you are telling me? I use some stress coat Plus+ stuff right now. And I go through it like crazy. Im landing some nice fish right now and the oldest fish was hatched in early September. He is a Salvaini Cichlid and my next little guy this week is going to be the Red Terror. The guy says they are F1 baby Red Terrors. But I have no way to tell. But I want the best for our fish. Down the road Ill even be building a 300+ gallon plywood aquarium. With all that and my wife having interest. That is the reason behind me asking so many questions.

 

[T1KARMANN]

Yes pond prime is the exact same go on you tube and seach seachem prime vs pond prime

50% water change is to much in one go if you ask me if you feel you need to change 50% per week them do two 25%

It's not just the temp that changes when you do a big 50% water change its the ph gh and kh all of which can affect a fish more than a temp change

 

[Kribensis]

Thanks for the reply. I was going to do my water changes tomorrow. All I know is the brown sruff is driving me crazy. I think the kribensis fish are not eating a lot of the food or baybe I need more filtration.

I have pool filter sand so I could see and left over food and poop. and its pretty clean. In one gravel 125g tank. I have 2 Rena xp3's and the the other 125 with the issue has only a Rena xp4 and a penguin 350 ho. Filter with ni cover ans no bio wheel. And I dont change its filter pads a lot in that panguin. Just the canister filters.

 

[BillD]

I would totally disagree that 50% weekly is too much water to change (although temp may become an issue). Even 50% daily isn't too much. As well, 2 x 25% water changes is not the same as 1 x 50%. How much water needs to be change depends on the bioload in the tank, but, changing more than the minimum is good practice that avoids problems in the long term. Nothing beats clean water for keeping fish healthy.

 

[Kribensis]

Ok. The tank with the brown alge issue is a 125g tank with 2 kribensis parrents 2 paired kribensis one loner kribensis a bristle nose pleco and some blue zebra cichla ive been trying to rehome. So is 50 too much or not?

 

[T1KARMANN]

If you do a 50% water change in one go and say your tank ph is 6 and the new water being used is 8 it will change the tank ph to fast in one go

How many people test the ph of the new water before adding it

If you have a green problem start using a UV not a pond one which it a UVC but a tank one which is a UVS this will get rid of been in no time

With the stock levels you mention the you only need to be doing one 25% WC per week

I have always said 50% per WC is to much and its better to do no more that 30% per day

Unless you have a MASSIVE bio load its pointless

 

[Kribensis]

So according to Bill. Its all based on the bioload. Like food poop and stuff. And according to you. You say that with the 125 gallon tank ibhave and the fish I have in it. There is not a large bioload lake some ppl that over stock there tanks with cichlids. So if my tank had so mamy fish that non of them had a place to hide and everyone was always swimming around... like them pet store tanks. Then a 50% change would be needed. Otherwise I would just be causing more undoo stress on my fish. Is that right guys?

As for my tap water I have tested its ph and it comes out of the sink at 8.2

 

[Kribensis]

As for my idea I had. I was thinking about pre heating and treating water in 2 55g drums. And then with a water pump. Pit that water into my fishes tank when I did the next water change. Thay way there would be no stress on them... other then this dumb human messing with there home and sand. Hehehehe

 

[alLexX]

a 50% pwc is definitely not too much. and you should try to match the temperatures, a heater to match them is not an undo expense. and since you're getting the water from the same soucre every time, i highly doubt the ph will change enough to kill the fish from shock.

 

[phin]

Im thinking about getting some 55 gallon plastic drums. Putting them into th garage. Fill them wirh water from the outside garden hose. Placing a aquarium heater in each one. Then every week I clean the gravel all you have to do ia connect a water pump and transfer the water from the heated drums in the garage to fill the tanks.

Just a idea. What do ya'll think?

I think its a great idea, especially for large water changes on a 90 gal and 2 125 gal tanks.

My advice would be to have one drum for each tank (or each type of water if you have differently treated water in each tank. Have the water in each tank pre-treated to match the exact specifications of the tank it is going to (pH, temp, KH, GH) and conditioned, obviously. Add a small powerhead (165 gph) in each drum to circulate the water and create surface agitation. The surface agitation will ensure you have equilibrium levels of O2 & CO2 going into the tank and the circulation will ensure that you water stays consistent throughout if you are addidng minerals or buffers. I would also think about some type of loose fitting lid to guard against any foreign materials falling in the drum.

Once the old tank water is removed you can just turn your pump on and voila, no more buckets and minimal shock and stress to your fish.

I don't know about pond prime, and based on the infor T1KARMANN has given in this thread I would double check before I used it. but if its the same as prime, go for it. The regular prime is a better deal than API stress coat. Next time you get a chance, read the label on prime, it does everything and is cheaper per gallon treated.

50% water change is to much in one go if you ask me if you feel you need to change 50% per week them do two 25%

It's not just the temp that changes when you do a big 50% water change its the ph gh and kh all of which can affect a fish more than a temp change

Two 25% water changes back to back = one 44% water change, not one 50% water change. I do 50% water changes on my mbuna tank as needed, if your water parameters are the same then there is no problem with that.

If you do a 50% water change in one go and say your tank ph is 6 and the new water being used is 8 it will change the tank ph to fast in one go

How many people test the ph of the new water before adding it

I always know the parameters of the water I'm adding to my tank. I don't know anyone who would add water to an established tank without knowing the parameters, especially the pH and temperature.

 

[Kribensis]

LOL looks like you read through the entire thread/post. Thanks for your time amd insight.