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.
T1KARMANN said:
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.
T1KARMANN said:
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.