Osage_Winter
Aquarium Advice FINatic
- Joined
- Sep 9, 2010
- Messages
- 807
+1 for Vircomore's method. I have one of those self-starting siphons and I hate starting it with the jerk method. It scares the fish, moves things around, and often splashes.
That's EXACTLY what happens with us -- and it causes the entire tank to shake with the water in it, putting the fish in a turbulent current, and it's just heartbreaking to watch...
+1 for getting a python. I used to think pythons were way too expensive. I got one as a door prize at an LFS and I'm hooked now. It used to take me 30 minutes to do a water change on my 29g, 20L, and 5g. Siphon water into a bucket, drag the bucket to the bathtub, slop water on the floor, leave a mess in the tub, etc. Now I can do a PWC on my 29g, 20L, 20H, 40B, and 5g in 30 minutes and that's letting gravity drain the tank, not using water-powered suction. No water slopped on the floor, no endless hauling of buckets. If I broke my python, I'd be fixing it immediately. It makes weekly PWCs much easier than the siphon and a bucket.
From what I am reading, this may be the only way possible for me to remain in the hobby, unless I cross my fingers and pray to Allah (or any other holier-than-thou figure, take your pick) that nothing happens to my fish by skipping changes altogether, just topping off the tank from evaporation.
As for the messy tub, carpets, etc -- I just went into the guest bath which we utilize during these water changes for the bathtub, and the odor coming off the area rug in front of the tub was horiffic because of the tank water that splashed and soaked it last night. Now, we need to have this rug cleaned, if that's even possible...
In the meantime, pour your water into a pan or bowl and let it overflow gently into the tank. I use the fish guard on my python and aim the water onto a rock or the side of the tank to prevent the water from disturbing the sand.
The fact that all my plants and ornaments have been rearranged from this last change burns my behind like an electric feather being brushed across it -- I swear. How do you aim the water to the side of the tank -- you mean, like off the side glass?
Unfortunately, priming HOB filters is just part of the maintenance. I have four ACs running and I have to prime all four every PWC. I use one of those betta cups. One cupful for the AC30, two or three for the AC50, three to four for the AC70, and five to six for the AC110. It's just part of my regular maintenance routine now.
I just couldn't stand doing it, when the Aqueon on the other side of the tank was self priming due to the submerged pump...
You have to remember that an aquarium is an attempt to emulate nature. Things are constantly moving and changing in nature. Be flexible and relaxed and you'll start enjoying the hobby a lot more.
Okay; makes sense. Thanks.
Should I feel that way about the plants moving, shifting, etc. (even though they're not real)?
Try vinegar on the glass tops. It sounds like you've got mineral build-up on your glass. The vinegar will dissolve these minerals.
Yes -- there are salt deposits all over the edges of the tank, on the cover of the Aqueon filter and even on the power cord of the light hood -- can you believe that?
My tank room is just a G-d forsaken mess...
As for your carbon, don't replace it unless you're trying to remove medication or tannins from the water. You can leave it in the filter as biomedia or remove it. Beneficial bacteria will grow on just about any submerged surface, including carbon. If you want to clean the filter media, just rapidly and repeatedly dunk it in a bucket of old tank water. I've been using the same sponge and biomedia in two of my ACs for more than a year and this is how I clean them.
I've heard this -- but does this apply to those cheap, cotton carbon filled cartridge packs like in my Aqueon? Do I just rinse these, even though they may be black from tank gunk?