Water Changes On Large Aquariums?

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phishyphil

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Okay, so after moving over to the high tech side of things, water changes are required more frequently and of greater volume (Oh the joys of fish keeping)

Seeing as I will be dosing close to EI on ferts, I will be required to remove 50% weekly water changes, now this will be over 150 litres on my tank, and I only have 5x 10litre buckets

So....
15 Refills
Lots of heavy lifting
1 Large Pain in the Backside

There must be an easier way. I know people use Python Water Changer, however these are SOOOOO expensive.

I am concerened in running the hose directly from the tap as the wate rtemperature would be too cold, probably affect the fish and melt the plants.

So, how do you do yours? LArge Tanks Only please
 
I use straight cold water to do my water changes.

The only problem is that you have to trickle the water back in really slowly, with the heater on. I might take a couple of hours to refill after a 50/60% water change on a 240l tank, but as I'm not having to lug buckets, I don't mind that!

If the weather is really icy, I sometimes syphon in a few buckets of hotter water as I go as well.

Don't forget that you need to add enough dechlorinator for the whole tank's volume, added before you start refilling, if you do it this way.
 
[background=rgb(239, 241, 244)]Hi gang[/background]
[background=rgb(239, 241, 244)]Best method purchase a cheap pump from ebay that accepts a piece of long tubing and pump the water out the tank...to the garden/sink/loo.[/background]
[background=rgb(239, 241, 244)]Purchase a tub that fits in the sink fill with said approx temperature add dechlorinator stick the pump in and the end of the tube in the aquarium switch on hardly any water spillage from using this method.[/background]
[background=rgb(239, 241, 244)]hoggie[/background]
 
Buckets? Are you kidding?

I havnt carried a bucket in over 20 years, get yourself a python, it will be the best money you have ever spent!

You can even make your own python, just buy the piece that connects to the tap and buy a garden hose from a big box store
 
Those Pythons Are Expensive. Thinking Of creating a DIY one.

This is what I intend to use to make my DIY Python
unsure.png


1 x Water Bed Drainer
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/250857750355?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

1 x Garden Hose
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/170911637190?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

1 x Garden Inlet Hose Tap
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/200716019096?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

1 x Female Fitting
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/181008218780?var=480198139832&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

1 x Syphon/Gravel Vac

Hope this works haha
 
As an eBay Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
You could always try the DiY pythons, I was going to but they dont have the parts at the Home Depot in my town so I sucked it up and bought a python.

God it makes 125 gallons of total water changes so easy
 
How much will you spend on those supplies? I think my python was $25 from my lfs. It has a 25' hose so reaches a long way. Please show what you come up with for future reference. Wouldn't mind having more than one
smile.png


Thanks,
Steve
 
Pythons over here are hard to come by and expensive. Cheapest I have found is £49.99 for a 25ft one. ($70) roughly. Cost me £20 to make my own hopefully
 
I lug buckets, I've looked at this Python method and I know for a fact if I got one it WOULD go wrong and I would have water everywhere, it's just my luck.
 
Python is great stuff for big tanks, just too much dechlorinator as you need to dose the amount needed for the full volume tank.
I did just a couple of times in the beginning bucket water changes on my larger tank and I'd never do it again, it's just impossible to handle weekly without a python and you would be dreading the water change without one. Now it takes less than an hour to do 4 tanks and that's with all the fiddling around and taking my time.
 
Python is great stuff for big tanks, just too much dechlorinator as you need to dose the amount needed for the full volume tank.
I did just a couple of times in the beginning bucket water changes on my larger tank and I'd never do it again, it's just impossible to handle weekly without a python and you would be dreading the water change without one. Now it takes less than an hour to do 4 tanks and that's with all the fiddling around and taking my time.

agreed....

i could not live without my python, just turn it on and sit there and watch it do the work for you, another great thing about it is you can fill the tank up as slowly as you like, which means less stress on the fish....with a large bucket you need to dump it in very quickly.....not good
 
For me on my 500 liter I put a hose pipe out the window from the tank and then use large builders buckets that I drag to the tank from the kitchen and use a pond pump - each of the buckets is 40 liters so reasonably easy to do.

Wills
 
So after reading through all the posts at this thread gives me a chuckle. You guys with big tanks, why on earth you need such big tank for? Just a 2-footer aquarium will do! You dont have to worry about carrying buckets of water, DIY things and did I hear some mentioned python? What keeping snake in an aquarium? LOL!

But wait, the tank maker just delivered my 3-deck guppy rack of 4 feet each and the system let me have 14 partitions of fish tanks! Oh dear, that made me one of you too, LOL. And now I have to think how to get the water from the toilet through the kitchen through the dining room through the living room and to the balcony where I guppy rack is. I would love to put it at my spare room, but approval was not granted by my Home Minister, he he.

What shall I use? Python? Hmmm, not decided yet.
 

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