Weekly Maintenance & Water Changing

[lgarvey]

Hi,

This is my first post here.

Just doing some serious background research into fish keeping as I would like some mbuna african cichlids sometime soon. But I want to make sure I've thought about all parameters and don't make any serious mistakes!

I'm curious about water changes ... if I get a 200 litre / 50 gallon tank, that requires 25%-40% water changes each week, how long should this take to complete?

25% of 200 litres is 40 litres, which if I think about it being 20 2 litre mineral water bottles, it's clear that it's a hell of a lot of water.

WHat kind of sized buckets / containers do you use to complete this process with say a 50 gallon tank?

Aside from feeding and ensuring that the water parameters, temperature, etc. are sound, is there any other significant maintenance required?

I look forward to your feedback!

L

 

[OldMan47]

I use 5 gallon buckets to do my water changes but have decided I would be better off using 3 gallon (about 12 liters). The 5 gallon buckets get heavy quickly and with 8 tanks to maintain, by the time I'm done they seem very heavy. Your 200 liter tank would only take 5 trips with a bucket in each hand to do a 72 liter change which would be 35%. That's 3 trips to empty out the water you are replacing and on the third trip you bring back the first load of new water. Using a decent sized siphon to remove the old water would take less than 5 minutes to fill 2 buckets with waste water so total time is probably less than 30 minutes including replacing with new water.
Once in a while, depending on the type of filter, you will rinse out the filter contents in one of the buckets of waste water before you pour it out. That way you don't damage the bacteria that has built up in the filter but you remove the plugging that would otherwise be happening to your filter.

 

[waterdrop]

Search this site for "Python" and read those threads - its a device to help with water changes.

Study the fishless cycling article in detail. Begin following along as other newcomers ask questions and see how they are answered. It takes a while to get the hang of the practical water chemistry things but they are probably the most important and can't just be learned from reading one article alone.

 

[abzorbd]

I have a 55 gallon tank and it takes me about an hour total a week to perform my maintenance and cleaning regime. I also vacuum the gravel every time I do a water change and I move stuff around. Rinse off my filter cartridges, and spend a while making it exactly how I want it though. It all depends on how you do it. And to what degree you want to fuss over the tank. Could take twenty minutes could take a couple hours.

 

[lgarvey]

Hi,

Thanks for the advice! That's a big piece of the puzzle in place! =)

One question, though, I found a video of a women actually demonstrating a python on the internet, and she puts the tap water directly into the aquarium, and then places a the de-chlorinator directly into the tank. Is this wise or healthy?

I think perhaps using a bucket when replacing the water is a good idea! =)

L

 

[dthoffsett]

One question, though, I found a video of a women actually demonstrating a python on the internet, and she puts the tap water directly into the aquarium, and then places a the de-chlorinator directly into the tank. Is this wise or healthy?

I've been changing my water that way for almost 3 years now, and all my fish are perfectly healthy. Dechlorinator works almost instantly.

Also, when buying a tank for mbuna, length/width if far more important than height as they need plenty of room to set up territories. The recommended length for them is a minimum of 4ft.

 

[raptorrex]

Hi,

This is my first post here.

Just doing some serious background research into fish keeping as I would like some mbuna african cichlids sometime soon. But I want to make sure I've thought about all parameters and don't make any serious mistakes!

I'm curious about water changes ... if I get a 200 litre / 50 gallon tank, that requires 25%-40% water changes each week, how long should this take to complete?

25% of 200 litres is 40 litres, which if I think about it being 20 2 litre mineral water bottles, it's clear that it's a hell of a lot of water.

WHat kind of sized buckets / containers do you use to complete this process with say a 50 gallon tank?

Aside from feeding and ensuring that the water parameters, temperature, etc. are sound, is there any other significant maintenance required?

I look forward to your feedback!

L

i have a 50g that has 25% changes, this takes about 15 minutes, i use a 17 litre bucket. i am lucky i can hold it at shoulder hight, many cant. if i need to clean the cannister you can add another 20 to that. my 20g, lol though it only has 10g in, is 90% change and takes 10 minutes, dont know about the filter clean. after six months i still aint needed to clean it.

Hi,

Thanks for the advice! That's a big piece of the puzzle in place! =)

One question, though, I found a video of a women actually demonstrating a python on the internet, and she puts the tap water directly into the aquarium, and then places a the de-chlorinator directly into the tank. Is this wise or healthy?

I think perhaps using a bucket when replacing the water is a good idea! =)

L

dechlorinator works almost instantly, and from what i can find out most people with a Python just put the amount in they need after, or before, the water is added. in my house the pipes for the python would cause more problems than me having to carry 4 buckets of fresh water through it. but there are some days i wish i had one.

 

[Gremily]

I have a 90l plastic tub from homebase that I fill with water and stick a heater in to get it to the right temp and pump it into my tanks with a powerhead.