Zimbaliza Posted January 7, 2016 Report Share Posted January 7, 2016 Just a general question re-guarding water change's for bigger tanks... (tropical freshwater)I've had a 200 litre for many years, and did water changes with buckets, putting a bit of stress coat in, before putting it into the tank..problem is, now I have a 750 litre... I'm wondering how to tackle this...as I don't think my 20 litre bucket system is going to work :-/Current Ideas:Using a 250 litre Storage Bin (for the mixing a bit of stress coat in) and pumping it into the main tank... have some 5000l/h pump that can use?Putting stress coat into the tank, and attaching the hose directly into it?cleaning up my bath tub (don't use)... and doing the temp/mixing/pumping from there..?using the Fluval FX6 Filter for water changes? (was thinking it should be ok for removing water/semi cleaning the filter in the process) not sure about filling side? with water pumping directly into the filter?Thanks in advance...-Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted January 7, 2016 Report Share Posted January 7, 2016 (edited) Putting the stress coat into the tank and attaching the hose will work as long as the temperature doesn't significantly change or change at all. Tap adaptors can be purchased from Mikefish in ChCh (on Trademe) and your hose clips on to them at the tap end so you can fill straight from the tap at the temperature you wish. You can also use the same adaptor to empty your tank but that works on a reverse suction system and your tap water flushes straight down the sink as well as the waste water Edited January 7, 2016 by Adrienne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted January 7, 2016 Report Share Posted January 7, 2016 You can also get adapters that clip onto a sink tap from Miter 10, the warehouse, bunnings etc. Just siphon from the tank out the door, connect to the tap and fill it back up. Dump some stresscoat in the tank beforehand if you want. Adrienne 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zimbaliza Posted January 7, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 7, 2016 Sweet, thanks for the help, first water change this weekend, fish/plants are loving the new tank! will check out bunnings... and find an adapter/hose....Thanks again-Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted January 13, 2016 Report Share Posted January 13, 2016 i have always just filled my tanks from the hose. i have only really kept africans and they have never had any trouble with temp drops to about 20 degs when filling.What you keeping in the 750? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zimbaliza Posted January 14, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2016 It upgraded my old aquaone 215 litre, the 750L is now the new home to emperor tetra x 20scissor tail tetra x15Some other random tetras x10random Rasboras x8albino cory x6Kissing gourami x1 (only a young one, lost my 2 big one's this year (both 14 year olds))White spotted doradid (catfish) (nick named lazarus, as he managed to handle 1 hour out of the water attached to a log I took out of the old tank), never see the little guy...Tank is planted, and pretty deep (88cm), was a little worried about having Cory in there... but they seem to be handling it.... plants have hit to top already didn't like the filter it came with, (had a strange well huge trickle filter in the hood 4900l/h) replaced it with a FX6, I managed to get off animates for $550 ;-)planning on getting another 30-40 zebra danio's (or more emperors), another 10 Cory... fish are now more entertaining than the TV...they all have a serious taste for mosquito larvae, frenzy is unreal! only problem it only last 1 second!-Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zimbaliza Posted January 14, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 14, 2016 It upgraded my old aquaone 215 litre, the 750L is now the new home to emperor tetra x 20scissor tail tetra x15Some other random tetras x10random Rasboras x8albino cory x6Kissing gourami x1 (only a young one, lost my 2 big one's this year (both 14 year olds))White spotted doradid (catfish) (nick named lazarus, as he managed to handle 1 hour out of the water attached to a log I took out of the old tank), never see the little guy...Tank is planted, and pretty deep (88cm), was a little worried about having Cory in there... but they seem to be handling it.... plants have hit to top already didn't like the filter it came with, (had a strange well huge trickle filter in the hood 4900l/h) replaced it with a FX6, I managed to get off animates for $550 ;-)planning on getting another 30-40 zebra danio's (or more emperors), another 10 Cory... fish are now more entertaining than the TV...they all have a serious taste for mosquito larvae, frenzy is unreal! only problem it only last 1 second!-Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasonnz Posted January 18, 2016 Report Share Posted January 18, 2016 I have a 1400 litre tank and this is how I do changes. I have a 40 litre rubbish bin with a float valve on it, it auto fills from the tap in the kitchen under the sink. I then have a pump on a timer that puts that water into the tank (around 10% per day) - when the tank hits a certain level - it overflows out the drain and into the waste.I do not add anything to the water and my tank is chemical free.Any questions, feel free to ask. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted January 18, 2016 Report Share Posted January 18, 2016 Surely it will not be chemical free if you are using chlorinated water from the town supply. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zimbaliza Posted January 18, 2016 Author Report Share Posted January 18, 2016 Finally did first water change in the weekend... brought all the bits, and found my kitchen sink didn't fit it... ugh!used the stresscoat in tank/Hose directly into the tank method, monitored the temps, didn't change from 24.... found out some really cool stuff re: emperor tetras... from wiki: "However, with the addition of fresh cool water, a large group of emperors will school across an aquarium, sometimes for several minutes." The little guys go crazy over the cool water from the hose, took about 30 mins to top up the tank...school of them.... would all line up to the white water... and throw themselves into it, had them getting flung around, some a few inchs out of the water... they would school around the heater... before going in for another round..... other tetras in the tank.... didn't want anything to do with the hose...emperor tetras... keep doing this for almost 30 mins!I will make a video of them next water change...Love your tank JasonNZ, good luck selling it, looks like an awesome setup! just crazy big!Am pretty happy with the water change.... is actually easyer than when I used buckets with my old 215l, don't think I need to do anything fancy just yet.....until I get a bigger house/bigger tank....-Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishyNZ Posted January 20, 2016 Report Share Posted January 20, 2016 (edited) I use a pump attached to a long hose, for draining water out to the garden. For new water, I use another garden hose, connected from an outside tap and attached to a wand-type spray gun at the other end. All in, takes about 15-20 minutes to replace 160L (about 30%) of water for my 540L tank.For temperature, I make sure the difference between the new water (from tap) and old water (retained after draining) should not be over 9C. This ensures that the final approximate temperature after adding new water will not drop to more than 3C, thereby minimising fish stress. I used this simple online calculator, http://www.onlineconversion.com/mixing_water.htm, to get the optimal temperature difference for my setup. Edited January 20, 2016 by fishyNZ update Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishyNZ Posted January 20, 2016 Report Share Posted January 20, 2016 i have always just filled my tanks from the hose. i have only really kept africans and they have never had any trouble with temp drops to about 20 degs when filling.What you keeping in the 750?Well here’s an analogy. You’re sleeping in your favourite stubbies when the temperature suddenly drops from 27C to 20C. How would you react? Most likely you’ll wake up, feeling uncomfortable. You’d get a blanket or duvet. Now you’re back sleeping snugly.Fish can’t have any blankets or duvets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted January 20, 2016 Report Share Posted January 20, 2016 (edited) Well here’s an analogy. You’re sleeping in your favourite stubbies when the temperature suddenly drops from 27C to 20C. How would you react? Most likely you’ll wake up, feeling uncomfortable. You’d get a blanket or duvet. Now you’re back sleeping snugly.Fish can’t have any blankets or duvets. interesting, comparing a warm blooded mammal to an ectotherm. you've made little blankies, wooly hats and supplied a tiny hot water bottle for every fish at water change time haven't you? Edited January 20, 2016 by smidey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishyNZ Posted January 20, 2016 Report Share Posted January 20, 2016 interesting, comparing a warm blooded mammal to an ectotherm. you've made little blankies, wooly hats and supplied a tiny hot water bottle for every fish at water change time haven't you? Haha, good point! You got me there. I wasn't good at biology anyways... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted January 20, 2016 Report Share Posted January 20, 2016 Haha, good point! You got me there. I wasn't good at biology anyways...haha all good. neither, but it makes no sense to me to compare how i'd feel about living in a tank as a human rather than how i'd feel about it as if I was a fish basically, as i understand it a fish temperature is determined by its environment which in turn effects how they behave. short term temp changes of 7 deg i don't believe to be an issue. some fish, in their natural habitats feed in deep parts of lakes where it may be around 5 deg C but then head to the surface to digest the food in 14 degC water. that speeds up digestion times by several times which means they absorb the nutrients faster & in turn grow faster, become stronger etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted January 22, 2016 Report Share Posted January 22, 2016 It also depends on the fish and their habitat. Some species may experience frequent changes (like the lake dwellers you mention, where a change in depth comes with a rapid change in temperature), others come from far more stable environments, like those from large equatorial rivers (IIRC the Xingu has about a 1C average change over the year) and may be less tolerant of fluctuations.Personally, for my Amazonian fish that are usually kept at 26-27C I don't like the temperature getting below 24C. Over winter that means pre-heating some of the water, but over summer I can change 800L+ out of the garden hose without a worry, aside from the amount of water left in the main tank! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishyNZ Posted January 22, 2016 Report Share Posted January 22, 2016 haha all good. neither, but it makes no sense to me to compare how i'd feel about living in a tank as a human rather than how i'd feel about it as if I was a fish It’s just an analogy; a logical comparison. The point being: humans and fish can both be (negatively) affected by big sudden changes in temperature (environment).Like DavidR, I mostly have american cichlids whose optimal temperature ranges from 24-27C, hence the 3C limit. I usually omit measuring the tap water during summer whilst winter, usually split water changes into two per week and also preheat some water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.