PDA

View Full Version : what do you use to change the water



rebus20
09-25-2011, 10:44 AM
I dont have the option of barrels and ro water like I have been reading about but I have a aqueon vacuum that hooks to the faucet. My water pressure is not high enough to create a good vacuum and I am looking for other options besides toting water buckets. I have well water and its pretty good straight out of the faucet. All I have to do is get the temp right and thats about it.

jlcoop277
09-25-2011, 11:12 AM
I use 5/8 tubing and syphon up the fish dirt into my filter sock, then I use a power head to fill a 5 gallon bucket/s. Once my 30% is done I use tap water and treat with Prime. My laundry room is close to my tank so I put a splitter on my water line for my washer and hook up a hose and fill my sump. Let it warm up and turn the pump on. 30g sump 30% water change on my 100g. Takes me about 30-45 mikes.

walt3
09-25-2011, 11:58 PM
my tank sits on a bar top that seperates my basement main room from my laundry room. it is the absolute best place for a tank. so easy. i use the same aqueon syphon system you have and it works like a dream. it pulls it out without my mouth and then i adjust the water temp and turn the lever. i then emidiately add dechlor to the tank in the amount that im putting back in and stand there and smile.:) been doing this for 3 months now and i cant believe i used to lift buckets. :( thats just crazy town or for young people. lol. :) i just turned 40 and want to work smarter not harder. imho. walt.

Skip
09-26-2011, 12:02 AM
i have a hose that goes into the tub.. as it drains. .i siphon the tank.. when its done.. then i hook it up to the sink faucet and fill up after adding prime.. no more buckets :)

ericatdallas
09-26-2011, 12:38 AM
my water changing system changes frequently. I've done buckets, I've done gravity siphon, and right now I'm using pumps. However, I'm going to convert my old canister filters as active pump/siphons and connect directly to a drain pipe.

either way, I highly recommend powered pumps to remove water. it's much faster...

richgrenfell
09-26-2011, 12:53 AM
I have been using a python since they hit the market. Once I began paying the water bill I had to re-think! I just ordered some pumps and plan to fashion some water removing apparatus much like the ones that Jhemco sells.

I will still have to use the python to siphon tank bottoms but will ultimately use less water in the process.

At the moment, the non- discus tanks get emptied and filled via python. The discus (just one tank right now), get aged water, so I empty with a python (a separate one from the one used on the other fish), and pump the aged water back in with a rio pump attached to tubing and PVC fittings.

Darrell Ward
09-26-2011, 02:32 AM
I have been using a python since they hit the market. Once I began paying the water bill I had to re-think! I just ordered some pumps and plan to fashion some water removing apparatus much like the ones that Jhemco sells.

I will still have to use the python to siphon tank bottoms but will ultimately use less water in the process.

At the moment, the non- discus tanks get emptied and filled via python. The discus (just one tank right now), get aged water, so I empty with a python (a separate one from the one used on the other fish), and pump the aged water back in with a rio pump attached to tubing and PVC fittings.

Hook a garden hose adapter to your siphon, run the garden hose out the door, much easier.
Drain and fill pump devices are easy to make, and put Pythons to shame! I've been using these for years. Hooked to a garden hose, you can pump the water right out the door. With my water source, I have no need to age it really, so a faucet adapter is screwed in place, the garden hose is plugged into the adapter via a quick change, and the filling begins....

richgrenfell
09-26-2011, 03:03 AM
Afraid I can't siphon out the door from my basement. I'd have to get it to go across the basement (about 60 feet) and up a flight of stairs. I do have a sump system, and the well isn't very far away from the tanks though so maybe I can do that. I can see I'm going to have to install some hooks to hang up all the hoses!

dpete9
09-26-2011, 04:52 AM
I siphon into a large trash can on wheels, I have a pump inside the trash can that pumps the waste water through a garden hose either into the back yard or into the laundry room sink, depending how much water the yard needs. I have a 4 foot siphon hose with a rigid tube in one of the ends of it. when I'm done siphoning I keep the water in the hose and connect the two ends together. No need for sucking on any hoses to start the siphon that way (yuck). I have two large holding barrels, my RO runs RO water in to one and the RO waste in to the other for the grow-out tanks. I heat the one for the adults to 4 degrees cooler than the heat in their tanks ( I think it triggers spawning with a bit cooler fresh water) and the one for the grow-out tanks to the same temperature as their tanks. When I refill their tanks I use a pond pump and attach the fountain nozzle on the end of the refilling hose. they get their tanks gently refilled like a rain storm. I've seen the adults and older sub-adults swim around in the fresh water stream like they're playing in it.
It's all pretty simple but it works well for me and I have it down to an art. 6 tanks in less than an hour.
In the future I might leave the last trash can full of waste water in the trash can with the lid on it (keep evaporation and humidity to a minimum) until
the next water change. I think this would use some of the heat energy from the waste water to keep the room warmer. Another idea I had was to have a large waste tank and the hoses of the RO coiled through it ( a lot of extra hose) to warm the RO water before it hits the holding tanks. Hate seeing warm water be flushed down the drain.
Sorry I'm so long winded It's late morning here in the Netherlands and I am loaded on coffee :)

Darrell Ward
09-26-2011, 06:59 PM
Afraid I can't siphon out the door from my basement. I'd have to get it to go across the basement (about 60 feet) and up a flight of stairs. I do have a sump system, and the well isn't very far away from the tanks though so maybe I can do that. I can see I'm going to have to install some hooks to hang up all the hoses!

Yeah, or you could hook a pump inline after the siphon, and pump it wherever you need it. There are many way to skin out a cat!

ExReefer
09-26-2011, 07:36 PM
I use the Super Safety Siphon w/ 580 gph pump: http://www.jehmco.com/html/safety_siphon_aquarium_drain.html

Greatly reduced my WC time.

Matt0matic
09-26-2011, 11:17 PM
I use the Super Safety Siphon w/ 580 gph pump: http://www.jehmco.com/html/safety_siphon_aquarium_drain.html
Greatly reduced my WC time.
With the Jehmco unit how do you clean the detritus and left over food from the bottom of the tank?

strawberryblonde
09-27-2011, 12:12 PM
With the Jehmco unit how do you clean the detritus and left over food from the bottom of the tank?

You still need to use a separate siphon to vacuum the bottom of the tank.

I LOVE some of the ideas in this thread! In particular, the canister conversion interests me. I've been running 50 feet of tubing out my back door all summer so I could water my gardens, but with winter coming I know I need to come up with another plan. (Used the python system last winter and hated seeing all that water go down the drain).

So I'm thinking I could use a canister as the "intermediary" and if I'm lucky and stuff it with some floss I might even be able to vacuum the bottom of the tank while I'm at it. Refilling is never a problem, just added a faucet adaptor to my laundry room sink, added tubing and voila....done.

Matt0matic
09-27-2011, 04:55 PM
You still need to use a separate siphon to vacuum the bottom of the tank.


I was so close to buying a few of these... but the necessity of another hose to clean the bottom of the tank just seems cumbersome. So you have a the draining device, another hose to clean the detritus mater, and another to fill? Where the 'Phyton' style uses one hose for it all.

ericatdallas
09-27-2011, 05:08 PM
You still need to use a separate siphon to vacuum the bottom of the tank.

I LOVE some of the ideas in this thread! In particular, the canister conversion interests me. I've been running 50 feet of tubing out my back door all summer so I could water my gardens, but with winter coming I know I need to come up with another plan. (Used the python system last winter and hated seeing all that water go down the drain).

So I'm thinking I could use a canister as the "intermediary" and if I'm lucky and stuff it with some floss I might even be able to vacuum the bottom of the tank while I'm at it. Refilling is never a problem, just added a faucet adaptor to my laundry room sink, added tubing and voila....done.

I bought all the stuff to convert it. Should be able to speak more of it soon. It's not hard to imagine how it works though, so it won't be that mind-blowing when I get it going :P

I have two Fluvals which I hate cleaning. This way, by removing the media I can increase flow and it removes the need to buy more pumps. I had intended to have a submersible pump per tank but this actually saves me money and uses less space in the tank.

moon_knight1971
09-27-2011, 09:40 PM
I live in an apartment and use a Lee's Ultimate Gravel-Vac which is similar to a Python. The unit's water pressure isn't that strong either but it's strong enough to get the job done (no more carrying buckets!). It takes about 15 mins to drain 80% of a 55 gal tank and another 10 to fill it back up.


Joey!

TURQ64
09-27-2011, 10:01 PM
I have a 'U' shaped fixture made from one inch pvc with a ball valve. exiting the ball valve is a garden hose threaded nipple. on the top outside piece of pvc, I've threaded a brass airline valve. Garden hose hooks on end, then to transfer pump, and then a long hose outside this time of year..Empties a 180 in about 10 minutes, then then rest of the large tanks..I start the siphon with the airline valve,oen the ball valve, and start the pump (probably not necessary, but it's a ways to the pump, even tho it's self priming)...pretty efficient for a lot of large tanks not on common plumbing. it'll go anywhere in the house....I fill with a different hose setup on another cheap transfer pump. Quick and painless. I do siphon tank bottoms with a small tubing into buckets for poop, but after draining a big tank for wc's, I just stick the 'u' tube in each bucket and drain them; no carrying...

jlcoop277
09-28-2011, 12:01 AM
AS soon as I move my tank, i'm tying into my water line in my bathroom, and gonna pump the old water right out the window thats close by. No more buckets, and no more dragging a hose to refill.

Darrell Ward
09-28-2011, 12:08 AM
I was so close to buying a few of these... but the necessity of another hose to clean the bottom of the tank just seems cumbersome. So you have a the draining device, another hose to clean the detritus mater, and another to fill? Where the 'Phyton' style uses one hose for it all.

See post #7. You only need one garden hose, and quick change adapters, and a siphon tube, not seperate hoses. Click, pull of the siphon tube, click, put on the pump. Easy.

strawberryblonde
09-28-2011, 12:20 PM
Thanks for clearing up the confusion Darrell. =)

I didn't reread before I posted or I would have realized that the way I wrote it made it sound like you needed a whole separate siphon system. Sorry for being so confusing Matt, what I should have said is that you need to siphon the detritus separately. You can still use the exact same tubing.

rebus20
10-01-2011, 11:16 AM
I took one of the suggestions and took the faucet adapter off and siphoned it into the tube and put the adapter back on and used the sink to refill. Its so much easier than carrying buckets. I can change the water in 10 minutes now.

ericatdallas
10-01-2011, 02:06 PM
First attempt with canister filter a fail! LOL!

Okay, tip #1 (lesson learned): When replacing hose, don't be cheap. I had to replace the hosing to extend it's reach but the hose bent and stopped flow. The pressure from filter forced water through the canister top/seal and leaked all over the floor.

Lesson #2: When modifying plumbing, when possible, put modification in bucket and be ready to clean spill with dry towels.

:)

Off to buy some better hoses from hardware store :)