Alternative to Aging Water?

[DiscusMark]

My city water comes out of the tap very high (close to ph 9). I currently am aging the water with aeration, which brings the ph down to about 7.5 after about 36 hours. This is working fine for the fish, as the tank has remained at a stable 7.3-7.5. The problem is that aging water is quite a pain in my house: the tank is on the second floor, kids running around, limited space, etc. The other problem is that it means that I only have a limited amount of water available for water changes at a given time: about 20g for my 55g tank. I'd like to be able to do larger WCs than this, but aging the water makes that difficult.

Instead of aging, could I use something like Seachem's Neutral Regulator to treat the new water before adding to the tank? What would the potential shortcomings of such an approach be?

Thanks in advance.

[RobC]

Don't worry about the PH too much, my PH is around there as well and my fish are doing fine, I just use Seachem Safe.

[Clawhammer]

With that kind of pH swing, unfortunately there is no way around aging for you. The pH changes because gasses in the water are being gassed out, adding chemicals will not change that.

[Jenene]

Don't worry about the PH too much, my PH is around there as well and my fish are doing fine, I just use Seachem Safe.

From what I have learned the PH does not matter (other than breeding) as long as it is stable. In this case it is not. That is a big drop that is why he is aging the water.

I have no experience with the Seachem product but I have a suspicion if it were that easy no one would be ageing water. I would be weary of doing anything other than ageing water the old fashioned way.

Maybe some of the do it yourselfer guys here can think of a solution to make it easier for you.

[DatDiscusDude]

Nothing is going to do the trick like a true age...

Any other options for a bigger storage bin somewhere else? You could pump the water from another location. Or wheels or dolly? Kept he storage bin in another room and wheel it over for changes.

[DiscusMark]

No good options as far as other storage bin locations. But thanks for the replies. I was mostly trying to figure out whether using a product could have the same effect on the gasses in the water as aging does. Sounds like that's a no.

What is acceptable as far as ph swings go? Before I got the discus, I did water changes straight from the tap, putting water with an 8.8 ph directly into the tank with its 7.2 ph. Never did more than about a 25% wc, and it was fine for the cories, rummynose, and Amano shrimp in the tank. I'm new to discus, and am being cautious, so have been aging the water since I got them. But I'm curious about whether doing a water change of, say, 30%, with unaged water would be a problem for them, since the effect would be diluted by the remaining tank water.

(I'm asking more for future purposes: I plan to be particularly cautious while the fish are young and growing. They're doing well so far: already eating from my hand after 48 hrs in the tank.)

[Kyla]

ph from our tap is going to be about 9.6 (due to sodium hydroxide added to city supply) and will drop after a day of aeration. i dont want to swiing the ph up, then have it drop again during wc so i need to age it as well.

what are u currently using to age water? can u give details about your set up? there must be a way to make this process easier for u. i age about 150gal of water in a single large upright barrel next to the laundry machine. then i can pump the water via a hose running behund the wall and into the tank, starting the pump with a remote control while i stand next to the tank. i was frustrated with wc before i figured out an efficient method

[Jenene]

Is there any chance you could re-purpose a closet? It sounds like you are tight on space but it would be a safer option with kids around. Not sure how young they are but I imagine aging barrels full of water could be a big safety hazard if the children are small. A closet could tuck the barrel out of sight and could be locked. I took over the front hall coat closet to help contain the unsightly barrels. I have a 44 g and 32 g for my discus and a 20 g of ro/di for my reef. I was able to put the 2 smaller ones in there so now I just have one out.

I know this is not what you wanted to hear from the idea of just adding a chemical, however I am hoping one of these storage ideas will be helpful.

[DiscusMark]

Thanks for the replies, everyone. A closet is definitely out of the question: my wife's reaction to the amount of real estate these discus have occupied already makes that clear!

I'm intrigued by Kyla's idea, but am unsure how feasible it is at my house. I have a 100-yr old house, and the tank is in a bedroom/office on the second floor. If I took this route, the barrel would need to be in the basement, and the hose would have to ascend at least 25 feet vertically. Kyla: is this similar to your situation? If so, what is the pump/remote you are using?

Another alternative would be to put the barrel in my attic. Then the hose would need to ascend only 10 feet (to be filled), and down again (to fill the tank). The problem with this option is temperature: the attic gets very hot (probably close to 100 degrees) in summer and cold (45, I'd guess) in winter.

[Jenene]

[QUOTE=DiscusMark;1260769]Thanks for the replies, everyone. A closet is definitely out of the question: my wife's reaction to the amount of real estate these discus have occupied already makes that clear!

Lol! I completely get it! Luckily I am the one who uses the closets the most so it was kind of my call. Just thought I'd throw that out there. They do take up a lot of room don't they?

Good luck! I hope the alternative solution works for you!:)

[Kyla]

my pump is pushing water horizontally, although it is strong and i am sure it could push vertically, i just dont know much about pumps so cant be much help there. i have read other threads about this subject so u may be able to track down some
members here who have exp moving water upwards, eg this thread mentions it: http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?127118-using-a-house-sump-pump/page3&highlight=pump+head+pressure

they also talk about remote on/off switches, looks like if u r futher away than the key fob works there is an app for that lol

this is my water tank and i just plug the pump into the remote on the wall there when im ready to run it.

http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm182/kylasfish/Mobile%20Uploads/9F04EF48-62CD-409B-BF24-D18C28A0583C_zpstzndi8bi.jpg (http://s296.photobucket.com/user/kylasfish/media/Mobile%20Uploads/9F04EF48-62CD-409B-BF24-D18C28A0583C_zpstzndi8bi.jpg.html)

and yes if u have kids around its def a good idea to lock ur water up. ive seen ppl rig locks for their barrels, so if u cant put it in a closet u may be able to make a lockable lid.

[LizStreithorst]

You're stuck with having to age, I'm afraid. I hope you find a way to make it easier for you.

[Kyla]

this is the wireless remote im using:

https://www.amazon.ca/Woods-59743-1-Outlet-Wireless-Control/dp/B0046W7SQW

this is my pump (its overkill, u can get much cheaper ones for moving water horizontally)

http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm182/kylasfish/Mobile%20Uploads/736881D2-CB5B-44DA-A8A3-A9E2D3EFCBCA_zpskrvcfff8.jpg (http://s296.photobucket.com/user/kylasfish/media/Mobile%20Uploads/736881D2-CB5B-44DA-A8A3-A9E2D3EFCBCA_zpskrvcfff8.jpg.html)

[Kyla]

any way u could hide a bit of a smaller tank under the stand of ur current fish tank and use that to store water?

[brady]

Just a comment.
The amt. of gph a pump is capable of pumping is referred to as "head" and they will be rated for example 100gal/hr at 0 feet,
meaning the hose is lying flat on the floor, level with the pump. From there it could be rated at 75 gal @4 ft., 35 @ 5ft. and so forth.
At a certain height the pump will no longer be able to pump.
Bottom line , if you have to pump water, again as an example 25 ft., get a pump that will do at least 100 gal/hr at 50 ft.
Jay

[LizStreithorst]

I bought my two big pumps from Aquatic Ecocystems before they were purchased by PentAir. They were very knowledgeable and helpful to me even though each time I purchased I only wanted one pump each time. They mostly sell to big places but they didn't make me feel like a small fry. I don't know if it's the same there now.

Keep this in mind. You need a high head pump. The larger the diameter of the hose you use the less hard the pump will have to work and the shorter the tank filling time. Most of my tanks are hard plumbed with PVC but for the ones that are not hard plumbed I use 1" hose. 1" is available on line. It ain't cheap but it was worth it to me because I'm dealing with a fish room.

[Ryan925]

I bought my two big pumps from Aquatic Ecocystems before they were purchased by PentAir. They were very knowledgeable and helpful to me even though each time I purchased I only wanted one pump each time. They mostly sell to big places but they didn't make me feel like a small fry. I don't know if it's the same there now.

Keep this in mind. You need a high head pump. The larger the diameter of the hose you use the less hard the pump will have to work and the shorter the tank filling time. Most of my tanks are hard plumbed with PVC but for the ones that are not hard plumbed I use 1" hose. 1" is available on line. It ain't cheap but it was worth it to me because I'm dealing with a fish room.

+1 needs to be high head. All pumps should have some literature with a pump curve. This will give you the performance of the pump at a specified height of head.

Size your pump correctly and you should have no issues.

[DiscusMark]

Thanks, everyone--much appreciated!