water changes

[utiliy]

well, i know most of you change your water daily(50%)...but i change mine every other day. i have 2 tanks.a 29g which house 2 discus and a 55g tank that house 6 discus. no plants, 2 sponge filters and a power filter in both of them. i take out 5g in the 29 and 10g in the 55 every other day. it that enough to make them grow, and be healthy?

[Discus_Josh]

From my experience (not much compared with others), I'd say no. If you are feeding "fouling" foods (BH, Mysis or BW) you would need more w/c. I have found that my discus do much better the more attention and w/c I give them.

In regards to my last experience, I got some awesome stock (15 fish) from Cary, and I stunted atleast 1/2 of them. I think this was in part due to my w/c schedule (25-50% every 2 days). In my opinon, if you want big healthy fish, feed BH/BW and flakes/Tetra Bits and do lots of w/c's, its worth it in the end.

my 2 cents

Josh

[Carol_Roberts]

20% every other day is not very much. Better to do 20% every day or 50% every other day.

[utiliy]

lets remember i use the old school of siphoning....with a hose and a 5g bucket. i done 20% on the 29g and about 30% of the 55g today. its kind of hard to do it everyday, work and all. BUT-just maybe i can get the wife to help out some...
lol's

[GEM]

Hi guy, you need to buy a Python water exchanger. Wallmart has them and then there will be no more buckets and you can do it all by yourself. :D :D :D







GORDON

[sidra]

Ditto! I use the Lee's gravel vac/water changer. It connects to your faucet. You put the other end in your tank. Turn the water on and the valve on "drain" and it siphons water from your tank down your drain. Then you turn the valve to "fill" and water runs the other way and into your tank. Some of the pros here have heavy duty systems they designed but the store bought one works great for a small-timer like me.

You just have to be careful about using these if your tap water needs aging or adjusting before you put it in the tank. Luckily my water is soft and I only have to adjust the PH slightly. Also, my tap water has very little chlorine.....All important things to consider if you're going to use one of these water changers.

Until I got advice from people on this forum, I was only doing water changes twice a week and I had 2" discus. Now I've started doing 20-30% water changes EVERY DAY and my fish are growing like weeds. Also, much less problems with disease.

Kristen

[Giniel]

I have the same thing a nice python to conect to the faucet but I run it outside to the ga9rden and just loop it a few times and pull the loops out leaving the end in the tank and it starts its own siphon. to fill just connect to faucet and fill. so much easier than buckets.I only use buckets on breeding tanks now
Debbie

[maine07]

I just used normal 3/4" clear hose pipes that are bigger than the normal size of 1/2". Tie a stopper with a rubberband to one end of the hose and press the stopper on the tank. Put water into the hose till it is 1/2 way filled. Put the other end to the drainer. Just pull vertically the hose that have some water in it. The water will flow towards the drainer. I only need 5mins to drain out 80% of my 3ft tank. That's fast, easily, cheaper and disposable.

[utiliy]

i'll have to check into one of those...thanks!

[maine07]

I bought from pvc manufacturer in Singapore. They sell in 50mtrs. Alternatively in Singapore, I can find these pvc hose pipe in hardware shop. Not sure over at your side. :D

[ed8t]

My Python runs a little too slow for me so I use a clear vinyl hose hooked to a utility pump to pump the water out.

Maine07 do you have any pics of your set-up?

[Cosmo]

I think Sidra hit it right on the head... a good daily WC routine not only results in better growth, but also healthier fish so you deal with fewer health issues (buy less meds :) )

Utiliy, you definately need a new setup ... lol You'll grow old fast doing it the bucket brigade way :D Pythons work good for smaller tanks, but like ed8t pointed out, they are a little slow for larger tanks..

Jim

[maine07]

My Python runs a little too slow for me so I use a clear vinyl hose hooked to a utility pump to pump the water out.

Maine07 do you have any pics of your set-up?

Hi,
Give me some time to take a few pics and post. Try to get it done by today. :D

[funkyfish]

hey i do the python and a 5 gal bucket and i change 10 gal on my 29's and 25 on my 75 's every day and my fish love me for it and i use a 3 gal bucket to fill them back up fish love it and it gives me something to do in the evening :D

[maine07]

Hi ed8t,

This is my setup of hose I'm referring to. I saw the breeders in Malaysia were using a much bigger hose than mine. I think about 3-4" in diameter.

[maine07]

One end with a stopper using rubberband to tie on it. Put the stopper on the tank like this.

[maine07]

Fill the hose with water from the end of the hose. And pull vertically upwards.

[maine07]

Put the other end of the hose to the drainage. Once you pull the hose vertically, water will flow immediately to the drainage.

[ed8t]

Thanks maine07!

That looks like a 25'/7.5 metre hose you have there? What do you use for a stopper?

[utiliy]

what i have been missing....you talk about making life easier! the python works great, just need to get a longer hose for it.i visited the local wal-mart and checked it out...i had to have one! i guess its time to visit lowes to see about a few brass fittings and some more hose.! i took out over 50% of water and added water to my 2 tanks in a matter of minutes. all these years, i used the old school method-for you who don't have a python-get one, i sure did.

[Cosmo]

You can buy python extensions relatively cheaply at all the online fish suppliers. They also sell the python fittings (so do some lfs but at twice the price). buy yourself some 1/2 hose and the fittings and you can extend it as far as you want for less :)
Jim

[maine07]

Thanks maine07!

That looks like a 25'/7.5 metre hose you have there? What do you use for a stopper?

When you pull the hose pipe upwards vertically, the stopper is to secure the hose pipe to the tank when you are doing wc alone. The stopper is also very cheap to invest, maybe a S$0.50 per pc. It also reduce your cost when you throw away the hose pipe and stopper after you finish quarantine your fishes.

There is a way to clean your present common hose pipe when they are filled with black dirt (used for all the tanks). When you siphon the water, just use a sponge to put into the hose. Do it a few time and the hose will be clean again.

Those breeders uses 3 to 4inch diameter hose pipe need only 1-2minutes to get 90% of water drain out from 3ft tank. That's fast. However they drain the water to the floor, not like us to the drainage.

[maine07]

Thanks maine07!

That looks like a 25'/7.5 metre hose you have there? What do you use for a stopper?

To add, the pvc hose dimension I'm using is:

1) 3/4" (diameter) x 1.75mm (thickness of pvc) x 50m (length)
2) 7/8" (diameter) x 2.00mm (thickness of pvc) x 50m (length).

So you just cut according to the length you required. There is other sizes as well. You can check with your hardware shop over in your country. Not sure whether your hardware shop have them. In Singapore, only a handful of them have the big size pvc hose. It took me a while to find this hose.

[utiliy]

well, i guess the python is a special hose...inside diameter and out...i used 1/2 inside diameter x 5/8 outside diameter..but it flew apart once-what a mess. would a few hose clamps fix this promblem?

[maine07]

This is how the stopper look like.

[maine07]

Side view of it.

[maine07]

Another type. Remove the hook.

[maine07]

Tie rubberband onto the stopper as shown.

[maine07]

Tie the stopper to one end of the pvc hose as shown.

[walk23]

Your water change regimen should be based on water quality. Invest in a quality nitrate test. Try to maintain low stable nitrates, less than 5 to 10. Once you get a feel for how much water is needed to be changed your regimen is set. Make sure your change water is pH stable and temp stable and your fish should do nicely.
Kevin :angel:

[Thuanau]

Hi all,

I hope someone can help me. My 2 55" tanks are in the basement. In the summer months, I attach my phython to the garden faucet outside my basement window and it works fast in draining. My problem is the winter months because the nearest sink is up 14 stair steps on the 1st level. I have an unfinish basement so there's no water source. I'm thinking of getting the ViaAqua 4900 with 1,321gph and some 3/4" tubing to drain the tanks to the sink on the 1st floor level. Is this pump strong enough to do the job? I don't want to spend a fortune on a pump. Any help you can give is much appreciated.

Thanks,
Thuan

[raglanroad]

There should be a drain in your basement floor somewhere, maybe look for a spot that is covered up by tiles or something. Then you can refill from upstairs with a hose.

[Thuanau]

Is it the round metal circle with round little holes? This would save me some $$ on the pump and tubing. Thanks