i just did my first water change and i have some questions.

is there an easier way than using buckets?

do i ahve to neutralise each bucket of water i put in?

when i pour the bucket in it stirs the sand up is there a better way?

should the water i put in be close to the temperature in the tank?

i think that is all

i only ahve 1 bucket and after going back and forth 1000000 times i think i will buy more buckets...

dexter wrote:


www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?produ...753239&lmdn=Fish
invest in a siphon hose you can hook up to your sink, or use a water hose run in thru a window, thats how i do mine. i siphon and drain straight out into the yard, and fill er back up with my garden hose. i add the prescribed ammount of watertreatment and fill it up (i only do that if it the temperature is warm here, in cold weather i still use buckets)

if your using buckets and stirring up your sand.... i dont know what your stature is but when i do water changes on my puffer fish (i gotta mix the saltwater so the hose doesnt apply to that tank) i just hold the bucket of water with one arm and pour slowly, into my other hand a few inches under the surface of the water to break up the flow so nothing gets disturbed. you could use a clean plate or perhaps a baking sheet pan to do the same thing if you cant handle holdin the bucket in 1 hand.

altho i have seriously been thinking about duplicating the setup i had in my aquaculture class back in highschool. a 35 gallon trash can, on wheels, with a pond pump in it.

Aggreed, I put the hose in the tank and attach it to the side with a suction-cup-clip.
Suck on the other end, and the water goes out the window or in the sink.
I fill the tank with the hose and point the tip horizontal and just below water level.
It will give a lot less of a mess compared to buckets.

yes, garden hose can do the job. submerge one end at the tank
(make sure it is not touching the substrate), and by gravity,
water will run when you slightly suck the other end. you can
direct the discharge anywhere as long as it is lower than
your tank. (fluid mechanics due to gravity)

another option is to attach a hose at the discharge point of
your filter, and it will throw the water wherever you may wish;
drain line, garden, or canal.

yeah that sounds much easier...when i fill it bback up should i ahve my filter off and then use the neutraliser straight into the tank?

I used to treat my water before i put it in the tank, but since I have to do massive amounts of Waterchanges, i put the primer straight into the tank before I fill up the tank.
I also put in calciumoxide to keep my Gh at the same level.
Our tapwater is very soft.I was told keeping my Gh steady will result in a steady Ph as well. Dunno why that is, but it works fine.

Noddy wrote:


What about water temp though?

you want it to be as close to the same temp as the tank water as possible. a few degrees off wont hurt but if your tanks 80 and your water in your plumbing is 60... that might shock your fish.

as it is this time of year here i can just put it straight into the tank.

during cold weather i use buckets and let my water run about 10 minutes with just hot water going to get the pipes a uniform temp, then i adjust the valves with the hot barely going with the cold on high till i match my tank temp. ive always done it like that.

Goob_Scooper wrote:


What about water temp though?[/quote]

I'm still curious, couldn't find anything.
Lowest lethal temp for a Oscar is 12,8oC but I could not find a highest lethal temp.
Anyone?
Don't get me wrong, I'm no Dr.Mengele , and love to keep my fish happy.
Just curious and wouldn't advice keeping your fish at extreme temps.

Use a hosepipe connected to a mixer tap, set the temperature out of the tap to the same temerature as the tank

Add the dechlorinator to the tank before adding the fresh water

If you have problems with the new water disturbing the substrate (the bottom) then put either a bowl or a small container in the tank and pour the fresh water into that. This will stop the substrate getting disturbed