• You are viewing the forum as a Guest, please login (you can use your Facebook, Twitter, Google or Microsoft account to login) or register using this link: Log in or Sign Up

Change of WC method

Keetchy

Member
Joined
8 Nov 2019
Messages
439
Location
Milton Keynes
Hey hey hey

So at the moment a 50% WC on my 300 litre tank takes me about 2.5 hours. A breakdown of that is 20mins cleaning the filter out, 45 mins siphoning water and cleaning the glass, 1.5 hours filling back up. I fill the tank back up via the shower. The shower hose is attached to a HMA filter which is then attached to a nitrate removal vessel and then a 6mm pipe comes out of that and into the tank. I could really do with cutting down on the filling up time.

I've heard that George does his in his kitchen sink. Has taps running into bucket so it's at desired temp, stick a pump in the bucket and then a hose off the pump into the tank. Adjust the flow on the pump to match the flow from the taps, add the correct amount of prime or similar product and voila.

Anyone else do it this way? If I do it this way this could save me a lot of time on my WCs.
 
I have a DIY mixer tap (old shower mixer) set it on minimum take 250l litres 50% out of tank then fill it back up as fast as the water will run. On smaller tank take out about 80% then fill it as fast as possible I have no problems
 
Python no spill water changer :thumbup: never looked back since

3 tanks and approx 100L in 45min to an hour
 
I have a DIY mixer tap (old shower mixer) set it on minimum take 250l litres 50% out of tank then fill it back up as fast as the water will run. On smaller tank take out about 80% then fill it as fast as possible I have no problems
Same with you then? You dont add anything to the tap water to make it safe for the fish?
 
I use the same method as George as cannot use an adaptor on the sink tap.


George uses an Eheim 1000 L/ph pump which is perfect so his combi boiler can keep up.
I used to use the same as my tanks are quite away from the sink (maybe 8M for the furthest one) so was a tad slower than I liked (was perfect when my tanks were on a closer wall).

So on recommendation from @Geoffrey Rea changed to the Eheim compact 3000. Scaled down to accept 16/22.

either way the method works really well and no need to lift buckets.
 
Python no spill water changer :thumbup: never looked back since

3 tanks and approx 100L in 45min to an hour

never used the python hose but people say it waste a lot of water?

can be quite expensive if you need a long length?

needs to fit onto your tap?
 
So you've never added anything like prime to dechlorinate the water?
No not really, I know there are fish folk who would hang draw and quarter me and haul me over the coals for not doing so, but I've never really experienced any problems in the many decades I've kept fish. Besides it's okay to direct dose the tank with prime so no need to make life unnecessarily difficult. Regular water changes are important for critter health and the easier it is the more likely we are to undertake them.
I didn't know pure tap water was safe for fish.
Some tank crashes may have been attributed to dodgy tap water, but potable water supply regulations are extremely stringent and other causes are far more likely, especially in an unplanted tank...Take a look at Nathan's article in PFK Wise up on wipe outs. Regardless, using a dechlorinator is probably a good move, and maybe one I should adopt in future.
 
Is that all 3 tanks, 100 litres each, in an hour? I'll have to Google this water changer then :cool:

No 100L total but a bit of chopping and changing, if that was all on one tank you could do it in about half that

never used the python hose but people say it waste a lot of water?

can be quite expensive if you need a long length?

needs to fit onto your tap?

Yeh it does waste a bit which is the main downside as well as cost, wastes the equivalent of running the tap for the time it takes to drain x amount of tank water

It's pretty expensive at around £90 for the 15m kit but that should do most people

Yeh you need to have a threaded mixer tap for it to screw on to

But it is honestly so simple and easy to use, screw on tap, run tap, other end in tank, wait for it to drain, adjust tap to correct temp and twist nozzle on tap which sends water back to the tank and wait for it to fill back up

I dose the full tank volume with prime and I also change the tank end bit to the python hook for filling it back up as well
 
I just use a garden hose clamped to the side with a d clamp and syphon straight out into the garden. I then use a hose lock adaptor on the kitchen and use the hose again to fill up. Use enough prime for the whole tank. Takes no time at all and couldn’t be easier, whole process takes about half an hour. Doing one now actually.

cheers

conor
 

Attachments

  • 90E2030C-E46B-4222-9B54-989BFB5F6FA4.jpeg
    90E2030C-E46B-4222-9B54-989BFB5F6FA4.jpeg
    114.7 KB · Views: 121
I use a python with the brass adaptor that screws into my kitchen tap where the aerator or whatever it is called goes. It probably wastes a lot of water but makes life very easy! I couldn't imagine lugging buckets around at all, the python is by far the best £60 i've spent in this hobby.

I have a 125l tank (soon to be 180l) 80%water changes every sunday and literally takes about 15/20 mins in total to drain and fill up. The other positive things are that you can hoover the substrate/plants while you drain and adjust the temperature while filling up if you didn't get it right to begin with. You can also control the rate/speed of water being drained or filled by using the tap.
 
George uses an Eheim 1000 L/ph pump which is perfect so his combi boiler can keep up.
I used to use the same as my tanks are quite away from the sink (maybe 8M for the furthest one) so was a tad slower than I liked (was perfect when my tanks were on a closer wall).

either way the method works really well and no need to lift buckets.
Thanks bud. I will have to look into pumps then. My tank is only about 3 or 4m away from the sink so I wouldn't need an extremely powerful one. But if I could use this method, not only would it save me time but it will also prolong the life of my power shower

Regardless, using a dechlorinator is probably a good move, and maybe one I should adopt in future.
Yeah I think I'd use a dechlorinator. Knowing my luck something will go wrong if i dont :(:(

Thanks bud. I'll just get a big bottle of it to make it last quite a few changes

Yeh you need to have a threaded mixer tap for it to screw on to

But it is honestly so simple and easy to use, screw on tap, run tap, other end in tank, wait for it to drain, adjust tap to correct temp and twist nozzle on tap which sends water back to the tank and wait for it to fill back up

Ah ok I'll have to give this one a miss then. I dont have a mixer tap on the sink, we have a separate hot and cold tap.

I just use a garden hose clamped to the side with a d clamp and syphon straight out into the garden. I then use a hose lock adaptor on the kitchen and use the hose again to fill up. Use enough prime for the whole tank.
conor
Is that a gravel cleaner on the end of the hose?

I use a python with the brass adaptor that screws into my kitchen tap where the aerator or whatever it is called goes.
Thanks. I dont think I'll use one of these as I dont have a compatible tap for it to attach to
 
Last edited by a moderator:
When we upgraded to a 340l I knew buckets just weren't going to work any more - 17 buckets a day in the first week? From a wheelchair? Nope!

i got a 1800l/hr pump from AllPondSolutions and 10m of 16mm hose from Amazon, both about a tenner each. The pump pops into the tank, other end in the loo to empty (7m away).

Filling is a two person job: Pump goes into kitchen sink (no mixer taps so run both hot and cold with a thermometer in the sink to get roughly right), 8m away. I dose the sink with a tank worth of "Safe" (aprox 1/4 teaspoon). Hubby holds tank end of hose in colander so the plants don't get blasted (thanks George!) while I balance the speed of taps to match pump outflow. Hubby can watch telly while he does it so doesn't complain as much =)
 
Is that a gravel cleaner on the end of the hose?
No it’s a bit of a bodge job lol. Some plastic mesh cable tied to the end, stops the inquisitive fish and shrimp getting sucked up. You cant really make it out in that pic but that mesh gets covered in curious shrimp. I’ll use a gravel cleaner separately at the same time to get at the substrate properly.


Cheers

Conor
 
Filling is a two person job: Pump goes into kitchen sink (no mixer taps so run both hot and cold with a thermometer in the sink to get roughly right), 8m away. I dose the sink with a tank worth of "Safe" (aprox 1/4 teaspoon). Hubby holds tank end of hose in colander so the plants don't get blasted (thanks George!) while I balance the speed of taps to match pump outflow. Hubby can watch telly while he does it so doesn't complain as much =)

Perfect. This is the exact method I'm going to go for I think. But cause I'm always home alone when I do a WC, I'll get some kind of clamp to hold the hose in the colander in the tank while I adjust the pump flow
 
Back
Top