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The easiest way to do a 40% water change?

greenink

greenink

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Joined
2 May 2011
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London
Interested in whether anyone has a brilliant way of doing this.

What I do is:

- Choose a time at least 2 hours before my CO2 is due to come on
- Siphon off 40% of the water into the sink, using a cut piece of garden hose with a 'filter' attached to the top
- Connect another piece of garden hose to the tap, fiddle about with the taps 'till the water feels lukewarm
- Fill up the tank, checking every now and then that the water coming out of the tap hasn't changed temperature (which it often has)
- Immediately dose fertilisers

The main problem with this technique is that the water temperature just isn't stable. (And I can't dechlorinate the water, but am assuming this doesn't matter with London Tap - let me know if it does, or if you do it! :sick:)

So does anyone have a nifty solution to this tedious business? There must be some way to make use of the pump in the filter, and the inline heater, to make the water come out exactly the right temperature, so it's more seamless. Just can't work out what it is.

Ideas? Has anyone cracked this? :clap:
 
I dont think water changes is tedious with a hose. Some people fuss too much with good intention.

I use a long 50m hose pump at one end to empty water. After emptied 40-50% I then add dechorinator to the tank, wait 15-20 minutes to circulate a bit then attatch other end to tap and turn on to a trickle an let it fill up. Get on with other stuff I want to do, just keeping an eye on the tank.

I do smaller water changes in winter when cold.

Simples.
 
Yeah, I'm totally with sanj on this one. What's the big deal? I do 90% water changes simply by attaching a long hose to a submersible pump and porting the effluent to the garden or a drain. Fill your bathtub with water at the desired temperature and then put the pump in the tub while porting the clean water back into the tank. Have a cup of tea and read the comics while you're waiting. You can even dechlorinate the water while it's in the tub. If the tub is too far away use the kitchen or laundry sink and run water at the right temperature into the sink while pumping it out.

Moving the water is the easy part. Trimming, scrubbing hardscape/hardware and filter cleaning are the tedious jobs.

Cheers,
 
Pay a teenager to do it :idea:

Or:

redonewaterchangehook.jpg

Other End drains to garden or drain etc..........then when the level is reached, you take the other end and attach to the bathroom shower head etc and refill/add dechloro.

No buckets are harmed this way.
 
it really is simple like hoovering the house once you get a routine going
 
Inspired by plantbrain, I think I've come up with a nifty solution:

1. Using a cheap 'u-bend' and the end of a gravel hose, make a fitting where you can just hook the hose over the side of the tank. The end of the hose should end at the level of a 40% water change

water%20change%201.jpg

2. Connect a separate short section of hose with a siphon pump, using a hoselock fixing, to the other end of the hose, pump a couple of times, and water starts to drain out.

water%20change%202.jpg

3. Go away for as long as you like - as water will stop draining when you get to 40%, if your 'u-bend' is the right height.

water%20change%203.jpg

4. Add in Prime dechlorinator

water%20change%204.jpg

5. Using a two way tap splitter, connect the main hose and the siphon pump hose separately. Get the water to come out of just the siphon pump side until the temperature is right. Then open up the tap to the main hose a bit. This means you can check the water temperature going to the tank (if you use the hot tap) constantly, through the short section of siphon hose, without having to put your hands into the tank. And you can also put the fresh water in as quickly or slowly as you like.

water%20change%205.jpg

Sorted. Thanks plantedbrain...
 
My water supply is 10dkh. I use a mixture of tap and ro water, and it's a pain in the jacksy. Every week I have to fill up two 25 litre plastic canisters with the ro machine which takes around ten hours over night. It's not that bad but I'd rather fill up with a hose.
 
I siphon 50% straight out of the adjacent window, then let gravity do the work of getting the fresh water out of my upstairs bath, preheated from hot water tap. I only need a hose.

Is it safe to dechlorinate the tank? There will be chlorine in the water with the fish until youv'e got it filled back up and water circulating.
 
For my downstairs tanks I have a hosepipe system which works a little like a python, emptying into the kitchen sink and filling from same, or sometimes I drain into the garden. My upstairs tank, I fill from my ensuite shower but I cant connect a hose to it, it has a screw on shower hose which terminates in a head. I feel that I should be able to find something that screws onto the outlet but its hosepipe length to reach the tanks or I can attach a hose to it. Can anyone suggest such a connector please (and save my back)?
 
It is possible to get a double ended thread from a DIY store. Remove the shower head and connect in one side of the double thread connector. To the other side you can fit a threaded hoselock fitting that would normally screw onto an outside tap. Then all you need is a hoselock female fitting on your hose pipe and clip this to the tap conncetor on your shower hose.

I used to do this to connect to a pressure washer to clean my back yard area before I had an outside tap. I cannot remember if the double threaded item has a proper name but it should be in the plumbing or shower section of any DIY type store.

Andy
 
Hoselock threaded tap connections come with 1 or two thread reducers. You may have to use one on its own or you can use both together to get to your required thread diameter.

Andy
 
What pumps are you using to pump water from your wet room (be it bathroom or kitchen) to your tank? I need one that will manage to pump approx 4 to 5m - not forgetting the head of water which would be around 1m.

Would something like the Eheim Universal 1046 manage it? or it little more than an over sized power-head?
 
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