# The easiest way to do a 40% water change?



## greenink (10 Jul 2011)

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!  ) 

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?


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## sanj (12 Jul 2011)

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.


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## ceg4048 (13 Jul 2011)

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,


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## plantbrain (13 Jul 2011)

Pay a teenager to do it :idea:

Or:






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.


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## sdlra (13 Jul 2011)

it really is simple like hoovering the house once you get a routine going


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## greenink (24 Jul 2011)

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



 

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. 





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.





4. Add in Prime dechlorinator





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.





Sorted. Thanks plantedbrain...


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## Gary Nelson (5 Aug 2011)

Glad I've just read this post, some great ideas for making my water changes much easier


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## Bobtastic (5 Aug 2011)

I use a Maxi-Jet power head to pump my water out. I don't think it's the cheapest option tho...


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## Skatersav (3 Feb 2012)

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.


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## sWozzAres (4 Feb 2012)

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.


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## Morgan Freeman (4 Feb 2012)

I don't do waterchanges.


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## Skatersav (5 Feb 2012)

Hmm, I'd like to get to that place.


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## peaches (5 Feb 2012)

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)?


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## awtong (6 Feb 2012)

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


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## peaches (6 Feb 2012)

Thank you I will look into that.  I thought the hozelock fittings were larger though, the shower hose is half an inch.


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## awtong (7 Feb 2012)

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


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## greenink (7 Feb 2012)

I have an even more cunning system now


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## skeletonw00t (18 Feb 2012)

Is dechlorinating essential? I ran out and didn't do it on my last change & all seems ok...


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## greenink (18 Feb 2012)

I didn't do it for ages when I started and was all fine. But do it now.


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## jellyfish6 (23 Feb 2012)

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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## hinch (23 Feb 2012)

small pond pump or a power head hooked to a hose will work fine  failing that hose directly onto the tap mains pressure will cover any distance no problems


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## jellyfish6 (23 Feb 2012)

I want to premix the water before the tank so I'll need a pump.  (The bath tap is a funny shape).  Just wondering what I can get away with really.


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## hinch (23 Feb 2012)

something like this will do it 

http://www.allpondsolutions.co.uk/aquar ... 0-l-h.html

just push a hose pipe over the outlet (since its round not square like some other powerheads)


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## Quetzalcoatl (23 Feb 2012)

> I want to premix the water before the tank so I'll need a pump. (The bath tap is a funny shape). Just wondering what I can get away with really.



Hi mate. I use one of these. The 1000 Variation - 150/1000lph
http://www.swelluk.com/aquarium/pumps-and-powerheads-33/water-pumps-206/eheim-compact-pumps-290.html

I connect some 16 mm hose pipe, drop it in the tank and pump out 50%. I have a 80 litre storage container outside which I fill with tap water and condition it. I then drop the pump in the storage container and pump the treated water back into the tank. Simples.  
The flow is fully adjustable on these units aswell, so you could use it in the tank to generate some extra flow also if you wanted to?


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## jellyfish6 (23 Feb 2012)

Great.  Thanks guy's.


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## Palm Tree (8 Apr 2012)

I use a 1.5inch hose to drain then a hosepipe coneceted to the kitchen tap to fill but my new idea is to get a 200l or 300l waterbutt, fill it with water the night before and let it get to room temp then add dechlorinator (seahem safe) then when I want to do a wc I can just drain water out the door into the garden and pump the water from the waterbutt using a fast pump. Can anyone think of any problems with my idea? It would make water changes so much  easier and faster I could do them twice a week.


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## Gfish (8 Apr 2012)

Can't see a problem with your idea, but it will save you using de chlorinator. Leaving the water standing overnight does the job of chlorine evaporating.


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## Palm Tree (8 Apr 2012)

I thought about the chlorine evaporating  but I thought as a water butt has a small surface area all the chlorine wouldnt evaporate.Im gonna get some seachem safe,its a dry powder dechlorinator and you can get 250g for £13.39  off ebay and I think that will treat 150,000l of water.


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