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Water Change Question.

Discussion in 'General Plant Topics' started by Whiskey, Jun 14, 2010.

  1. Whiskey

    Whiskey Subscriber

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    Hello all!

    I have a water change related question for you - sorry to start a new thread, but I figured it was better than Hi-jacking someone elses.

    I have seen many people here make reference to changing their aquarium water by simply draining it out, then adding it back to the tank by means of a hose,.. this quote by Tom even shows a really slick attachment to help automate the process:

    My question is, how do you deal with dechlorination when you use this method?

    I used to do something like it when I lived in Phoenix and still had my big tanks, but after a while I noticed I always lost fish right after water changes even though my temp was well matched.

    I assumed (though possibly incorrectly) that the cloramine was not being neutralized quickly enough, and either the Chlorine, or ammonia was burning the fishes gills and killing them.

    I would love to go back to using a hose, but I'm worried about my fish, and wondered if you used some attachment to declor,.. or if you use a particular brand of declor that's better,.. or add water slowly,.. or do anything special to elevate this issue.

    Thanks!
    Whiskey
     
    #1 Whiskey, Jun 14, 2010
  2. Tom Barr

    Tom Barr Founder
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    Drain water, start refill, add Prime(dechor), etc, add ferts etc.
    Try Prime..should help.

    I doubt the extended time would be an issue.
    If you do lots of large water changes, the tap and tank should be similar......


    Regards,
    Tom Barr
     
    #2 Tom Barr, Jun 14, 2010
  3. Whiskey

    Whiskey Subscriber

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    I follow a 50% per week regimin currently for my water changes, so your quite right, the tap and my tank are pretty close as far as I can tell.

    When you said "I doubt the extended time would be an issue" what do you mean?

    Do you fill the tank quickly? Do you leave the filter running?

    Thanks for the help!
    Whiskey
     
    #3 Whiskey, Jun 15, 2010
  4. Tom Barr

    Tom Barr Founder
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    I refill the tanks as fast as I can:)
    Some tanks i leave the filter running, others I cannot.
    Does not make any difference really.

    Regards,
    Tom Barr
     
    #4 Tom Barr, Jun 15, 2010
  5. Whiskey

    Whiskey Subscriber

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    Well! That's all the excuse I need to try it again :D
    I will do a few small water changes, try Prime for my declor, and watch the fish - if all is good I'll try changing 50% at one shot this way.

    Maybe it was something in the Phoenix tap water - Maybe it was the declor I used,.. Maybe it was something totally unrelated,.. hopefully the last one :)

    Thanks!
    Whiskey
     
    #5 Whiskey, Jun 16, 2010
  6. freshwater guy

    freshwater guy Junior Poster
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    Could have been the hose. Some hoses contain chemicals that can leach out and are harmful to fish. I would recommend buying a hose that is designed not to do this. Some buy hoses made for RV's. I found hoses for organic gardening that are safe. They come in 50' lengths and cost about $25.
    Hope this helps.
     
    #6 freshwater guy, Jun 18, 2010
  7. Whiskey

    Whiskey Subscriber

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    That's an interesting thought! I never considered that - heck,.. as a kid I always used to drink from the hose! The hose I was using back then is no longer around,.. it didn't make the move to California - it was a cheapo kmart $5 hose.
    The one I'm using now won't have any issues though - I bought one of those hoses from the knockoff python things - it's made for aquarium use, and is nice and short. That's a plus since the bathroom is literally right next to the room the tank is in :)

    Thanks!
    Whiskey
     
    #7 Whiskey, Jun 19, 2010
  8. shoggoth43

    shoggoth43 Lifetime Charter Member
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    dechlor

    I find that if I'm going to lose fish it's typically right after a water change as well. While the dechlor is in the tank doing its thing, I find some fish just HAVE to swim into the inlet water coming from the faucet. The discus don't seem to experience any issues, but the damned ottos sometimes do themselves in as they're right in the current where the fresh chloramine comes in. I'm not sure if it's the chloramine or if maybe there's some sort of osmotic shock issue due to changes in hardness. They seem to be the only ones that have that problem. I find less problems if I spray the incoming water across the back glass.

    -
    S
     
    #8 shoggoth43, Jun 20, 2010
  9. Tom Barr

    Tom Barr Founder
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    Ottos die if you look at them wrong and some of them live through Atomic wars..........I have some from 2 moves and 3-4 rescapes, tough as nails, others? They died no matter what.
    Temp, adding dechlor(prime seems to have less issue, but who really knows?), I've never had issues really.

    With the hose method in the above pic, you first must drain the water via the hose, this rinses it out.
    Then you let the tap run for a couple of minutes, then refill.
    Unless it's a really foul hose........I really do not see much trouble there.

    Few drain their tanks with one hose and refill with another, but some might?

    Regards.
    Tom Barr
     
    #9 Tom Barr, Jun 23, 2010
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