Water change question

ibanezfrelon

Guru Class Expert
May 18, 2010
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croatia
Hi guys!
I usualy change 70% of water weekly or 50% twica a week.
It looks kinda like this: I drain the water with a hose conected to a powerhead...
..than i take canisters in wich i prepared the water the day before , lift them on the fridge that's higher than my tank and than i pour the water from the canisters with a hose..

Well, i aint getting any younger so i was thinking of skipping the fridge part and put the water in directly from the tap and than treat the water with the conditioner etc..

Would the clorine effect the bacterias in my filter before the water conditioner does it's work?
 

Gerryd

Plant Guru Team
Lifetime Member
Sep 23, 2007
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South Florida
Hi,

I drain the same as you....

For refill...

1) add Prime or dechlorinator of choice to TANK.
2) run a flex hose straight from the tap to the tank,
3) turn on water and clean the glass, etc while waiting.
4) when tank is full, turn off water (lol), and disconnect.

I found a nice quick connect type setup at Home depot or hardware store.

Just has a portion that connects to the tap and has a barbed end for the flex hose.

Works well. You can adjust the taps to control the temp if extremes are an issue..

Hope this helps.
 

dutchy

Plant Guru Team
Lifetime Member
Jul 6, 2009
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The Netherlands
Hi,

I drain and fill at the same time. That way I don't need to shut off filters, CO2 etc. Tall plants don't get damage that way either. It also takes less time to do. Only drawback: it takes 50% more water.

regards,
dutchy
 

ibanezfrelon

Guru Class Expert
May 18, 2010
205
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croatia
So, you don't think i should worry about bacterias in my filter..
My tap water is treated with Chlorine Dioxide..
Dutchy: I like the idea of not shutting down the system during water change , i don't think i would know how much water i've changed though..

I'm just worried about that fresh chlorine going in my Fluval...
 

Gbark

Guru Class Expert
Jun 15, 2009
266
1
18
Tap water!!! yuk yuk

I don't use tap water, so i fill my container the day before with RO water, heat and agitate. then i drain the water from my tank via a hose out the back door, i also disconncet my filter and replace the filter cloth. I then fill my tank from my water container using a hose and a small pond pump. i have the pump on a remote and when the tank is full i knock it off. :D
 

ibanezfrelon

Guru Class Expert
May 18, 2010
205
0
16
44
croatia
Thnx guys , i'm still not clear with the chlorine, i guess the filter bacterias will survive though ..
What about water temperature? Now, the water is not really cold because it's summer , but what about winter time?
...do you refill directly from tap in the winter as well?
 
C

csmith

Guest
ibanezfrelon;53306 said:
i'm still not clear with the chlorine

Prime, AmQuel, Aquasafe or something comparable.

ibanezfrelon;53306 said:
...do you refill directly from tap in the winter as well?

Just get a thermometer and adjust the tap to what you need, then fill.
 

dutchy

Plant Guru Team
Lifetime Member
Jul 6, 2009
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The Netherlands
ibanezfrelon;53306 said:
Thnx guys , i'm still not clear with the chlorine, i guess the filter bacterias will survive though ..
What about water temperature? Now, the water is not really cold because it's summer , but what about winter time?
...do you refill directly from tap in the winter as well?

I always use tap water, but add conditioner right away. I've never seen any adverse effect on my fikters because of chlorine. The only thing that's noticable is that fish with large fins get more beautiful. To fill I always use the thermostatic tap from the shower, just set the temperature to the right level an go.
I don't have any problem to fill from the tap. If I'm allowed to drink it, my fish can swim in it ;) I could use RO water, but then afterwards I would have to add what was already there.

regards,
dutchy
 

shoggoth43

Lifetime Charter Member
Lifetime Member
Jan 15, 2009
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Temp I make a few degrees colder. It tends to make lots of fish species decide to spawn. I throw the Prime in to dechlorinate. I've got a 1" hose for draining so I can dump any tank in a few minutes and then refill with a python. Takes a while and many of the plants are exposed, but as long as they don't dry out, it's just free CO2 and helps to deal with any pesky algae, plus I can spot treat anything with Excel if I have to and it's fairly easy to trim any plants. The wet dry can usually handle being dry for a while. The cannister is good for about 45 minutes or so before I get worried about the bacteria in it.

-
S
 

shoggoth43

Lifetime Charter Member
Lifetime Member
Jan 15, 2009
1,092
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Temp I make a few degrees colder. It tends to make lots of fish species decide to spawn. I throw the Prime in to dechlorinate. I've got a 1" hose for draining so I can dump any tank in a few minutes and then refill with a python. Takes a while and many of the plants are exposed, but as long as they don't dry out, it's just free CO2 and helps to deal with any pesky algae, plus I can spot treat anything with Excel if I have to and it's fairly easy to trim any plants. The wet dry can usually handle being dry for a while. The cannister is good for about 45 minutes or so before I get worried about the bacteria in it.

-
S
 

hbosman

Guru Class Expert
Oct 22, 2008
277
1
18
Leesburg VA USA
dutchy;53329 said:
I always use tap water, but add conditioner right away. I've never seen any adverse effect on my fikters because of chlorine. The only thing that's noticable is that fish with large fins get more beautiful. To fill I always use the thermostatic tap from the shower, just set the temperature to the right level an go.
I don't have any problem to fill from the tap. If I'm allowed to drink it, my fish can swim in it ;) I could use RO water, but then afterwards I would have to add what was already there.

regards,
dutchy

That's funny! Let's RO the water to take out the magnesium, calcium, phosphorus and nitrates. Then afterwards add....magnesium, calcium, phosphorus and nitrates and traces.