I am sick of buckets

[pink66]

Hi everyone as I am about to go from 1 large tank to 2 (cichlid 4x2x1.5 and discus 5x2x2) So it will become more than double the work as my discus tank is currently 2x1.5x1.5 (way easy) I am wondering how everyone else does it.. I have tried hoses running outside into the garden but the flow is not strong enough. I do not want to reinvent the wheel I am sure many people have been where I am now.

I look forward to your suggestions on how to reduce the water change time and do away with the buckets.

thanks :wave

[DIY]

For draining you need a larger diameter hose if you want to go any distance like onto your garden and still keep flow. I use one of those black corrugated hoses for diverting washing machine water onto the garden. It's 22mm diameter by 10m long and cost about $15 from that popular green hardware store. I get it started by joining it to my gravel vac. Once I finish with a quick vac of the gravel I break the join and leave one end of the the 22mm hose in the tank. That way it drains at quite a reasonable speed.

For filling back up, I use a largish aquarium pump in my water aging drum. You can connect it to a standard garden type hose, preferably the ones rated for drinking water to put it back into your tank.

I do my 200+ litre water change, drain + fill with a light gravel vac, change my filter pad and add ferts in around 30 minutes. Then another 10 to refill the drum. best of all no buckets :wave1

[pink66]

that sounds very cool indeed.. I am off to the big green shed tomorrow to pick some up!!! mind you any excuse to go there for a visit.

Also I pick the tank up tomorrow.. I am afraid that I am not going to have it cleaned, filled and cycled before my new babies are ready to be picked up.. I can see many water changes coming up in the 2ft tank. :lol:

[pink66]

how important is the water aging container.. I have never done that at all. The africans never seem to complain but I still only have one discus at the moment - Finn "The Super Discus" Able to handle no water changes for 12 months and still be alive for me to adopt, zoom around and give the clown loach a what for and beg for food like no fish I have ever met..

is this something I should be considering to run a super dooper discus tank??

:P

[DIY]

I personally think it's better for the discus, and or me too! but it's not that critical.

It allows you to pre-heat the water to the right temparture as well as add prime etc before going into your tank.

I notice you are in mornington peninsula, I'm not sure exactly how far this imight be for you but there is a place called ideal drum in cheltenham where I got my plastic food grade drum from, only $30 for a 200+ litre. Only open weekdays though.

Drop an airstone, heater and pump in the drum, connect a hose to the pump and you're set to age water and pump it straight into the tank.

[pink66]

thanks DIY looks like I might have a second place to go shopping on holidays soon.. yeah.. half day trip here I come..

thanks again

[waitaki]

I got my plastic food grade drum from, only $30 for a 200+ litre
holy @#$% , I just got a quote in Perth this week for 250 ltr - $261
it is so unfair :cry: :cry: :cry:

[DIY]

The price you have sound like it might be new - these are second hand for $30, used for importing pickles (india is on the sticker) there should be somewhere in Perth that will stock secondhand ones I would imagine

[TW]

Try ebay maybe

[paddyedgar]

I got my plastic food grade drum from, only $30 for a 200+ litre
holy @#$% , I just got a quote in Perth this week for 250 ltr - $261
it is so unfair :cry: :cry: :cry:

waitaki, that big green warehouse sells 200 litre collapsible rain water tanks for $65 which I believe would do the job you want it for.

Paddy

[glamgirl]

Hi, there is also a pickle factory in malaga "sunshine factory"?? that sells the black 200l drums second hand for around $30. I bought mine about 6 months ago for feed drums for horse feed storage, they are great and come with lids. they do smell like pickle for ages though!!!!!!

[DIY]

they do smell like pickle for ages though!!!!!!

Yep - that's the ones :lol: :lol:

[axl]

I have a 450ltr planted discus tank and i just drain tank with a 20mm hose. Then I refill straight from tap in kitchen and have the water slighty warmish and i also add double rate of seachem prime and its done in 15 min, easy as i dont no why people worry about aging there water, discus are lot tougher than what people think.

[BigDaddyAdo]

I have a 450ltr planted discus tank and i just drain tank with a 20mm hose. Then I refill straight from tap in kitchen and have the water slighty warmish and i also add double rate of seachem prime and its done in 15 min, easy as i dont no why people worry about aging there water, discus are lot tougher than what people think.

Have you tested for copper lately?


Ado

[axl]

No i havent tested for copper lately,but i use to test for Cu, I havent had any die yet and they are all healthy.

[BigDaddyAdo]

Do you have instant hot water or a hot water tank?


Ado

[axl]

I use to have a hot water tank so the water was sitting in a copper but now i have got instant which is much better. I was using the other water for about 15 months without any concerns.

[TW]

Then I refill straight from tap in kitchen and have the water slighty warmish and i also add double rate of seachem prime and its done in 15 min, easy as i dont no why people worry about aging there water, discus are lot tougher than what people think.For me, the big advantages of ageing the water are the temp's right without having to mix it at a tap, the water pressure from the pump is constant & I'm not relying on hose shut-off valves not to fail me when crossing the carpet. I just find it easier than hooking up the tap. If I only had tanks full of Africans, I'd still do it for the convenience.

Hey, but we all have our different methods. One thing I've found in this hobby, there are so many different ways to get to the same result and we each do what feels the best for us.

[BigDaddyAdo]

I have also noticed alot of people on various forums saying that they dont even heat the water. They just use it straight from the cold tap.

What are your opinions on this?


Ado

[DIY]

Then I refill straight from tap in kitchen and have the water slighty warmish and i also add double rate of seachem prime and its done in 15 min, easy as i dont no why people worry about aging there water, discus are lot tougher than what people think.For me, the big advantages of ageing the water are the temp's right without having to mix it at a tap, the water pressure from the pump is constant & I'm not relying on hose shut-off valves not to fail me when crossing the carpet. I just find it easier than hooking up the tap. If I only had tanks full of Africans, I'd still do it for the convenience.

Hey, but we all have our different methods. One thing I've found in this hobby, there are so many different ways to get to the same result and we each do what feels the best for us.

well said! I always find it interesting how one method can be so different from another yet it achieves the result and it can simply comes down to what feels or works better for the individual ...

I see this so differently to axl for example. For me filling from a drum is so simple, just turn on the pump. If I had to run hoses from the kitchen sink I know it would be an issue with my significant other, we would argue and I would lose :cry: ... on top of that is the fiddling with the temperature and having to use a double dose of prime to be certain... ugghh to me that's just annoying, give me a drum full of water ready to go anyday.. just press a button and fill the tank - but it doesn't mean I'm right.. it's just what suits me :mrgreen:

[DIY]

I have also noticed alot of people on various forums saying that they dont even heat the water. They just use it straight from the cold tap.

What are your opinions on this?


Ado


In my humble opinion... it would be a silly thing to do with discus. I run my tanks around 28-31 degrees, I'm in melbourne and it's winter so water out of the tap is under 10 degrees at the moment, that's just too big a drop in too short a time when you do a 50% waterchange or more

[TW]

For me filling from a drum is so simple, just turn on the pump. If I had to run hoses from the kitchen sink I know it would be an issue with my significant other, we would argue and I would lose ... on top of that is the fiddling with the temperature and having to use a double dose of prime to be certain... ugghh to me that's just annoying, give me a drum full of water ready to go anyday.. just press a button and fill the tank - but it doesn't mean I'm right.. it's just what suits me You said it so much clearer than me, but that's exactly what I meant. And yes, my hubby hated it when I used to run a hose from the kitchen tap.

[axl]

Well my wife hated it when i had a 200ltr drum beside my tank, she didnt like the look of it. She said it looked ugly and for once i would have to agree with her. Wifey reckons hose into the tap is the go as you can hide it in the cupboard out of the way. Each to there own

[axl]

you turn the hot on a little when runnig it straight from the tap and the temp dosent drop at all and Horsham is alot colder than Melb in winter. [/quote]

[TW]

Well my wife hated it when i had a 200ltr drum beside my tank, she didnt like the look of it. She said it looked ugly and for once i would have to agree with heryep, I'd agree with her too. I wouldn't want the drum inside the house & I know hubby wouldn't stand for it either. I'm lucky there's plenty of room in the garage for the drum, with internal access straight into the rumpus room, where the 3 tanks are. I wouldn't have a drum either, if the only place for it was in the house.

I couldn't master the knack of getting the water temp right & the water pressure right. The water was always running too fast or too slow, too hot or too cold. I wasted an awful lot of water going down the sink, before I would get it right. I know that's probably due to me being dopey, but that's just me.

[DIY]

I must admit I'm probably being unfair about how easy it is from a drum.. I have my drum well insulated outside hidden away so no issues with my domestic master complaining about looks :wink: :lol:

From the drum I have irrigation hose running under the floor (I have easy access under the house) and up through the wall (using a standard electrical sized plate for neatness) behind my main aquarium. I use a "remote" switch I bought from jaycar so all I do is literally turn on a tap I have at the aquarium end of the hose as a safety measure, and press the button on the remote control and it fills my aquarium... too easy :wink:

The hardest part is going outside into the cold to turn on the tap to refill the drum when I'm finished.

And yes horsham is freezing in winter :shock:

[TW]

Wow, sounds a great setup.

Yes, mine's insulated too, but I do have to bring a hose in & out of the garage. We have no under house access (built on a slab)

[DIY]

It's fun to do a quick waterchange when I have someone around that hasn't seen my setup before and I know has an aqaurium.

I watch their face closely when I pull out the remote control and push the button to refill the aquarium...absolutely priceless :wave2 :lol: