Water Changes & Gravel Vacuuming

[swingn]

Hi All

I've almost finished running a course of Big L in my tank, so I have been doing water changes every 3-4 days as suggested. I will also be running a few other courses of medication to ensure everything is in tip top shape :D

Once I have finished medicating the tank, I will be settling into doing 1 water change per week. My tank is approx 140L's & I have been changing approx 40L's every water change, using a gravel vac each time.

From the reading & advice I have received I would actually like to be changing 50-60L's, however I have had dramas finding a container large enough (That does not leech into the water). My original plan was to use a 50L storage container, fill it with water the night before, adjust all the PH etc & then heat the water to the same as the tank. That way I'm aging the water that little bit more (I also use Prime) & not upsetting the tank temp at all, while still doing a good size water change. Any suggestions as to where I can source a large container suitable for fish tank use?

I'm also wondering how thorough I need to be when gravel vacuuming the tank. I have 2 large bits of drift wood + a few other random things. I remove the smaller objects & to get under them (Especially after running Big L) but am unsure if it is really necessary to get under the larger objects etc. Any advice / suggestions?

Cheers

[BigDaddyAdo]

You dont need to move the larger decor everytime but itend to do under mine every 2 weeks or so. Sometimes i let it go a bit longher but not much. Im very pedantic when i gravel vac and keep it as clean as possible.

There are plenty of water storage drums that are suitable at bunnings. I bought some 25L drums for about $15 each. They also have much larger drums that would work for you.


Ado

[swingn]

No worries, so every 2nd or 3rd water change I will move the drift wood & give it a good gravel vac :D

With those containers, they actually told me many of them will leech into the water as they are not "food grade". They do have some containers that are suitable for drinking water (Guessing would be safest option for fish tank use) however they are fairly small (25L max) :(

[BigDaddyAdo]

Thats why i got a few of the 25L ones. ;)

Where in Sydney are you located?


Ado

[jesx57]

I got a good tip from a guy once. Buy one of those big black bins (90L) and fill it with water about a day before you want to do a water change. Add your conditioners and so on, adjust the temp, pH. Then siphon out the dirty water, and attach some tubing to a spare powerhead on both ends (input and output). Stick the output one in your tank and the input one in your bin and turn it on. Hey presto, no bill spills on your floor or down the front of your tank!