My Service for you all...

[Matthew]

I can make a special device which allows you to fill tanks with ease... without you kinking a hose, and without you having to hold it in the tank... ;)

I can also make something for draining, you need ot hold nothing, just set it up and go tank to tank... ;)

its 2:15 so im being very blunt, but if people want them made up, I can do it, but itll be @ whatever it costs me in parts + $10 + Postage

Ladyred will be the first to try it out as I promised to make her one :P... but if you guys want, Im willing to make some up for you all as they will make tank maintainance much easier.

weeee :D

-Matt

[premier]

hey there matthew nice work, my mum always used to say sharing is caring,
how about a photo of your creation, perhaps some of us DIY wannabes can make it ourselves?
i like the sound of this invention

[axl]

Hey,
how much would it cost all up you reckon to make

[leanne31]

Hi all would it be something similar to this my sister made it up for me its excellent when I want to drain water out I push a bit of garden hose in the end the other end out the door and it emptys it in no time and of course you can cut the end of the pipe so it drains out exactly the amount you want it to I have mine set on about 50% but you could cut it so it only drains out 20% its so easy. When I want to fill up again I connect a hose to the end of the pipe and at the other end of the hose my water pump is connected which is in my water aging barrel I flick the switch and presto tank fills while you sit in the lounge chair and watch it. Its Excellent best present Ive ever got.

[goldenpigeon]

i might get 1 matt :D and ill save myself some money by picking it up if thats alright :D could you just tell me how much this device costs?

cheers dude

[Matthew]

similar to that, but more sturdy and designed not to disturb plants, gravel and other things!

Had a slight setback today as the plumbing shop guys are trying to rip me for money because im a kid.. but im guessing price shouldnt be over $35.

If you want i can show you mine and you can make one up yaselves!

ill host the photos ;). But the fun part is attaching the hose connector.

;)

-Matt

[ctvu]

Hi Mat

Have u got any pic of it? I might be interested in. thanks

ctvu

[Matthew]

http://img110.echo.cx/img110/3996/random0674kx.jpg

alot of dicking around to find those parts... you need to go to plumbing wholesalers for most, and then irrigation shops for the correct thread Hose connectors. :)

im sure you guys can figure how it works :p

-Matt

[Dave76]

I've made up something similar except instead of a metal attachment I've put a 19mm polypipe connector with gate on the end as it drains / fills a lot faster.

I've also added sponges over the end in the tank to prevent any curious fishies getting sucked up....

Dave

[Matthew]

Well I have Strainers for my drainer and it works a charm, wont suck up babies, and i use 25mm ID Piping for quick Flow, so i can rip 150L out within 2 - 3 minutes :)

-Matt

[Proteus]

That is similar to what I use, however aside from the tap, I have a flow controller (on one of my tanks I dont want to drain it too quickly due to breeding pairs etc).

I also have incorporated AquaClear 500 intake pipes on the tank side, that way I can preset the amount I want drained out (1 section = 70-90L, 2 sections = 150-200L, 3 sections = 275-300L).

[Matthew]

thats only the filler... :)

The drainer is a preset amount that cannot be controlled, still trying to think of ways...

-Matt

[weird]

Mmmm ... looks good, but however I drain/change the water ever night, and the most important part I find is getting in there with the syphon into all the corners to get all the cr8p out like poo and uneaten food not just draining the top 20% of the water.

For refilling I have a tube permanently connected near the back, which connects to a pump at the bottom of the water aging barrel.

[Matthew]

Water aging is stupid if you change so much water, :)

on the note of a grunge, if you have a canister and a pleco, you shouldnt need to worry bout buildup. Gravel grunge once a week and you are set :)

-Matt

[Benny]

you dont have to deal with sydneys SH!T water conditions mate, ageing is a near must down here

[Proteus]

Water aging is needed to match the levels from tap to tank.

Most Discus tanks are kept Neutral to Acidic (6.5-7.0) whereas from the tap it is 7.6 on average.

If you want to keep Discus, you need to look after your water, then it will look after your fish.

(add to that the fact that most water companies are dosing the heck out of the water and adding all sorts of lovely things like copper etc to combat the algae in the water supply)

[weird]

Strong words there Matthew, I was abit shocked by your response.

Leanne and Kaza have different water conditions and they only live a couple of suburbs away in SA.

Water aging and manually cleaning have worked for me in the past, and if the technique ain't broke then ... guess I sleep easier at night doing what I am doing.

However I am a big advocate of automating as much of the process as possible , makes it easier on us and easier to maintain more tanks =)

[Proteus]

I will also add, that with thousands of dollars worth of fish in just one tank alone, there aint no way water is going from tap to tank in my place.

It gets treated, aged, heated (to 29c) and aerated for a minimum of 48hrs before it will be used.

Given that I have only lost 3 Discus in 2 years, I will gladly continue with my course of action, as anal as it may be to some.

[Matthew]

Up here our water is 7.2pH on average sometimes around 7.0 and i keep africans so I guess i dont need to worry bout what goes in :s

-Matt

[DR.V]

Hehe i made that thing too.....
So convinient and easy to use....

[Merrilyn]

Matthew, I know you put a lot of thought and effort into that water changing device, and I will be honoured to test it for you. I'll post some pics of it in action when I receive it. Thanks Matty for being so thoughtful.

Just on an interesting side note with regard to water ageing. As you know, I have always said there is no hard and fast rule when it comes to fish keeping. Different methods can work for different people.

Well, I have a friend who has been a discus breeder for many years. He is a highly successful breeder, with hundreds of spawns to his credit. I arrived at his home one day, while he was in the middle of doing water changes, and guess what, no aged water. He was drawing water direct from the tap into a bucket, adding chlorine neutralizer and pouring the water straight into a fry tank. :shock:

Now, I can't recommend this method, but this gentleman has been doing his water changes like this for years without any ill effect. So, I guess it just goes to prove, that fish keeping is an inexact science, and there are several "right" ways of doing things. :wink:

[Matthew]

I've been using this changer for over a year and it's never failed me once ;P

just dont flood your tanks! :p

-Matt

[weird]

LR, I know of someone else that also adds water directly to their tank, and successfully breed discus as well.

Also I have seen the LFS doing the same with all their fish.

One of the biggest concerns I have is getting the water temp right, and the water barrel makes that easy by having a heater at the bottom. Also allowing the Prime to fully work at deneurtalising chlorine etc.

[goldenpigeon]

chlorine isnt a huge deal i find unless the water has a huge chlorine level in it. the chlorine dissapears from the water after a while (about a day i think it was) under good water circulation.

i was thinking of putting some undechlorinated water into a wateraging barrel and leave it under good circulation for a day or so and then take it to be tested for chlorine. if there is no chlorine then i will just do this instead of adding the dechlorinator. :) should save alot of money :D

has any1 else tried this?

[Proteus]

Chlorine will dissipate, Chlorimines wont, that is what will kill your fish if not removed.

[Matthew]

I have a super neutraliser removes some metals, chlorines and other things. 2.5mL to 75L in normal weather and 10mL to 75L in rainy weather. Though i have used it at 1mL to 50L and the fish are still kicking :)

-Matt

[Proteus]

AquaStar eliminates all toxins at a dosage rate of 1ml to 70L or 5ml to 350L

[Mattzilla]

looks farmiliar....works wonders!!!

http://www.discusforums.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1711

[Matthew]

yep, well im going for something everyone can use, not just a 1 design fits all rule, but the drainers really require alot of though for like an auto prime.

Had the best design, but its expensive as!

-Matt

[heckelboy]

I am interested how much would it cost? Please PM me

[colinM]

Hey! Great innitiative I will have a go myself, thanks for the suggestion.
Now on ageing water ever since I took Ladyreds advice ageing the water in my case 24 hrs, heated, aerated and aquasafe treated to directions.

Success Success, Steady conditions, Spawning, Wrigglers, Fry and most of all happy healthy Fish.

Works for me!!
Regards ColinM

[Davo]

As I have a planted tank with CO2, high wattage lighting and use the EI method of fertilizing I only do a weekly WC on my 4x2x2 tank.

In four years of adding tap water straight to the tank and then adding Prime or Aquastar I have never lost a discus and have had them spawn in the tank.

I have considered buying a 200 liter barrel to age the water but I would have to place it outdoors which would make it hard to heat, especially in winter.

Dave.

[Matthew]

Heckelboy, I have had a few setbacks with the parts, but once i can get a solid list of the parts i need together, ill post it up in a new thread.

I guess i could also show people how to alter the attachment for other fittings...

-Matt

[lesxda]

I have a question

could a attachment be put on the outlet pipe so you can use
a bottom cleaning device. As I find wc ok bgut getting the
bad food and waste off first.

les

[Matthew]

you could, but in reality would be to much stuffing round!

ust as easy as syphoning ya tank with a grunger

-Matt