How do YOU do your tank water changes?

[Mmathis]

There has to be a better, easier way than shuttling buckets back & forth.....

This is for my 20 gal. tank. What I'm doing [and have done all my life.....] is siphoning into 5 gal buckets, then pouring this down the drain. I fill the buckets back up from the faucet [usually the bath tub 'cause it puts out more water], add de-chlor, then scoop this water back into the tank.

Not TOO MUCH of an issue when it was only once a week or so, but with babies, and now as a hospital tank, this is getting OLD! Especially now, with daily 50% changes (sick fish). With a 5 gal bucket, I can only manage to carry it about 1/2 full, which means a 10 gal change actually equals 4 bucket-runs for me. HELP!

[When I first started with the babies, a month or so ago, I was running multiple smaller tanks, but even then it was killing me -- not so much the amounts, which were smaller, but the frequency. Hubby & I discussed it often, and decided that dedicated fish people HAD to have a SYSTEM for all this. My "system" consists of a siphon tube with bulb primer and a bunch of 5 gal. Home Depot buckets, LOL!]

 

[JohnHuff]

Out: I have a very long siphon hose and it goes straight outside the house to the plants.
In: I use a faucet on the second floor. I use the same hose and a system of PVC pipes which I set up every time. I just adjust the temperature and turn on the faucet and the water flows into the tank by gravity.

But I have 2 tanks so it's worth it for me.

I think there's something you can buy which you can attached to your faucet and then simply attach a regular hose to it.

 

[dieselplower]

I have an aqueon water changer. There is also one called the Python, that people seem to think is better. Never tried it. They attach to the sink and the water flow can suction the water right out of the tank. Or, you dont even have to attach it to the sink, you can just use gravity to syphon the water out. That's what i do. The one I have came with a 25' hose. I let the water flow right out my sliding door. Then once the tank it as empty as you want it, you just turn on the sink and the water flows right into the tank using the hose from the aqueon water changer or python. I also know some people who use small pond pumps to pump water between their tank and sink.

 

[Sunshine]

My tank is 220 gal. I use a pump hooked to a garden hose to pump the water out. It goes down the drain in the winter and out to my flower beds in the summer. I than take that pump and put it into a 55 gallon drum filled with conditioned/heated tap water to pump that water back in to the tank. Quick and easy.

 

[bettasngoldfish]

I have a python which I love but I used to use the five gallon bucket method and it about killed my back. With several tanks or large tanks its a necessity

http://www.petsolutions.com/C/Aquarium-Gravel-Cleaning/I/Python-No-Spill-Clean-Fill.aspx

 

[Mmathis]

Gee, thanks to you, guys! I've heard of the Python, which looks similar to the Aqueon. I never thought about using a small pond pump, but that idea sounds like it might work best for me.

Now, as far as adding the water BACK to the tank.... I have to treat mine for chlorine & chloramines. What I usually do is add the solution to each bucket as I fill the buckets. That way the water is pre-treated before I add it to the tank. To do that, I'll still have to fill up the buckets ahead of time. Do you add your de-chlor ahead of time, or AS the water is filling back into the tank?

 

[dieselplower]

You can add the full amount of dechlor directly to the tank before filling.

You can use the pond pump to pump water directly out of a prefilled sink. You could dechlor in the sink as well.

 

[Mmathis]

You can add the full amount of dechlor directly to the tank before filling.

You can use the pond pump to pump water directly out of a prefilled sink. You could dechlor in the sink as well.

But.....that would mean I'd have to.....start....with.....a.....clean.....sink !
It's easier than hauling buckets, though, LOL!

 

[dieselplower]

But.....that would mean I'd have to.....start....with.....a.....clean.....sink !
It's easier than hauling buckets, though, LOL!

Haha ok put your 5 gallon bucket in the sink, prefill it, treat it for the full amount, and you could keep the faucet running as the pump empties the bucket!

 

[Dave 54]

We used a hose straight out to the garden with our our former indoor koi tank of 220 gallons imperial but would use one of our spare ehiem 2217's as a vacuum cleaner to clean the gravel then p[ass the clean water out back into the tank.
Then the hose would be put in to syphon the water out onto the flower beds
We made a Y fixture out of garden hose connectiing this to our hot and cold taps where we could mix the two to be at the temperature of the tank then simply hang the hose on the side of the tank whilst it filled it up again adding dechlorinator of coarse just an idea for you to think over TurtleMommy, the water change we did was always 70 gallons imperial

Dave

 

[Mmathis]

We used a hose straight out to the garden with our our former indoor koi tank of 220 gallons imperial but would use one of our spare ehiem 2217's as a vacuum cleaner to clean the gravel then p[ass the clean water out back into the tank.
Then the hose would be put in to syphon the water out onto the flower beds
We made a Y fixture out of garden hose connectiing this to our hot and cold taps where we could mix the two to be at the temperature of the tank then simply hang the hose on the side of the tank whilst it filled it up again adding dechlorinator of coarse just an idea for you to think over TurtleMommy, the water change we did was always 70 gallons imperial

Dave

I love my iPhone conversion app! So 70 imp gallons is around 84 US gallons -- I could never survive that using the bucket method!

 

[Shan]

I shared how I used to do water changes on my gardening blog: http://gardensandgoldfish.com/aquarium-water-changes/

Siphoning out the window and then using a hose attached to the faucet was the easiest way to do water changes. But it still wasn't my favorite "chore". I like ponds much better. : )

 

[JohnHuff]

I shared how I used to do water changes on my gardening blog: http://gardensandgoldfish.com/aquarium-water-changes/

Siphoning out the window and then using a hose attached to the faucet was the easiest way to do water changes. But it still wasn't my favorite "chore". I like ponds much better. : )

I like the way you took pics of the hose all the way from the faucet to the tank