Water Changing Equipment and Process

hi all

So, some of you will have seen my questions at the end of Jim's profile post ( www.irishfishkeepers.com/index.php?optio...id=134800&Itemid=200 ) . I thought I'd cast the net a bit wider and see what others do on water changes. I want to make my life easier, but not spend a fortune!

Current setup:

1. External Water Butt fed by downpipe
2. To empty water from aquarium - one clear 1.5m tubing (not great - it's a little soft but does the job)
3. A big bucket, which is used for emptying the tank and for filling it. Bucket load by bucket load each way.
4. When water is too cold outside, I heat some in pans on the hob and mix into each bucket load.

As you can imagine, the above is slow, cumbersome and generally messy, as I'm continuously in and out with water, stopping and starting syphoning, etc. The water heating, particularly in winter is a pain. I've a 300L tank, and have been doing approx 80-100L changes weekly, but I'd like to step that up to closer to 50% (120-150L) weekly.

I liked Jim's wheelie bin solution ( www.irishfishkeepers.com/index.php?optio...00&Itemid=200#172625 ). I also liked Q_Comets' solution for running water out ( www.irishfishkeepers.com/index.php?optio...id=134837&Itemid=200 ).

So: I have decided to upgrade my water changing methods.

Some constraints:

1. I want the rain water - it is nice and soft.
2. I have never filtered it. I should probably start.
3. I do not have room to store water inside long term. This is not an option right now.

Option 1:
2 wheelie bins. 1 submersible pump. Some hose.

1. Use the pump to fill one wheelie bin the night before the water change. Wheel it into the house and leave overnight to warm up, hopefully enough to negate the need to heat some of the water. I could use a heater here if necessary or if I can't get away with having the wheelie bin in overnight.
2. Syphon from tank into 2nd wheelie bin. Wheel bin out and discard.
3. Use pump to refil tank from 1st wheelie bin.

Option 2:
1 wheelie bin. 1 submersile pump. Some more hose.
as above but: Syphon from tank directly out to garden/drain using Q_Comets' solution.

I really like option two BUT... I have a breeding bristlenose pair and bristlenose babies at the moment. I have been very careful and managed to not suck them up except for one baby this week who swam directly into the hose. I was able to net him (or her) out of the bucket and put him (or her) back into the tank. If this was going down the drain, he'd be gone. At least option 1 still gives me this option.

Some questions:

1. What sort of filtering should I do on the rainwater?
2. What power submersible pump do I need? Something with a 2m+ head, I'm guessing? Any specific litre/hour rate. perhaps people have more pumps lying around and use those??
3. What do you think about drain versus wheelie bin. Is there a solution that allows me syphon down the drain and save the babies (I'm thinking net wont work here, as I do want to syphon up waste, detritus, etc)
4. What do you do to manage your water changes? Any innovative solutions or something good you found online. What works for you?

My long term (i.e. a very long way away) is to automate it, with internal rain water storage, constant drip renewal. But that's when I move house, have a much bigger house (& pay check!), so for now, the question is how do I make my life as easy as possible?

thanks!

Hi

On filtering the rain water you should use activated carbon, you may be able to incorporate that in the collection I've seen a 2L drink bottle used an a post here with sponge and carbon.

My tanks are smaller than yours I use a 50L bin fill night before change and run an air stone in it when I was using rain water I ran a filter full of carbon also. The 50L bin is fairly neat so no trouble having it in the house, wheelie bin sounds a bit big. Submersible 1000 lph pumps are not too much.

How about more frequent smaller changes

I use long hoses and pumps to put water in or out of the tanks.
Pump in tank mid-height to do 50% water change straight to drain (my fish usually stay away from pump).
I have bare-bottom tanks, so i still use a bucket to clean the shit out but usually 20L is enough and the rest i use the pump.
To put water back in tank another pump in water butt (or wheelie bin) that is connected to a RC outlet (you activate on/off with a small remote control).
Stick the hose in the tank - SECURE IT - and press the ON button - and WATCH, don't start doing something else otherwise you will spill .
I use tap water ran through an HMA filter but if it was rain water i think you have to run it through carbon.
If you water outside is very cold it will take a long time to get to room temperature, and that is not 28 degrees (I think you keep Discus): so i don't see how you can get by without a heater.

Im currently using 96l storage containers (from home store, think they were 8euro each on offer) they have wheels on them so makes moving them around fairly handy too!
Syphon into 1 of them and refill from the other with submersible pump and some 12/16mm hosing off an external filter

thanks for the replies!

@hammie - I'll have a look in Homestore and see what options might be there.

@ Miamiheat - yes it is Discus and I think I will need a heater. But at least, if it is inside I could do that. I might get a high powered one that would heat a quantity quickly for me.

@Q_Comets - I had quick search and I couldn't find the post you mentioned. I also did some googling, and didn't get far. So are you saying put the carbon in the bottle and put that between the down pipe and the water butt..... or put the carbon in the bottle and put it on the outlet of the waterbutt as I transfer the water out? Probably either would work. Is one run through the carbon enough, or does it to trickle through it slowly?

thanks

John

thanks - I've been using rainwater for 7 years in my current house without any issues. I also used it from around 98-2004 in a previous place without any issues.. but I had read about filtering it. Maybe I'll be ok without it.

all,

any idea where one would get a wheelie bin? i can see new ones on a few websites, but they tend to be expensive. I've just messaged a seller on done deal. Any other ideas?
thanks,

baan

people are always leaving them lying around outside their houses . . . . . .

one word of caution - a 150l full of water will weight 150kg+ most rubbish weight less and is mostly air, so wheeling it around full might not be all that easy!

Jim wrote:

people are always leaving them lying around outside their houses . . . . . .

one word of caution - a 150l full of water will weight 150kg+ most rubbish weight less and is mostly air, so wheeling it around full might not be all that easy!

If your quick you get them early in the morning before they are brought back into the house
Good idea Jim that way he get one for free lol

haha!

so that's where i'd get one!!

thanks on the weight - that's a good point. Might go with 120L and not quite fill it and do a few buckets with it. If it works I might get a second one!

baan wrote:

haha!

so that's where i'd get one!!

thanks on the weight - that's a good point. Might go with 120L and not quite fill it and do a few buckets with it. If it works I might get a second one!

If u could get a 150L wheelie bin and fill 100L i think you be doing good your tank is 300L so i don't think 50L will make a hugh difference maybe do a mini water change mid week will help. Another thing if you can get your hands on a juwel pump from a corner box filter it will save you going outside, the pump will start the syphon once started you can plug out the pump and the water will keep syphon untill you take the pump and hose from your tank.

How is this coming along have u everything up and running ?

Yes, thanks!

Tomorrow is my first change with all the new equipment ready to go. I got the wheelie bins during the week. I hope to take some photos and will update you all on the process later in the weekend.

baan wrote:

Yes, thanks!

Tomorrow is my first change with all the new equipment ready to go. I got the wheelie bins during the week. I hope to take some photos and will update you all on the process later in the weekend.

baan wrote:

Yes, thanks!

Tomorrow is my first change with all the new equipment ready to go. I got the wheelie bins during the week. I hope to take some photos and will update you all on the process later in the weekend.

Good to here you got sorted looking forward to seeing how you get on.

OK, so here's my revised process.

1. Use 1500 l/h submersible pump to pump from my water butt to a wheelie bin I had handily wheeled inside just before I started.








2. Use 1.5kw heater supplied by irish-zx10r to heat the water. Took approx 20 minutes to take about 140 litres from 18 degrees to 28 degrees.




3. This step has two options, depending on the type of water change:
- a: if it's a "clean" and change, then syphon into a second wheelie bin and wheel out and empty (maybe some of b, depending on how much water is removed by the time I've got the sand vacuumed)
- b: if it's just a water change, use same pump and hose, as above, to empty tank directly to the garden

This was an (a) change (as you can see I removed some of the wood to do a good clean behind it this time:




4. Use same pump + hose to pump heated water from wheelie bin into tank.




thanks to all for the advice. I'm much happier now with the water changes. To be fair, if I'm on a water change only cycle, it's more watching and waiting than actually doing anything. I'm not missing lugging around those buckets of water!

If you want to keep the wheelie bins outside you just have to insulate them.