armadillo

Hi fellow fish nuts

Do you have opinions/preferences/tips on how to best put the water back in the tank for a water change?

I used to be the brutal method - just splash the whole bucket in one go, then considered my poor fish.

Then I used syphon to slowly sieve it back in the water. That took ages.

Then I tried to very slowly empty the bucket in the tank, thus created welcome oxygen movement in the water. This was still stirring things up unpleasantly, so the current method:

I slowly empty the bucket in the tank, but put my hand in the way of the downward flow so as to break it in smaller streams.

Any clever ideas/preferences?

atmmachine816

That's what I do, I use gallon jugs and pour them onto my hand and it creates a little waterfall, though there are other methods.

armadillo

he he he. I love it when people come up with the same idea independently. Must be something to it.

Butterfly

I direct the stream of water down at one end of whichever tank I'm filling onto a rock.
Carol

sgould

I take water out by siphoning into 5 gallon buckets, then add fresh water back by siphoning from the buckets back to the tank. Someday I will splurge on a Python and then the world must fear me!

armadillo

Doesn't it take forever to syphon it back in? I also heard it was good to agitate the water some - thus perhaps beneficial to pour it in (slowly).

Sarcastic

Me too. The splashing effect may disturb the decorations a bit, but it does help aerate and distribute the water.

capekate

I syphon out water into a five gal bucket. I fill another separate five gal bucket filled w/ primed water. But I use a half gal pitcher to pour it back into the tank. This way I eliminate disturbing too many things. By holding the pitcher higher over the tank when pouring, the water doesnt reach down towards the gravel and plants, but disperses over the top 1/4. I then use the net to catch any floating debris that the water change stirs up. Been doing that every day... somehow, getting used to the routine!

armadillo

I really like the idea of the jug. Thanks, guys.

Luniyn

I also use a 5 Gal bucket when doing my water change. If I take out 1 bucket worth then I know I can put back 1 bucket worth. So I set the bucket on top of a high dresser I have next to the tank and start up the siphon and walk away. There isn't a chance of overflowing the tank because I just took out that same amount of water from the tank. But that's only for my 20 Gal tank or smaller. When I get a 75 Gal I will definitely be getting a python. I have a hang on back filter and airstone for aeration, so I don't worry about the flow of the water back into the tank adding more.

sgould

Not really.

armadillo

Well it takes forever for me. Must be American gravity!

sgould

Haven't you heard? We don't believe in gravity over here!

armadillo

LOL. Really? Me it's acceleration I don't believe in. I think it's just a myth. Especially when it comes to cycling tanks...

Bonochick

We buy RO water in 5 gallon buckets...which I can barely carry, let alone lift. :P I enlist the help of my boyfriend and his muscular arms...he can pour the water in without too much sloppy splashing.

If I'm just doing tap water, I use a large cup...and patience.

armadillo

Oh dear. Patience and muscular strength: my weakest points! :

tan.b

i use a bucket and a jug (specifically for tank purposes). then pour the jug onto the driftwood which pushes out all the bits of dirt in there and in my fry tank i aim the pour into one corner so the flow hits the glass and reduces the force. then the dregs in the bucket just get tipped into the tank slowly. the danios and guppies come to "dance" in the flow of returned water, the tetras etc go off and hide in a corner out of the way! my galaxy tank is only inches off the floor under another tank so accessability is limited and its nr impossible to pour water in so that get syphoned in. takes forever, but the only way really!
tan

griffin

i syphon out into a 5 gal container. and i have another 5 gal of aged water. syphon water out of tank into 5 gal container, and i pour the aged 5 gallon into a 1 gallon and pour that over my hand or into a filter. i used to pour it into my skimmer, but i changed the location of that, so it's not as easy to reach now.

i usually just keep an eye on it when it's syphoning, go change water in other tanks, prep fertilizers, laundry, etc

armadillo

Why do you age the water? Should I do that? I just mix the conditioner/salt in from the tap, measure the temperature and off I go. Am I making a big mistake?

Luniyn

If you only have chlorine in your water you can let a bucket sit out and it will evaporate off after a few days. If you are looking to save time, then no don't bother. Or if you have chloramines in your water, it won't work. So if you are ok with using conditioners in your water, then just keep doing what you are doing. If you want to try the more natural approch, then contact your local water company and have them send you a report of your water and what's in it. If it doesn't say chloramines, then it will work for you. Just be careful where you put the bucket because you could end up with all kinds of things in it before it's ready to be used in your tank.

armadillo

Oh, I see. That's a good idea. But of course, there's also my pipes adding toxins to the water (the house is > 100 y.o.), and the water board won't know about that. I think I'd like to play it the familiar (for me) way and continue conditioning the water.

Thanks for the answer, really informative. I lurve learning.

tan.b

i do it your way too and my fish seem happy! the bucket aging water theory would mean me having at least 8 buckets standing about for me to fall over!! also, my other concern is.....although i've checked the water company report online and it said they use chlorine rather than chloramine, what if one day they change it to chloramine? i dont fancy checking the water report everytime i do a water change, and if i did.....how long til the water report is updated? i am a bit of a worrier at times!! so i'll still with the conditioner....just to be sure for the sake of a few £!...also i like the water temp matching that of the tank which i achieve by running hot and cold water into my bucket! you're not alone with your theory armadillo!
EDIT: btw, shouldnt worry about the toxins in your pipes.....if you've not come to any harm from it, your fish wont! plus the water your fish get wil be better than that in the wild with fertiliser/pesticide etc leaching into waterways!!

armadillo

Hi Tan. Yeah, it seems OK to stick with conditionning. Easier for temperature too, as you're saying. And indeed, to be really sure, you'd need to be able to trust that you have the very latest info from your water board at each water change + loads of buckets hanging about. Glad I don't have to feel too guilty about choosing conditioning over resting.

Not sure that a quantity of lead enough to kill a 4cm fish would hurt a human, though. I reckon they'll be way more sensitive.

tan.b

no expert but most heavy metal poisoning such as mercury for instance is cumulative. so while you as a human are bigger, you've had it building up in your body for 30+ years.....a fish has only been exposed to it for 2 years or so. so dont feel guilty. also luniyn did a post on lead an how it doesnt react with water. will try and find it...

EDIT:
sorry, wasnt luniyn, was ssh_condor on a post you started!!

http://www.fishlore.com/Forum/70-ple...ucumber.0.html

"Ok lead aquatic plant wieghts. Lead is a wonderful substance. You can swallow lead balls and they will go straight through you withoug doing damage. Lead is only poisonous as a compound ie lead oxide, lead sulphide. Lastly lead metal is totally unreactive in water and wont poison the water. This is proved by the fact that they already use them to weight the plants, which to me suggests that they are safe. Oh and I suggest poking the lead through the flesh, this makes it harder for the vegatation to detach itself from the wieght. Sorry about the rant but science is my passion."

armadillo

But if we've been exposed to it for 30 years, perhaps a sign that we are habituated and it was a gradual thing. If they go from one type of water to another, really lead-intoxicated type, I can't imagine that's good for them. There is in human a type of lead poisoning called saturnism which hits kids and old people in particular when their plumbing is old and therefore their water is contaminated. The debate goes on.

Went to a LFS today and he told me our local water was perfect (no chlorine, even). He's been the most knowledgable guy so far. So I guess I have to look for another reason for my mollies' discomfort.

tan.b

wonder if there's a way to test the water out of the tap for its lead content? that'd be interesting....

armadillo

Went to the pet store to ask if they had lead tests for my kit but they didn't. Maybe the really fancy kits have them?

tan.b

no idea if i see one i'll let you know!

griffin

sorry for the slow response.

i age my water because i prefer to do that over using conditioner. currently limited on number of tanks allowed, so i don't have a whole lot of water to age. i also don't do all my water changes on the same day, so i don't really have a lot sitting around.

as for the lead tests - i've seen some around (but really really really expensive) but of course, i can't remember the brand right now

Luniyn

That actually isn't true about lead at all. Yes lead as a large object will have a hard time actually getting into your system before it is passed, but it is far from harmless. Lead dust (which is more common then you think) can enter into your system in many ways. Ohio State University wrote a great paper about it, and if you are interested you can read it here. Those lead weights may be safe and not cause a problem in many peoples tanks, but I sure wouldn't use them for anything more then then transportation of plants. To feed my fish veggies, I bought an all plastic clip (i.e. no metal spring) and a old fish net. I cut the netting off the stick and put some of my stone substrate in it and tied it off with nylon fishing string. Then with the same string I tied the bag to the veggie clip. An all plastic system that I never have to worry about. As to a lead test kit, check out this page for info.