Recently I bought a 25ft syphon that can reach to my kitchen sink, I've just gotten tired of carrying pails back and forth to do a water change every week, I was curious if I could run tap water into my tank and just prime it later or even during while its filling up? I don't think a couple minutes of chlorine will harm the fish.
Can I prime my tank while it is filling?
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A lot of people do this successfully.
I have lived in a lot of places, and two of those places, there were in fact enough chlorine/chloramine to kill the fish (and indeed did kill the fish), despite just a short period.
So nowadays I don't ever do it and just accept the pain of treating the water before adding into the tank.
But it's up to you. Since certainly for some people it is definitely possible.
I have lived in a lot of places, and two of those places, there were in fact enough chlorine/chloramine to kill the fish (and indeed did kill the fish), despite just a short period.
So nowadays I don't ever do it and just accept the pain of treating the water before adding into the tank.
But it's up to you. Since certainly for some people it is definitely possible.
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You need to dose to the full volume of the tank not just the water added (that can become expensive if you have a large tank) and I would add it in 4 doses as you fill so you then don’t have all untreated water go in before treatment.
Just a note what I do for the smaller tanks I have a 50l about 15 gal giant bucket and a pond pump I fill the big buckets with water from the tap treat it and tip into the bucket while the pump sends it to the tank whole setup probably cost $50 which is way less than it would cost in the extra prime I would use, as the big bucket is next to the sink the only lifting is to tip the water into the big bucket. On my big tank I use FX6 filters so they pump the water back into the tank for you so use the same method just without the pond pump.
Sorry for the long reply hope it helps.
Just a note what I do for the smaller tanks I have a 50l about 15 gal giant bucket and a pond pump I fill the big buckets with water from the tap treat it and tip into the bucket while the pump sends it to the tank whole setup probably cost $50 which is way less than it would cost in the extra prime I would use, as the big bucket is next to the sink the only lifting is to tip the water into the big bucket. On my big tank I use FX6 filters so they pump the water back into the tank for you so use the same method just without the pond pump.
Sorry for the long reply hope it helps.
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Agree with StarGirl. Add Prime to the water left in the tank before you start to refill the tank.
I treated all of my tanks (including a 75 gallon) for years the same way. . . Remove water from tank, add Prime dose based on the total tank volume and then fill ‘er up. Never had a problem.
According to Seachem’s website. . . “Prime may be added to aquarium directly, but better if added to new water first. If adding directly to aquarium, base dose on aquarium volume.”
Especially for larger tanks, it’s just not practical IMO to treat the water being added before putting it in the tank.
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A while back i used to fill up the tank then add the conditioner when I'm done i shouldn't have done that i realized because sometimes, you're waiting to fill it and untreated water is going into the tank and the fish are swimming in it. Now i just add the dose to the buckets of water while I'm filling it.
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It would be great to use the hose to fill the tank, but my tank is over 32 feet away from the sink and when i used to do it it took so long because it had to go up and over things to get to the tank, and constantly making sure the temp was ok, so i use the buckets now until i could find a better way, good cardio going back and forth though
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I've been doing it for months. Drain, then dose for the volume of the tank, then you can refil immediately ti prime will disburse and do it's job, I've never had any issue.
if it's more than a 50% water change. I dose for the entire volume of the tank.
if it's a half or less water change, I dose for that volume instead to save some of the prime..
I have a 50 ft hose and drain it outside to the yard. then I run it around the side of the house to the outside faucet, hook it up to refil the tank, both take a while to accomplish, but it's much faster than a short siphon and buckets for sure, and no waste going down the drain and so much easier.
just pull up a chair pour a drink, water the plants, and monitor so that if something goes wrong, like it flopping out of the tank or gets close to the top, you have your eye on it.
and do the last couple gallons by hand so you don't risk overflow
turned a two hour mission with lifting and back and forths to a half hour or so of mostly sitting around enjoying a drink. Much more fun the less involved it is to do it.
DON'T "prime later". it's a big nono, prime before filling and follow the standard dose instructions, it will be concentrated at first, like a double or triple or more dose depending on the size of the water change and dilute as it fills. the fish will handle it fine, but chlorinated water can kill your cycle if you do it after especially on a big water change.
I know plenty of people will claim, "nothing happened to my cycle and I do yada yada" but if chlorine wasn't effective at killing bacteria they wouldn't use it for water treatment, so always be mindful to do it in the right order to avoid it crashing on you.
if it's more than a 50% water change. I dose for the entire volume of the tank.
if it's a half or less water change, I dose for that volume instead to save some of the prime..
I have a 50 ft hose and drain it outside to the yard. then I run it around the side of the house to the outside faucet, hook it up to refil the tank, both take a while to accomplish, but it's much faster than a short siphon and buckets for sure, and no waste going down the drain and so much easier.
just pull up a chair pour a drink, water the plants, and monitor so that if something goes wrong, like it flopping out of the tank or gets close to the top, you have your eye on it.
and do the last couple gallons by hand so you don't risk overflow
turned a two hour mission with lifting and back and forths to a half hour or so of mostly sitting around enjoying a drink. Much more fun the less involved it is to do it.
DON'T "prime later". it's a big nono, prime before filling and follow the standard dose instructions, it will be concentrated at first, like a double or triple or more dose depending on the size of the water change and dilute as it fills. the fish will handle it fine, but chlorinated water can kill your cycle if you do it after especially on a big water change.
I know plenty of people will claim, "nothing happened to my cycle and I do yada yada" but if chlorine wasn't effective at killing bacteria they wouldn't use it for water treatment, so always be mindful to do it in the right order to avoid it crashing on you.
Random Great Topic!
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