Pregnancy/water changes

So, I’m 33 weeks pregnant and my tank is almost fully cycled. I know I will have to do a water change once it’s done to clean up some of the nitrates, but I’m worried about how to refill my tank. There is absolutely no way I can fill it manually at this point because I’ve recently had issues with premature bleeding/contractions and I’ve been put on a 10# weight limit for lifting (so pretty much one gallon at a time), and I don’t have the stamina to refill 20% of a 55 gallon tank one gallon at a time right now- it’s just physically impossible at this point. I bought a 50 foot long syphoning hose that makes it easy to remove the water, and I can use a valve attached to the hose to refill my tank, but that’s the problem. I’m worried about adding the water straight from the tap because I’ve always previously added Prime to a 5 gallon bucket and pre-treated the water before adding it into the tank. If I use the hose, do I treat the tank water with Prime and then add the water into that water? I’m just worried the BB will die and that all my cycling will go to waste. My husband isn’t here to help me, so I’m at a loss for what to do.

 

When I filled my tanks with tap water (I'm on RO now), I used a python to add it directly to the tank. I would dose the tank with prime for the entire volume of the tank, not just the amount I took out. I would add half of that quantity at the beginning of the refill and the other half during the refill at some point. I would leave my filters off for the duration of the refill so I didn't draw chlorine into them.

To be honest though the chlorine in the tap is typically not that concentrated and it won't decimate your BB. It really won't harm your BB as much as people say it will, it may kill some but it definitely won't wipe out your cycle especially if you leave the filters off during refill. You wouldn't use chlorinated tap water as a disinfectant to clean your counters etc because it isn't the bacteria killer it's been made out to be. For me when I was using this method I was more worried about the chlorine bothering my fishes gills, so I would aI'm the new water into a corner to try and keep it away from them, but despite my efforts the fish would swim into the stream of water unphased by it.

 

When I filled my tanks with tap water (I'm on RO now), I used a python to add it directly to the tank. I would dose the tank with prime for the entire volume of the tank, not just the amount I took out. I would add half of that quantity at the beginning of the refill and the other half during the refill at some point. I would leave my filters off for the duration of the refill so I didn't draw chlorine into them.

To be honest though the chlorine in the tap is typically not that concentrated and it won't decimate your BB. It really won't harm your BB as much as people say it will, it may kill some but it definitely won't wipe out your cycle especially if you leave the filters off during refill. You wouldn't use chlorinated tap water as a disinfectant to clean your counters etc because it isn't the bacteria killer it's been made out to be. For me when I was using this method I was more worried about the chlorine bothering my fishes gills, so I would aI'm the new water into a corner to try and keep it away from them, but despite my efforts the fish would swim into the stream of water unphased by it.

That reassured me a lot, thank you! I’m just so used to pre-treating that this new method is, as silly as it may seem, a bit intimidating for me and I’ve had tanks for years. So I’m going to do a 30% or so water change. Should I still do the full 55 gallon dose? Half dose before adding the tap water and the other half mid-change?

 

That reassured me a lot, thank you! I’m just so used to pre-treating that this new method is, as silly as it may seem, a bit intimidating for me and I’ve had tanks for years. So I’m going to do a 30% or so water change. Should I still do the full 55 gallon dose? Half dose before adding the tap water and the other half mid-change?

If I'm being honest, dosing for the entire tank volume was for my peace of mind. I couldn't tell you if it was 100% necessary, but since you can safely add up to 5x of prime in emergencies I figured adding enough for the entire tank wouldn't harm anything. I would do 50%+ water changes like that, so with 30% I think you could go either way. I don't think dosing for the entire volume would harm anything, but I also think you could get away with only dosing for say 50% of the volume.

 

If I'm being honest, dosing for the entire tank volume was for my peace of mind. I couldn't tell you if it was 100% necessary, but since you can safely add up to 5x of prime in emergencies I figured adding enough for the entire tank wouldn't harm anything. I would do 50%+ water changes like that, so with 30% I think you could go either way. I don't think dosing for the entire volume would harm anything, but I also think you could get away with only dosing for say 50% of the volume.

Okay, I will keep that in mind, thanks a bunch!

 

I also refill my tanks from a hose connected to a faucet. I use a pump to drain the tank out to our plants in the yard. It makes for easy 50%-75% WC's.

I dose the tank with dechlorinator then start adding the water. I do this on 55g, 65g and 75 gallon tanks and so far I've had zero issues.

I use Seachem Safe, which is just the powdered version of Prime.

 

I also refill my tanks from a hose connected to a faucet. I use a pump to drain the tank out to our plants in the yard. It makes for easy 50%-75% WC's.

I dose the tank with dechlorinator then start adding the water. I do this on 55 gallon, 65 gallon and 75 gallon tanks and so far I've had zero issues.

I use Seachem Safe, which is just the powdered version of Prime.

Thank you for the input! Do you dose for the amount of water being re-added or for the full size of the tank?