# Massive water changes



## MonopolyBag (Jan 11, 2008)

OK I live with my parents now (18 years old) and would like to thin about getting a 100+ g tank, and maybe a 40+ gallon as well as some 5.5gs and some 10gs. in my basement.

Any ideas on how to do water changes efficiently?

I also got a 40 g terrarium with water, and a couple 12 gallons with water as well i change every so often. No chance of getting any plumbing down there. Hmm...

I also want discus, SO I will need to change water often.


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## lauraleellbp (Jan 31, 2008)

Get a large Python that attaches to a sink. Go to PetsMart.com and just look up Python.


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## MiSo (Nov 4, 2005)

the best way would be to use a hobby pump. the stronger the better. i'm not sure how many feet you'll need to pump the water away from the basement but its always better to go with more muscle (insert Tim the Tool man grunt)

i recommend eheim pumps. there reliable and quiet. 
if you go to home depot they have clear vinyl tubing for CHEAP.
i bought like 20 feet for $8. i wouldn't recommend using this for your filter because it kinks easily but if you only need it for water changes (tank to sink) then its worth it. 
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produ...ubref=AA&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=0012784000000
you can run the pump internally or inline. your choice.


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## Tex Gal (Nov 1, 2007)

I just use 2 garden hoses. I have an adapter that attaches one to the bathroom sink to refill the tank. To the other hose I have attached my vacuum siphon hose and just let it siphon out the door or into a shower while I vacuum up debris. Works great. No water waste. Done in 10 minutes!


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## lildark185 (Jul 7, 2006)

I've heard that garden hoses have trace amounts of lead and I'm not too sure if this would be safe for the fish, assuming you have some. When purchasing garden hoses the cardboard holding the hoses specifically says not to drink from, applying to humans and dogs.


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## MonopolyBag (Jan 11, 2008)

MiSo said:


> the best way would be to use a hobby pump. the stronger the better. i'm not sure how many feet you'll need to pump the water away from the basement but its always better to go with more muscle (insert Tim the Tool man grunt)
> 
> i recommend eheim pumps. there reliable and quiet.
> if you go to home depot they have clear vinyl tubing for CHEAP.
> ...


Could you elaborate.

See my basement, under ground, is below the plumbing line, and I actually see the PVC running out of the basement right above my head where I plan on placing my "fish room" and that leads to the septic. So... If I understand you correctly (I was talking about this with someone at work today as well) maybe get a pump that will pump the water from something into the PVC piping that leads to the septic? Cuz the water must go up to get to the plumbing, this is my problem. The snake idea works... from sink all way to my basement, BUT causes trouble when I need new water in tank kinda, and also when I use small tube "airline tuning" for my current nano tanks.

So I am liking the idea of figuring out a pump system to get water from my tanks up to the septic... then maybe have a reservoir of water (LARGE bucket, like 100 Gallons) of water to use for the new water. And possibly just fill that up all the time with buying distilled water mixed with my tap water (well water that has been tested and I currently use this when needed).

Any other ideas? Or elaborations...


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## Tex Gal (Nov 1, 2007)

lildark185 said:


> I've heard that garden hoses have trace amounts of lead and I'm not too sure if this would be safe for the fish, assuming you have some. When purchasing garden hoses the cardboard holding the hoses specifically says not to drink from, applying to humans and dogs.


Really? Where would the lead come from? The hoses are plastic and rubber. I guess I should upgrade my hoses to the ones made for RV usage. They are specially made to use for drinking water.


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## MiSo (Nov 4, 2005)

trying to figure out how to pump water into a house line is way out of my league and i wouldn't be able to help you there.

all thats needed with my method is to put one end of a hose in the fish tank and the other end of a hose into a drain (kitchen sink/bathroom sink/whatever...) and have the pump push water up to get to the drain. then to refill connect the tubing to the faucet and you're set. thats how i do my water changes.


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## MonopolyBag (Jan 11, 2008)

Well that python thing that they were talkin bout, that can also suck water out via sink. But maybe I think ur idea via pump inspired me to try to pump it into drain.


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## tkos (Oct 30, 2006)

Tex Gal said:


> Really? Where would the lead come from? The hoses are plastic and rubber. I guess I should upgrade my hoses to the ones made for RV usage. They are specially made to use for drinking water.


Lead can be added to many plastics and rubbers. Hence the problem with children's toys from China lately. Though I think the main issue with garden hoses is that they are treated with anti-fungal or mildrew agents. Those could be an issue in a tank.


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## trag (Jan 9, 2008)

The problem with the Python is that it uses the venturi effect to remove the water from your aquarium. This means that it runs a bunch of water from your tap past an opening to suck water out of your tank. In the process, you waste a lot of tap water just to provide the suction to remove the water from your tank. 

Anybody who is concerned about wasting fresh water, or e.g. pays the water bill, should avoid the Python like the plague.

You have two needs. Get water out of the tank. Get water into the tank. The earlier poster pretty well nailed the solutions, but I'll provide a little more detail. 

On your sink faucet you will find a little dingus screwed onto the end called the aerator. This is what makes the water come out of the faucet all smooth and airy, as opposed to in a streaming lump. Unscrew the aerator and you will find threads on your faucet. There are adapters available which will screw onto those faucet threds and provide other threads just the right size for a garden hose. Often these adapters are available at the local hardware store, but you many need to go to a plumbing specialty shop. Take the aerator from your faucet with you so that you can get something which will definitely match the threads on your sink.

On our kitchen faucet we have a really nice adapter. It screws onto the threads of the faucet and has two sets of threads on the other end. The bottom set of threads allows the aerator to be screwed back on, so that the adapter can stay in place all the time. The upper/outer set of threads accomodates a garden hose. So when the garden hose is attached, the inner set of threads are sort of inside the end of the garden hose. So, remove aerator, and attach garden hose to adapter to fill aquariums. Remove garden hose and reattach aerator to use faucet normally.

Okay, so that's getting water into your aquarium. If your faucet is far from your basement, you may wish to add a valve at the end of the hose which will allow you to cut off the flow without going all the way up to the faucet. Otherwise, you kind of have to guess whether the aquarium is full when you shut off the water.

To get the water out of your aquarium, you're going to need a pump, because it sounds like your basement is below your drain level. There are a lot of pumps available. Your main requirement will be the ability to connect a garden hose to the outlet. You can get a submersible pump which you dump in the aquarium to pump out the water, or a dry unit to which you would attach an inlet hose. Then you would run the pump and move the hose from tank to tank to empty them. You can even use a cannister filter for this purpose.

Get a pump with enough head to do the job. "Head" is how high above the water level of the tank the pump can push the water. Anything much over 5 ft. will slow the volume of water considerably unless it is a reasonably powerful pump. If convenient, consider dumping the water into the yard instead of into the drain. At least that way you get some grass watering out of the disposed water.

If you want to get really fancy and automated, you might consider some of the shared sump setups where many tanks use the same external filter/sump. For those, you can just do the water change in the sump and that does all of your aquariums at once. Of course, there are tradeoffs, such as disease vectors moving through all of your tanks.


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## Brilliant (Jun 25, 2006)

trag said:


> The problem with the Python is that it uses the venturi effect to remove the water from your aquarium. This means that it runs a bunch of water from your tap past an opening to suck water out of your tank. In the process, you waste a lot of tap water just to provide the suction to remove the water from your tank.
> 
> Anybody who is concerned about wasting fresh water, or e.g. pays the water bill, should avoid the Python like the plague.


Hi,

I turn the faucet on to get the tube full and syphon flowing. When tube fills and water starts to drain I turn off the tap. Are you telling me people are leaving the tap water running?


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## lildark185 (Jul 7, 2006)

Brilliant said:


> Are you telling me people are leaving the tap water running?


With the tap water running, there is a constant pressure to drain the water out of the tank faster and for those who have center braces in their tanks, I think keeping the water on would be less of a hassle than to turn the tap off, clean one side turn the tap on and clean the other side.


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## trag (Jan 9, 2008)

Brilliant said:


> Hi,
> 
> I turn the faucet on to get the tube full and syphon flowing. When tube fills and water starts to drain I turn off the tap. Are you telling me people are leaving the tap water running?


For the original poster, his tank is lower than his drain. So he would have to leave the tap on in order to continue draining water, assuming that he could get enough pressure from the venturi effect to drain any water at all.


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## gibmaker (Jan 3, 2007)

As far as lead goes.........are they not used as plant weights?


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## Brilliant (Jun 25, 2006)

trag said:


> For the original poster, his tank is lower than his drain. So he would have to leave the tap on in order to continue draining water, assuming that he could get enough pressure from the venturi effect to drain any water at all.


I understand. I agree...and the water will not drain...at least not at a fast rate. I was shocked people leave the water on...!
As mentioned before..hobby pump is the way to go in this senario.



lildark185 said:


> With the tap water running, there is a constant pressure to drain the water out of the tank faster and for those who have center braces in their tanks, I think keeping the water on would be less of a hassle than to turn the tap off, clean one side turn the tap on and clean the other side.


I have a center brace on most of my tanks. I have a filter intake connected to the end of my python so the tube doesnt fall out when I refill...its also cut just right to take certain amount of water out of my 90g. I thought the vacumn tube was for DIY projects.  To clarify, you are trying to justify wasting water....its not working...for me.


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## Erirku (Oct 5, 2004)

Whats with wasting all this water. Why not have the hose left on the lawn, instead of dumping all the fish poo water or clean water down the drain!!! To get in shape, I have several buckets lined up in my house and truck all that gunk to the lawn. Keeps me in shape makes me stop being lazy. LOL.


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## Diana K (Dec 20, 2007)

Python and similar equipment will not be very efficient in getting water to run up hill.
Set up this:
Storage box large enough to hold around 10-15 gallons. Put this near each tank. 
Ordinary gravel vac for water change, water goes into the storage container.
Clean the filter parts in this used water. 
Pump from the storage box to an upstairs bathtub via garden hose. To pump water up one story in any sort of efficient manner you are likely looking at a pretty big pump- read the label and you will find out how many gallons it pumps when it has to pump uphill about 10' high. Smaller pumps wimp out and will not lift water that high. Use the larger hose or tubing that fits the pump, do not use fittings to make the hose smaller than the outlet to the pump. If the pump you find has a 1" outlet (Like 1000 gallons per hour fountain pump) you will not be using garden hose, but vinyl tubing, which is available in 1" diameter. 
Dirty water will go down the bathtub into the septic tank.
Better is to run this water outside to water the garden, actually.
Refill can be via Python. Water will be running downhill from sink to tank, and Python works fine for this. 

Use the Python for emptying any tanks that are about the same elevation as the sink, or higher. It wastes too much water to empty the tank via python, when the sink is higher than the tank. You may overwhelm your septic system dumping all that water into it at one time.


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