I have to confess...I really HATE doing water changes.

If you are close enough to your bathroom to use a python, get one. It will make it much easier to change your water.
I have a 5, a 10, a 20 and a 55. On the 5 and 10 I just use buckets. On the 20 I use a radio flyer to move the water around. On the 55, I put water from my filter into a container right next to the tank. I drain straight onto the backyard. I hate carrying full 5 gallon buckets of water.
good luck
:)
 
I have a 100G, 2x75Gs, 38G, 30G, 3x29Gs,6x10Gs (4 r in use). I do water changes almost every week (the most w/o change is 2 weeks).
 
If you have been into aquariums for awhile, , you learn really fast a python is a MUST... I have 75 , 55, 40, 29 and (2) 10 gallons. I perform a 30% water change every sunday, no matter what. It takes no time at all. Try to invest in one, and it will make you very happy! :D
 
Holy Moly guys! :eek: Now I feel like a dork for complaining about my 2 little tanks! cichlidgirl, you say it takes "no time at all" to do water changes on all of your tanks...what exactly is no time at all? LIke all afternoon? I can't even imagine....Am I just lazy or what?? :rolleyes:
 
:D lol.
No you are not lazy. The python takes all of the hard work out of everything. I hook it into sink turn on, reverse lower portion of python, it sucks water out. While the water is being sucked out, I use it to get all of the debris out of the gravel while getting water out also. Then I reverse the lower portion and it fills tank back up with water. While the tank is filling I clean my pots, plants, etc. Doing this every week, it takes me about 1-1/2 hours. Considering I used to use buckets, fill up from bathub, yes, it takes no time, considering it use to take me 4 hours on one tank. I also have canister filters that I just started using about 5 months ago on the 55 and 75 gallon, major difference. Love em...I have 2 pythons, that I purchased about 12 years ago. Back then, they were around $55.00 each. The price has come down so much. It would really be a help to you, but this is my opinion. :)
 
I can do my 15gal(5gal waterchange), my 90gal(20gal waterchange), my 10gal(4gal waterchange) in about 1 hour,that is using the phython to syphon but using a 20gal garbage can to fil them up(i use a pump to pump out the water so i dont' have to lift anything).

I also have a 58gal planted tank that takes about 45min-1 hour to do by itself since it involves lots of moving around of plants and trimming. I do all my waterchanges weekly, I'm too paraniod about leaving it anylonger since i have LOTS of money invested in my fish and don't wnt to take any chances

I personally like cleaning my tanks,They look so much better after and i think all the fun in fish keeping is the maintnance and picking out new fish.If you didn't have to do maintnance i would have been bored of my tanks long ago.
 
Last edited:
monosebaelover

Originally posted by MonoSebaelover
Water changes are kind of a pain but it gives you time to watch the fish more in depth to check for diseases and scratches and such. I currently have a 209G, 2 55's, 46, 30, 29, 20, 15, and a couple of 10s. It is great fun! The 209, 55, and 46 are all salt so have to pre-mix on those. I do use the Lees Gravel Vac to suck water out then use tubs to replace water. I use the gravel vac on the brackish and freshwater tanks and it is a life saver!
Click to expand...

You have more tanks than my LFS are they all in use?
It sure sounds like a fun (and a busy) setup.
Cheers.
 
Apparently, you didn't read my initial post. I HAVE to aerate the water to pull the ph down. It comes out of the faucet at over 9 (around 9.5) ph. One it aerates for a day or so, it drops to about 7.2. If I could, I would use a python.
 
Pyton states that it pulls 7 gallons from the tank for every gallon from the tap. Easily worth it for me - without the Python I could not have 24 operating tanks.

If you hold your changes to no more than 25% per time, and deliver the water back to the tank above the water level (i.e., pouring in rather than release under the surface, you will out-gas much of the CO2 excess. The rest you can safely ignore.
 
Ok there is a connector with a valve that screws into the faucet. The hose connects to that connector. Hook it all up, then close the valve and pump a small amount of water into the tank. This fills the hose and makes it so you don't have to suck like hell to get a siphon started.

Once the tube is full I switch the valve open and it starts pulling water out of my tank. At this point, if you don't want to waste the water get a bucket and unscrew the hose from the connector into a bucket. Run that outside or someplace lower than your tank. As long as the end of the hose is below your tank the siphon will continue. No water wasted. There is very little vacuum pressure this way though.
 
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