Water change methods

[Poustic]

I'm curious to find out what methods you use for regular water changes.
For those who use tap water, do you store your water overnight, or do you just pour it directly into your tanks and then add some water conditioner.  If you store your water, what do you use as a container (my WC vary between 15-25 gallons), how do you match the water temperature, and how do you pump it into your tanks without spilling any?  Otherwise, is there a real problem in pouring tap water directly into the tank using a hose, without pre-treating it, and then adding conditioner to remove the chlor(am)ine, while having the filter turned off, and an air pump to mix it all together quickly?

[dpatte]

I usually use a 4 gallon pail for moving water.

When doing water changes i drain enough so my tank is down about 20-25%.

I then fill the pail with tapwater and add the chloramine remover as its filling. When its filled i pour it into the tank.

When using a python (hose) to fill tanks, i usually add the drops of the chloramine remover to the stream of the hose as its filling.

Im not very concerned if i add most of the de chlorinator first or near the end of filling.

Im sure the chlorine and ammonia go up slightly and temporarily after doing this, but not enough to cause any harm.

[Marc]

From the city of Ottawa website: "Unlike chlorine which dissipates when water sits for a few days, chloramine may take weeks to disappear."    So letting water sit overnight is not an option.

What I do is remove old water from the aquarium, then put the chloramine remover in the aquarium, then add the new water using a hose and using the tap to adjust the water to the correct temperature.  I don't stop the filter while I do this.

It's important to put the chloramine remover in the aquarium before adding the new water.  That way the new water gets treated right away when it gets into the aquarium.  Adding the chloramine remover after filling the tank can kill some fish.  Some fish are very sensative to chloramine and will die in the minutes it takes to fill the tank.

City of Ottawa: Chloramine in Your Drinking Water Information For Fish Owners

Marc

[artw]

I use the python exclusively unless it's for a 5 gallon tank with tiny fry in it.
Since I keep my african cichlid tanks high I always do 50% waterchanges and not see any PH change.
I add dechlorinator 1 drop per gallon of water replaced about half way through me filling up the tank and a couple more drops "for the road" at the end
I notice my tank is covered with little bubbles afterwards like soda pop but the fish dont seem to mind.

Now the plant tank only gets a small wc, maybe 30% max, and I refill the tank really slowly..... the pH doesnt change even though the tank is at 6.0 and the tap is like 8.6.

I dont pretreat my water anymore.  I dont have sensitive fish so I don't bother.    
Fry tanks,  like a 5 gallon, I'll dechlorinate a 2 gallon bucket before pouring it in

[ambushman2j]

I squirt some aqua plus as the water starts to pour in, then I add some more in the middle, and add some more at the end, I fill with python and don't turn anything off..this method has worked so far for me, so as long as I don't got dead fish I don't care about being exact in the science

[Evan]

I have a tank with Discus in it.  I have a container where the water is aged for a day heated to the proper temp.  It is treated with aquaplus to remove the chemicals.   I use an extra fluval filter that I have to move the water to the tank.  It is a little overkill as I do not have PH shift but it lets me fill the tank slowly.  

I have a tank with a couple cichlids   I take the water down 25-35% and add the water with a bucket.   The water is treated with aqua plus and I let it stand until all the air bubbles are removed. Again probably not required I just like to do it that way.

I would use my python to fill this tank but it is difficult to control the temp from the tap I have to use..  There can be major changes so I don't bother.

[aidensmomma2000]

I used to do that with the discus, but the water changes are so frequent that I found it difficult (especially with a curious 3.5 year old in the house!!) For the discus I add the buffers and chloramine solution as I add the new water, and I keep the temp the same using the taps =) (and a thermometer)

[Poustic]

Of course...   putting the conditioner before and during the fill-ups makes perfect sense.   I have been using the Python/thermometer method as well, but am not sure why I never thought of letting it mix-in by itself.  :idea: