# Question about water change



## baishui (Jan 7, 2014)

This might sound stupid, but I do wonder how you guys are doing your water change. 

Now I have one 5G and one 10G. I use a 5L plastic container to hold tap water, put conditioner in, and just let it sit for a day or two; then I just carefully pour it into the tank. However, it looks like first of all, it's too cold (compare with my tank water); and it's always too much flow (no matter how careful I was). And I can only replace the 5G tank with it, cause the 10G tank will definitely need more than 5L per change.

How are you guys doing the water change?


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## TorontoBoy (Mar 14, 2013)

Suction out as much water as you want to change. For my 15G I replace 2 buckets, or 6G, for my 10G I replace 1 bucket, or 3G.

If you add a water conditioner such as Prime it acts immediately so there is no need to wait. Use a thermometer to match the new tap water to the temperature of your tank. Add Prime, add water to your tank immediately.

Some fish do not like the "toilet bowl" amount of turbulence when you dump your water back in. This is especially true for my small guppies. I found you can use a water fountain pump to pump from the bucket back into the tank. It is much slower and much less turbulent.


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## pyrrolin (Jan 11, 2012)

I have a fishroom with a few hundred gallons and I have a hose system for that.

But for your situation, you can do what I do on my other tanks in the house.

First thing is, if you leave water out for 24 hours, you don't have to use water conditioner. the water conditioner makes it so you can use tap water right away. On the small water changes, the temp difference is ok but on larger changes, you will want to get water from the tap the right temp, put in the conditioner and then right into the tank.

You can get 2 gallon buckets at dollar stores, I have a couple 2.5 gallon from walmart that are better quality along with a few dollar store ones for different uses.

I also recently got some extra hose of a diameter that works better for my small tanks, airline hose was too slow and the standard 1/2 inch hose was too fast.

For my larger tanks with my hose system, I put in conditioner of the amount I will need into the tank and then I add water with the hose. If you want to be extra safe with this method, turn off the filter while filling.


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## aniroc (Aug 23, 2012)

You need a bigger storage container (like the Home Depot orange bucket; it is food grade and cost only $3 something).
Another option is to do smaller, more often water changes. However, a 30% once a week is better than 3 10% water changes within a week.
The conditioner removes chlorine and chloramine, aging water that way you risk contamination. Add conditioner just prior to filling your tank. 
As per the temp, I have a spare heater that I dip in the container for an hour or so if the water is very cold. I never had a problem with room temperature water poured slowly.


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## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

If you are going to age water to remove chlorine, make sure first that the water company is not adding ammonia to the water too. If they are, chlorine and ammonia combine into chloramines, which can take a week or more to gas out. Pure Chlorine does gas out fast, 24 hours is the accepted time frame, if you leave it in a bucket. Using an air stone speeds it up, by speeding gas exchange. Same would be true for chloramines but they simply are not as volatile as pure chlorine, so they take a week to dissipate.

A friend of mine typed a student's thesis awhile ago. Needless to say, she read it, you can't help but read what you type. The thesis was on the use of ammonia to bind such dangerous toxins in Lake Ontario's water as dioxins, among one or two others. So if your water comes from Lake Ontario, the chances are very high the water plant for your city or town IS using ammonia, not so much for the increased disinfection it provides, but to bind these toxins that the lake contains throughout.

Thus I prefer to use Prime always, and in any event, don't have space to leave buckets out to age anyway.

I have used a pump to add new water, before I got the Aqueon version of a Python water changer. Very smooth, slow water return this way. Small pumps don't cost a lot, just attach a tube the right length, put the pump in the bucket, tube into the tank, plug it in and let it run 'til it runs out of water or the tank's full.


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## Jung (Mar 17, 2009)

drill some holes in a plastic cup and pour the fresh water through it, like a little shower. If you have space get a spare 10gal to age your water.


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## videosilva (Oct 14, 2013)

*Bucket of Water*

Easiest way hands down is a spare bucket filled with water over night and at room temperature.

The LESS chemicals you put in your tanks the better.

If your water is at room temperature you should be fine and just pour the bucket in slowly.

If the water IS GOOD ENOUGH FOR ME it is good enough for the fish !!!!


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## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

Far as I'm concerned, what comes out of our taps is not good enough for me !


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## mistersprinkles (Nov 4, 2013)

videosilva said:


> If the water IS GOOD ENOUGH FOR ME it is good enough for the fish !!!!


Do you have gills? Are you in mortal danger in the presence of trace amounts of ammonia? ?

Then the water that's good enough for you isn't good enough for your fish.


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## videosilva (Oct 14, 2013)

*Special Water*



Fishfur said:


> Far as I'm concerned, what comes out of our taps is not good enough for me !


 Hopefully SPECIAL water will be created for you possibly coming from outer space.


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## videosilva (Oct 14, 2013)

*Kill ME !*

You people kill me. There have been OVER 2000 confirmed nuclear bomb detonations. That is what is in the air you breath, the water you drink etc .etc. etc. DEAL WITH IT !

So, where is everyone getting that special water from. I would also like some.


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## mistersprinkles (Nov 4, 2013)

videosilva said:


> You people kill me. There have been OVER 2000 confirmed nuclear bomb detonations. That is what is in the air you breath, the water you drink etc .etc. etc. DEAL WITH IT !
> 
> So, where is everyone getting that special water from. I would also like some.


Nobody's talking about special water. The fact that traces of tritium and it's friends are in all the water in the world doesn't change the fact that you need to remove and or bind up the ammonia and chlorine in GTA tap water.

The ammonia and chlorine are more clear and present dangers to your fish than the trace elements left behind by all those nuclear bomb detonations, Chernobyl, Fukushima, etc. Those will give us all cancer in a few decades. Your fish probably won't live that long.

Point is, tap water coming from anything but very clean groundwater will have chlorine or chloramines in it. If it's just chlorine, you can leave the water out for a day or two and it'll likely all gas out. If it's chloramine, it'll take a heck of a lot longer. So, use water conditioner, a good water conditioner like Seachem Prime will take care of chloramine, and bind up the ammonia in the chloramine to a relatively non toxic form that can still be consumed by your biofilter.

Nobody has special water here.


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## SKurj (Oct 26, 2011)

I have a 15g currently with fry that are tiny. I siphon water out as I do the rest of my smaller tanks, with a 1/2" hose.
But when it comes to replacing the water.. I fill a 5gal pail as close to temperature of the tank as I can and I add prime. The tank is actually under a 55gal, so I put the 5gal pail on a stool so its above the tank height. I then get a 4ft piece of airline and use it to siphon water into the tank. 

So long as I am only adding as much as I removed I can start the siphon and walk away (it does take awhile to add 5gal thru an airline). It won't over fill or anything, it won't disturb the sand or the fry as well. If you can place the replacement water above the tank this might be solution for you for refilling.


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## Lee_D (Jun 11, 2010)

This time of year I would be more concerned about the temperature of the water coming out of the tap. I haven't measured it but it's gotta be below seven degrees. That's going to produce one doozy of a temperature drop in your tank.

Lee


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## videosilva (Oct 14, 2013)

*Pails of water*

My days of putting water in pails and letting it sit to do a water change are OVER.

Once water evaporates, I top off with water straight from the tap weekly. I Fill a bucket that is roughly the same as the tank and in it GOEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS ~!

I don't recommend that others do this but it works. Where did this Drip acclimatization come from ? I was out of the hobby for 15 years and someone comes out with this new idea. Bag with fish, coral etc. sits in tank for ten minutes or so to get the water temperature as close to the tank as possible. Open the bag let some water out and fill with water from the tank. Another 10-15 and in goes the ............


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## Lee_D (Jun 11, 2010)

I don't do top offs. When the tank needs a top off, I like to take out a bucket, then put in two. At some point you need to remove some water to reduce the mineral build up.

Lee


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## nightowl1350 (Mar 19, 2006)

If you age the water it is fine the way it is, no prime needed. I just add a bit of boiling water to the pail to bring up the temp to tank temp. I have a large garbage bin (35g) to age my water in.

If you are using prime then as above just get the water as close to tank temp and add it. A small diameter hose works, just place it above tank level and let it run...just be sure to not overflow your tank when doing this. I have done it with a 5g, but lucky I didn't have much more in the pail than I took out.


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## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

Aside from any health concerns that may be associated with consuming it, I dislike the smell and taste of chlorine, especially in my green tea. This is why I say what comes out of the tap isn't good enough for me.

And chlorine's just one reason bottled water sales are so high. When I was a kid, the only bottled water was, maybe, Perrier, or something of that nature, and you could not buy bottled water at the grocery store as you can now. Most restaurants would give you a glass of water for nothing. And the tap water didn't taste or smell like chlorine. 

My, my, how things have changed since then.


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## colio (Dec 8, 2012)

Not much comment on your issue of flow and current when you poor in water. This is a non-trivial issue. 

I do my 10 gallon tank water changes with a 5 gallon home depot bucket (which has excess capacity to what I need for a single water change). When I poor in the water, I place my hand, or a plastic plate, just above or slight in the tank, and poor my clean water into my hand/plate. This disperses the flow nicely, and is less disruptive to my fish, shrimp, and plants. 

For my 10 gallon I have a small gravel vac to drain the water, which works very well. 

I am a fan of Prime to remove chlorine/etc, because then I KNOW my water is safe. Prime is amazing stuff. If you use conditioner, I highly recommend Prime, and would advise against the cheap stuff. The costs difference is not a lot (a cents a week), and the cheaper stuff can actually be hazardous if you use to much, or not remove all impurities.


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## baishui (Jan 7, 2014)

I am using API Conditioner 










Should I throw it away and buy a Prime? lol


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## Jung (Mar 17, 2009)

nope that is the water conditioner I use, prime is overrated


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## mistersprinkles (Nov 4, 2013)

Jung said:


> nope that is the water conditioner I use, prime is overrated


I wouldn't say that. Have you researched the API water conditioner? It probably does nothing to bind ammonia after it breaks the chloramine bond.

Also, why would you want to pay 3-4X more for your water conditioner? Does that stuff condition water at 1mL/10G like prime does? Probably not. Probably takes a lot more than 1mL to do 10G.

Most water conditioners are a rip off, and don't bind ammonia. Trash the API stuff. Get prime.


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## SKurj (Oct 26, 2011)

mistersprinkles said:


> I wouldn't say that. Have you researched the API water conditioner? It probably does nothing to bind ammonia after it breaks the chloramine bond.
> 
> Also, why would you want to pay 3-4X more for your water conditioner? Does that stuff condition water at 1mL/10G like prime does? Probably not. Probably takes a lot more than 1mL to do 10G.
> 
> Most water conditioners are a rip off, and don't bind ammonia. Trash the API stuff. Get prime.


Yup people don't pay attention to the fact that 1 cap full of prime does 50gallons... Its cheap in the long run.


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## mistersprinkles (Nov 4, 2013)

I did a little research. Turns out the API stuff conditions at 1 drop per gallon so it is as concentrated as prime.


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## zzz (Sep 18, 2013)

Lee_D said:


> This time of year I would be more concerned about the temperature of the water coming out of the tap. I haven't measured it but it's gotta be below seven degrees. That's going to produce one doozy of a temperature drop in your tank.
> 
> Lee


Don't you use warm water?


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## Lee_D (Jun 11, 2010)

I do, yes, or rather I age the water over night. I wrote it more for the people that use Pythons or a bucket straight out of the tap. Rather moot I agree considering the original thread was for a relatively small volume tank.

Lee


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## videosilva (Oct 14, 2013)

Fishfur said:


> Aside from any health concerns that may be associated with consuming it, I dislike the smell and taste of chlorine, especially in my green tea. This is why I say what comes out of the tap isn't good enough for me.
> 
> And chlorine's just one reason bottled water sales are so high. When I was a kid, the only bottled water was, maybe, Perrier, or something of that nature, and you could not buy bottled water at the grocery store as you can now. Most restaurants would give you a glass of water for nothing. And the tap water didn't taste or smell like chlorine.
> 
> My, my, how things have changed since then.


 Bottled water eh ? Comes from space or lake Ontario ?? When bottled water became the NEW THING everyone at home was drinking it except me. A year later EVERYONE had cavities except me. Imagine that....... NO FLUORIDE in bottled water EH !


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## mistersprinkles (Nov 4, 2013)

videosilva said:


> Bottled water eh ? Comes from space or lake Ontario ?? When bottled water became the NEW THING everyone at home was drinking it except me. A year later EVERYONE had cavities except me. Imagine that....... NO FLUORIDE in bottled water EH !


Ha ha. Fluoride. One of the biggest scams of the 20th century. This is the only thing fluoride does for teeth: Fluorosis. It happens to very few people but when it happens, the effects are pretty drastic.


















Sodium fluoride in high doses is used as rat poison. You really think the same substance at low doses is positively affecting your teeth? Ridiculous.


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## Lee_D (Jun 11, 2010)

When I was a kid nobody over fifty had teeth. Now that I am over fifty finding someone my age that has missing teeth is rare, unless they lost them in a hockey game. Fluoridation is not a scam.

Lee


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## pyrrolin (Jan 11, 2012)

anything in high doses can cause harm. Drinking too much 100 percent pure distilled water can kill you.

Why pay for a bottle of water when the stuff from the tap is almost free?

Most of us can't afford to live to be 130 especially if you spend all your money now on bottled water and have nothing left for a long retirement


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## mistersprinkles (Nov 4, 2013)

Lee_D said:


> When I was a kid nobody over fifty had teeth. Now that I am over fifty finding someone my age that has missing teeth is rare, unless they lost them in a hockey game. Fluoridation is not a scam.
> 
> Lee


Oh, it's a scam. Trust me. 
No doubt people's dental condition, in general, has improved, but it's not because of rat poison in the diet that has not, in any study, ever been shown to have any beneficial effects for the human body. Long term studies have been conducted in modern times comparing fluoridated water supply communities with non fluoridated and the levels of tooth decay were very similar in both communities.


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## BillD (Jun 5, 2006)

More people getting dental care is the reason. As well every toothpaste has it.


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## mistersprinkles (Nov 4, 2013)

BillD said:


> More people getting dental care is the reason. As well every toothpaste has it.


Which IMO is a good reason to switch to a non-fluoridated tooth paste like Tom's of Maine.


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## Fishfur (Mar 4, 2012)

Flouride sure is a scam.

If you like I can send you a copy of a letter written by a very good chemist, who is, or maybe now it's was, he'd be quite elderly now, a Chemistry professor emeritus of one of the big Ivy League Universities.. I forget which one.

Did his own research into flouride and dental decay, and concluded that flouride not only fails to prevent cavities, it actually prevents our own bodies from laying down new tooth enamel, by interrupting this process at a cellular level. The human body can repair dental enamel, if we don't have too much flouride intake preventing us from doing so. This is why many primitive peoples have great teeth, despite the lack of 'modern dental care'.

I read the chemist's, Dr. Judd's, letter and it makes very, very good sense to me. I haven't used flouride toothpaste since. But I do use Xylitol, which has been shown to work wonders for dental issues, in numerous studies that are very repeatable. 

I am, unfortunately, missing quite a few teeth, thanks to a very dry mouth. This is caused by the side effects of meds I cannot stop taking if I want a life worth living. I'm getting implants, at some point, as they're the only thing that can withstand the dry mouth, which I expect to have for life.

But my dentist told me that, unlike most severe dry mouth cases he's seen, my gums in are great shape. He asked me what I was doing, and I told him about both the xylitol and not using flouride paste. I think he's still a bit skeptical about the flouride because it's not what he learned in dental college. Dentists are told flouride works, of course. But the Xylitol he's now telling other patients about.

I stopped drinking tap water too, in part because I really do hate the smell and taste of chlorine, but also because of the flouride, once I learned about what it does. The flouride that is added to our water used to be classified as toxic waste, from the aluminum industry. 

Now the industry has a market for their former waste product, whereas before it was added to drinking water, they had to pay just to get it taken away. To top that off, the US Congress just passed their farm bill where a new provision was sneaked in at the last minute that will make it much harder to stop flouridation of water in the US. I'd have to go look that one up again for details, I only looked at it briefly.


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## mistersprinkles (Nov 4, 2013)

Fishfur said:


> Flouride sure is a scam.
> 
> If you like I can send you a copy of a letter written by a very good chemist, who is, or maybe now it's was, he'd be quite elderly now, a Chemistry professor emeritus of one of the big Ivy League Universities.. I forget which one.
> 
> ...


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