Maintenance 101

[CaliKid]

Will some you fellow aquarists share you water change procedure with me and critique mine?

Here's how I do mine:
Turn off filtration and CO2.
Run hose from tank to sink (connected to waterbed fill/drain adapter)
Adjust adapter to drain and momentarily turn on water at sink to create siphon
Once siphon is active, use hose end at tank to suck up detritus
Once I've sucked up the detritus, I just let the water drain until approx 75% of water is removed.
Now I'm ready to fill the tank, so I turn on the sink and mix the hot and cold until the temp coming out of the faucet is the same as the tank.
I place a dish into the tank and clamp the hose so the output hits the dish.
I then switch the adapter from drain to fill, and begin filling the tank.
During the din and fill time, I clean my Eheim (once a month).
When the water is approx. a couple of inches from the top, I turn on the filtration and CO2.
When the water has reached the top, I turn off the faucet and remove the hose from the tank.
I then add (3) teaspoons of superbuffer dKH and (10) teaspoons of GH Booster.
The End.


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[Biollante]

Hi,

Do you use dechlorinator?

Since you are not trimming plants, I am guessing it is not planted, sounds fine without knowing size of tank intentions, water quality, Lake Malawi, brackish water, marine so forth.

Biollante

[Jiinx]

I've always been worried about turning on the hot water bc of the increased copper in it..is this just worrisome for shrimps?

[CaliKid]

Hi Biollante. I don't use a dechlorinator on the water supply. I know it's been a little while, but you helped me with my EI dosing regimen in the following post: http://www.barrreport.com/showthread.php?t=10170
Very helpful I must add.

The tank is planted and I do prune the plants. Forgot to mention that in the outlined process. The tank is 75g.

What inspired my post is that my population of 7 mollies seem quite stressed with the water change. When I fill the tank, they all hide. It takes about an hour for them to start re-appearing.


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[CaliKid]

I've always been worried about turning on the hot water bc of the increased copper in it..is this just worrisome for shrimps?

Hi Jiinx - I'm not sure how hot water would have any different copper value than cold. If its related to the water heater, I have a tankless heater.


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[CaliKid]

I wonder if the affect on the fish is due to a rapid change in PH. I have to buffer my tap water.


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[Tom Barr]

One or both fixes virtually any aquarium problem fast.

You can simply run the hot water a few min to get any residual out of the lines prior to use.
Organic matter and plants tend to remove copper rather quick in our tanks.
At higher pH's, the metal will not dissolve nearly as much.

It can get a nice crusty filmy marl layer on the inside from Mg and Ca carbonates.

[Biollante]

Hi,

Okay I remember now. I pretty well remembered but being lazy and not wanting to make more of a fool of myself then normal, I treat each thread as self-contained.

Glad it is working out for you.

Two possibilities leap to the first is that with no dechlorinator the, the chlorine is causing distress, being Mollies I tend to doubt this is the cause. Unless there is heavy, chlorination going on there is generally not enough chlorine in tap water to harm our plants or critters. Arguably the residual chlorine from the tap is neutralized by oxidizing organic material in the tank.

I tend to think you are correct, perhaps not pH per se, but I would add the boosters as you are refilling the tank, especially if you are adding baking soda.

It does not hurt to run cold and hot for a minute or two, but unless it is a lot of Copper, organic material in our tanks tends to chelate the Copper, effectively sequestering it and letting the substrate deal with any excess.

Biollante