I have a 100 gallon Poly drum that I use for aging water. I have well water so I normally just age it 24 hours or so to aerate and heat up to tank temp. I do 40-50 gallons at a change on my 120g once a week. Anyway, I was wondering if I filled the tank full and stored the water that was left for a future change would be alright? Personally I would think it would be beneficial for BB growth.
Aged water
- Thread starter Lord Viggo
- Start date
I think that would be alright. Make it airtight if you can to stop insects from laying eggs. Depending on the fish you keep it might be beneficial to throw some botanicals in the container.
I have several such tanks in the crawlspace attached to my basement fishroom; used them exclusively for all my water changes for about 8 years. I aerated only the one that contained a heater to raise the temp above ambient, or to heat the water more quickly. Otherwise, I just let them warm up naturally, which would take a couple days after using up all the water and re-filling.
The only problem I experienced was forgetting to unplug that heater, causing a couple heaters to crack when they were left high and dry during a water change.
Aerating the water in those tanks is helpful to prevent temperature stratification, but otherwise unnecessary. The water is well aerated when added to the aquarium in a forceful stream producing lots of bubbles and surface agitation pouring in from above. The tanks are tightly covered, to prevent errant mice or bugs from falling in and drowning (it's a dirt-floored crawlspace, not a finished area). I don't treat my well water in any way, but if you feel the need the storage tanks are a good place to do it.
This method will neither help nor hinder your BB growth. I'm assuming that your well water doesn't come out of the ground containing ammonia or other sources of food for bacteria?
And finally...if those poly containers are inert, that water can sit in there for weeks or months and still be completely usable. I have recently added an on-demand water heater to the fishroom so that most of my water changes are drawn directly from the domestic plumbing because it's very convenient. I still keep the storage tanks full, and have used the "old water" in them from time for various reasons; no problems whatsoever.
The only problem I experienced was forgetting to unplug that heater, causing a couple heaters to crack when they were left high and dry during a water change.
Aerating the water in those tanks is helpful to prevent temperature stratification, but otherwise unnecessary. The water is well aerated when added to the aquarium in a forceful stream producing lots of bubbles and surface agitation pouring in from above. The tanks are tightly covered, to prevent errant mice or bugs from falling in and drowning (it's a dirt-floored crawlspace, not a finished area). I don't treat my well water in any way, but if you feel the need the storage tanks are a good place to do it.
This method will neither help nor hinder your BB growth. I'm assuming that your well water doesn't come out of the ground containing ammonia or other sources of food for bacteria?
And finally...if those poly containers are inert, that water can sit in there for weeks or months and still be completely usable. I have recently added an on-demand water heater to the fishroom so that most of my water changes are drawn directly from the domestic plumbing because it's very convenient. I still keep the storage tanks full, and have used the "old water" in them from time for various reasons; no problems whatsoever.