I get my water from the washing machine supply. I installed a quick disconnect on it and attach a hose as long as I need.
Trying a new system for water changes
- Thread starter Cyanopica
- Start date
get a small submersible pump and hook it up to a hose and let it do all the work..i found one that could fit my python and i use that....no more buckets...i finally discovered a much easier way after decades of buckets for water changes...
At my old house I taped into the washing machine as well. Two hose splitters and a mixing valve connected right to a garden hose.
This is my whole water change system. I can pump water to and from any part of the house.
Update: My pond pump came today! I was able to do a ~70% WC with about 2/3 less work than my old method. Buckets method would have had me stop the draining/gravel vac process at 50% and was no where near as thorough, since I had to stop constantly to keep the bucket from overflowing. I don't think it took less time, but the lesser physical effort made up for that. Trimming the input hose shorter will probably help a bit. Overall, the experiment was a success for me!
To answer some of the questions/points that were brought up, in no particular order and without quotes because there were more responses than I anticipated...
But PYTHON/auto-change method!: Well, yes, technically this might be easier and require less equipment overall. However, my closest faucet is just over 50' away, it does not have a removable spigot nozzle, I don't want to modify it, I don't want to waste water the way these do, and I just plain don't trust our incoming water without treating it before it hits my tanks. Yes, I have read all the info I could find about ways to make direct input safe and I trust the science behind Prime and the advice of all the people who do this method with no problems. I've also talked to many customers at work who know what they're doing and still had problems because they either forgot a step, left the water on too long, or didn't know that the MUD had tweaked the chloramine levels in response to a potential issue.
Lugging buckets is good for your health!: Yup. But I have health problems and don't want to deal with the amount of pain I will be in afterward. And that's a lot of buckets. A lot. Of buckets. There will only be more buckets once I upgrade. I enjoy weight lifting, but there's a limit.
Side note, after big water changes, my angels seem to get really pissed off at each other. Three way fights all over the tank. Anyone have any idea why they're doing that? Are they just upset/stressed from all the activity in the tank and taking it out on each other?
To answer some of the questions/points that were brought up, in no particular order and without quotes because there were more responses than I anticipated...
But PYTHON/auto-change method!: Well, yes, technically this might be easier and require less equipment overall. However, my closest faucet is just over 50' away, it does not have a removable spigot nozzle, I don't want to modify it, I don't want to waste water the way these do, and I just plain don't trust our incoming water without treating it before it hits my tanks. Yes, I have read all the info I could find about ways to make direct input safe and I trust the science behind Prime and the advice of all the people who do this method with no problems. I've also talked to many customers at work who know what they're doing and still had problems because they either forgot a step, left the water on too long, or didn't know that the MUD had tweaked the chloramine levels in response to a potential issue.
Lugging buckets is good for your health!: Yup. But I have health problems and don't want to deal with the amount of pain I will be in afterward. And that's a lot of buckets. A lot. Of buckets. There will only be more buckets once I upgrade. I enjoy weight lifting, but there's a limit.
Side note, after big water changes, my angels seem to get really pissed off at each other. Three way fights all over the tank. Anyone have any idea why they're doing that? Are they just upset/stressed from all the activity in the tank and taking it out on each other?
That is really interesting! And it makes sense. I'm only doing WCs 1-2x per month, though. So according to this, smaller changes more often instead of big changes less often as the solution? I don't know that smaller water changes less often would be enough to keep the nitrates, etc, down...
