Water change day.

[esoxlucius]

To make things easier for myself, and for my family, so i'm not in the way, I do my water changes on Saturday mornings only now. My 360 every Saturday, my 120 every other Saturday, and my small hex tank is only two minutes of a job anyway.

I get up early whilst everyone's still in bed. I'll have a coffee and put the radio on, or maybe a CD in my fish room and crack on with the job in hand.

We all know how important it is to concentrate 100% on the job, no distractions, no mistakes. My Saturday mornings allow me just that. Water changes for me are almost therapeutic, I absolutely love them. I certainly don't look on them as a chore.

This morning was one of those Saturdays where my 360 and my 120 needed doing. No big deal, i love doing it. Part of the joy is that not only are the water changes easy, but the maintenance on my sumps is easy and quick too.

How do you guys view your water change day? Have you got them down to a fine art like myself, making them pleasurable and peaceful, or do you dread them?

 

[MultipleTankSyndrome]

Mine has become surprisingly uneventful since I got the Python. Before I had it though, I always made a game out of my 473 liter's 55% water replacements on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, and had a lot of fun bucketing it.
That game was counting the buckets removed and put back (11-12 liters) by USDA hardiness zones (the number of zones matched the number of buckets needed). This became quite a disturbance to my cousin though, so I used the Python from there.

The 110 liter and quarantine tank were neither dreadful nor as amusing as the 473 liter, but they were somewhat pleasurable.

 

[tlindsey]

I have 6 aquariums running and 3 are bi-weekly so Wednesday, and Sunday
40 breeder, 20 long and 180 gallon. Friday 20 long, 29 gallon, and 55 gallon. Start off trying to do all on the same day but too much. I've figured ways of doing wc's and maintenance of filters quick and easy.

 

[Friller2009]

I just do them when I realise "Hey, you haven't had a water change this week". I prefer doing buckets because it keeps me fit!

 

[A201]

I'm a bucket man. Keeps my back strong & my garden blooming. I'll admit hauling five gallon buckets sure was easier back in my 20's. Lol

 

[anitstuk123]

Buckets.. Simple and original

 

[GolemGolem]

Hey I just got done with my Saturday water changes before my wife wakes up. It's the best, put on a bit of music and grab the scraper and the siphon. Only got the 75 krib tank and a 48 w/ 2 ryukins atm. Cheap amazon gravel vac held together with electrical tape, but has the screen to keep me from sucking up fry and small bits of gravel, if it was well made and twice as big it would be perfect. My bucket of choice is a 10g tote with two handles, this I recomend - feels way lighter than a 5 g bucket and the handles don't dig into the hand, half the trips to the garden, and less splashing on the floor. Refill with the garden hose.

 

[esoxlucius]

Wow, the bucket brigade are out in force, lol. I'm not sure how hauling buckets will ever equate to being "enjoyable" and "easy" when referring to water changes, but, each to their own methods.

I suppose you guys can be considered the hardcore hobbyists, whereas I look on myself as being a little more economical with my effort, lol.

The main thing is that we're all caring for our fish, whatever level of effort we put in and enjoyment we get out of it.

 

[jjohnwm]

...Water changes for me are almost therapeutic, I absolutely love them. I certainly don't look on them as a chore...

I couldn't agree more. My routine is similar...substitute beer for coffee, evening for morning.. and I quite look forward to the task. Takes several hours, but involves merely opening and closing appropriate valves and keeping an eye on the proceedings. The only real work involved is in winter, when I must roll/unroll a length of garden hose that must be attached to the outdoor drain and directed into the adjacent pasture. Otherwise I can drain and fill to my heart's content without touching a bucket or hose. I even have a dog bed down in the fish room where Duke likes to recline while I "work".

One of the two small tanks I have upstairs is finally hooked into the system, thanks to a small hole drilled in the floor and cunningly concealed under the corner of a bookcase. The final holdout is a 20-ish gallon tank in my library, which is currently still a bucket-slugging job...and far more work than everything else combined.

Buckets stopped being fun sometime in the 1980's.

Must...drill...floor...?

 

[GolemGolem]

Not that hardcore, just like the music.
If I ever find myself with way more time and money at the same time there would be more and bigger tanks hooked up to a hydroponics system.
At that point I'd at least tape a longer hose to my siphon so I could just run that out the back door.
Likely still have even more to do on Saturday mornings.