Water Changes- Which is better?

[xraycer]

So how to you drain your tank? I'm assuming to fill it you are just connecting to the water source and letting it go? Also where did you buy the pocket hose. Thanks for the info

Luckily, the back of my basement walks out to ground level, so I just use a regular garden hose and gravity to drain the tank straight outside. I use this same hose to fill the tank back up when the outside faucet isn't frozen. The y adapter allows me to leave the pocket hose in place and not having to connect/disconnect every time I do a water change. The great thing about the pocket hose is that it shrivels down to a small bundle when it is empty, and I just put in a small bag by the washing machine when not in use. I got my pocket hose at Home Depot, but I've seen them all over different stores such as Walmart, Walgreens, etc. You can order it online too, just Google pocket hose.

 

[tiger15]

If your nitrate level out of the tap is 20 ppm, it is above the EPA standard of 10 ppm. Adults are OK, but infants are suceptable to "blue baby" syndrom if fed with high nitrate formula milk.

Do you have private well water, which can be contaminated by farm fertilizer or too close to septic systems?

 

[motorhead1980]

No we are on town water, no private well. Maybe I'll re test to see if I'm still getting the same reading, or I may have mis-read my API test kit result.

 

[duanes]

Agree with tiger15, I doubt that a public water system would have double the MCL (maximum contamination level), more likely your test kit is defective, or your test glassware is not clean.
When I worked in a lab we would rinse all tubes 3 times with DI water before is sample was tested to remove residue that could skew results, and all glassware was acid washed at the end of the day.

 

[motorhead1980]

Interesting, the test kit I have is over a year old, and I do put the glassware away slightly damp at times. I'll buy a new kit as mine is running low anyways.