# Stupid new big aquarium!!!!!



## jo-jo-beans (Jun 28, 2010)

Water changes used to take me 10 mins and just one wee bucket of water!!! :lol2:

Got a bucket and a basin going at the same time!! Need to get a syphon that reaches the sink :no1:

Added another wee shoal to the family - 6 ice blue zebras ( is that the right way around) and more rock.

It's looking prettier and prettier :flrt:


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## sy-core (Apr 26, 2011)

Lol you seemed to be in a bit of state with the water changes ... How bigga tank are we talk here 100 litres, 200 litres, a 1000 litres.

I remember when i got my last tank of 150 litres, & all i had was a 5 litre bottle back & forth from the tap, 30 trips just to fill it up, plu adding all water safe etc. 

Still trying to find somewhere local which will sell me a 25 litre container as i don't really trust buckets to much, plus there only 10-15 litre at the most (i think). So anyway i've now come across another problem 450 litre new tank & a 5 litre bottle, i think this calls for hose pipe, seriously. 

Syphon is never a problem for me, gravity fed syphon will do that 5 litre in about 30 seconds, now i got no time to sit & wait fo it to fil, i just gotta keep running it to the bathroom. & Yes i've had some spills from the syphon onto brand new carpet, nice i know. 

Anyway thats the hobby for ya


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## goldie1212 (Mar 5, 2010)

Flexible rubber bucket with handles recommended by Thrive for disabled gardeners, made by Faulks & Co, tough and versatile to help disabled gardeners carry things in the garden.


i use these, i have the 45L ones to gravel vac into :2thumb: fantastic buy, wouldnt be without them now


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## jo-jo-beans (Jun 28, 2010)

sy-core said:


> Lol you seemed to be in a bit of state with the water changes ... How bigga tank are we talk here 100 litres, 200 litres, a 1000 litres.
> 
> I remember when i got my last tank of 150 litres, & all i had was a 5 litre bottle back & forth from the tap, 30 trips just to fill it up, plu adding all water safe etc.
> 
> ...


Yup, and moaning aside, I'm loving it :flrt:

It's about 400 litres. My bucket holds about 4/5 litres, but anything bigger and I don't think I'd be able to lift it :lol2:

Took me ages to fill it up the first time. I'd do maybe 15 buckets then have a cuppa tea, then another 15 etc - was knackering. Glad we've got laminate in the living room now tho :2thumb:

Have thought about a hose, but as I've got a stupid mixer tap I'm struggling to find a fitting.

Anywhoos, all done now. Time for a cuppa :no1:


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## caribe (Mar 21, 2010)

What I do is I have 2 15 litre buckets at the moment. I dont use gravel but I syphon the crap and rubbish off the bottom and then just leave the syphon in the water.

while one fills I empty the other one etc.

Do the same thing when filling it back up.

Its easier to just keep up small regular changes.

I change about 40 litres every 2 days to keep the water fresh.

Its easier than doing it once a week and changing at once.

OOOOFT i hate that.


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## Moogloo (Mar 15, 2010)

You should have seen the epic mess of the flat i made when doing a 30% waterchange on a 130L tank, a 25% on a 125L tank, a 30% on a 250L tank, 10% on two 80L tanks and a 50% on a 340L tank >.<

And then i went and got an 8x3x2 tank and sump >.< (About 1600L)....

Tell you what..... Long length of clear hosing (had horrible accident with black hosing >.<), turned ALL filters/heaters off, went from one to the next and siphoned the water out the front door... genius!

Better still, then reverse the pipe over the kitchen tap and into the tank, add dechlorinator and fill tank up from tap, used warm tap a bit in winter but most of species i kept LOVED the cold water blast, especially my discus, they all used to crowd round and stick their faces into the flow of cold water, the loaches used to try getting up the pipe lol

Took me an hour to do the whole lot.


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## goldie1212 (Mar 5, 2010)

^^^ i too syphon the water straight outside down the drain using a hose. i get it going by holding the end over the filter outlet for a minute then let it drain to where i need it, then put the hose onto the mixer tap in the kitchen, add the required amount of dechlorinator and re-fill the tank. I only use the buckets for gravel vac because the gravel vac hose isnt very long.


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## spinnin_tom (Apr 20, 2011)

you'll need a mop bucket... has a handle, for ease of carrying. they hold about 15/20 litres i think. if the gravel vac reaches a window go for it. mine reaches out and goes into an outdoor drain, 2 floors fown lol


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## _simon_ (Nov 27, 2007)

I have a powerhead attached to a hose which goes outside to a drain, the head gets it going and then I can either disconnect and let gravity do the work or leave the head going. Fill back up with a hose on a mixer tap.

Even so 40 - 50% water changes on my 2x 1300L's take hours.


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## spinnin_tom (Apr 20, 2011)

^ don't rub it in mate :lol2: damn ponds in your front room.
mum won't let me lol, imma get one as soon as i get aa house, that takes priority over the dwa license


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## _simon_ (Nov 27, 2007)

I haven't mentioned the 7' x 5' I've been digging in the garden have I?


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## spinnin_tom (Apr 20, 2011)

_simon_ said:


> I haven't mentioned the 7' x 5' I've been digging in the garden have I?


i don't wan't to talk to you anymore :gasp:
we have a little preform pond, it's only about 30 litres, it has a newt in it


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## jo-jo-beans (Jun 28, 2010)

Thanks for all the advice and suggestions guys.

Think I'm gonna nick to B&Q tomorrow to get a really long hose and one of those buckets with the handles (or a mop bucket - awesome idea) to use with my gravel syphon thingy - It'll only be a small one tho, cause water is mighty heavy, and I'm just a girl :blush:

- think I'll also need to get a vac with a longer attachment tho, I'm up to my elbows when using it :lol2:


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## caribe (Mar 21, 2010)

I have ben trying to work out a better way for me as well if im honest.

I HATE carrying buckets i really do..

My tank is near a window, but, it would then drop all the water on my flowers... and I am attached to them :lol2:
Hose from the kitchen is what I would love to do, but my kitchen is a fair treck from my living room.... DAMN STUPID BIG ROOMS :lol2:
Like I was saying before, regular small changes make it more easy. Just do a small change every day or every other day rather than once a week. African cichlids love fresh water.


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## SkinheadOi85 (Sep 28, 2008)

I had the same problem so was cheeky and asked at the local shops were staff i know to keep an eye out for large bottles for me....got a 50 ltr bottle for nowt from the garage...then went to wilkos beer making aisle got some sanitiser used for cleaning brewing gear and cleaned it with that.


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## jo-jo-beans (Jun 28, 2010)

caribe said:


> I have ben trying to work out a better way for me as well if im honest.
> 
> I HATE carrying buckets i really do..
> 
> ...


I'm quite lucky as the the aquarium is right next to the kitchen, so shouldn't need a very long hose to get to the sink :2thumb:

See if I can't syphon from the tank to the sink, as Goldie suggested to use the filter pump to get it going, could I just somehow attach the hose to the pump and let it do the work, or is this what you kinda meant?


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## Morgan Freeman (Jan 14, 2009)

Just buy a strong pump, run the outflow to the sink/garden and wait for it to be done.

When it's emptied reverse the process, maybe fill the bath up with dechlorinated water and run the pump from that. If not a large holding bucket.


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## scottishsany (Nov 5, 2009)

*buckets*

the big buckets your talking about that holds i think 45 liters is in aldis for less than £4 with the two handle's great buy sandy:2thumb:


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## HABU (Mar 21, 2007)

jeez! a syphon will pull 5 gallons of water out in about a minute...

that's not fast enough?


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## jo-jo-beans (Jun 28, 2010)

scottishsany said:


> the big buckets your talking about that holds i think 45 liters is in aldis for less than £4 with the two handle's great buy sandy:2thumb:


45 litres????

I'd need to hire someone to lift it for me :lol2:
I'd end up dragging it and I'm guessing it would slosh everywhere :devil:

Suppose I don't really need to fill it up. Thanks sandy, it really is quite a bargain.


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## HABU (Mar 21, 2007)

stupid liters...










5 gallon bucket... about 19 litres... takes a minute to fill with a syphon...


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## jo-jo-beans (Jun 28, 2010)

HABU said:


> stupid liters...
> 
> image
> 
> 5 gallon bucket... about 19 litres... takes a minute to fill with a syphon...


Looks heavy.

IM JUST A WEAK GIRLIE!!!!!!!!!! :lol2:


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## matthew_harwood (Mar 12, 2005)

bit expensive but a one time purchase these are perfect for water changes, 

Halfords | 40 Litre Aqua Roll

Halfords | Wastemaster

I use RO in my tank so put all my waste into a water butt, this way means its cost me nothing to do water changes as this water is used on the garden as it would need to be watered anyway. These are really easy to use.

regards

matt


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## HABU (Mar 21, 2007)

get a python...











Python No Spill Aquarium Maintenance System. William Tricker, Inc.®


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## Andy82 (Mar 8, 2011)

I syphon my 160l into the back garden, putting a net under the water as I've had a few neon tetras try and make a bid for freedom.

Once drained I attach the hose to tap and fill back up, adding drips of tap safe as it fills.

Only problem I get is if I suck up to much sand/leaves and it gets blocked. Then blast it through with tap water and have to start the syphon again.

No heavy lifting and minimal soggy carpet for me!


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## Freakinfreak (May 13, 2009)

What?! NO PICS?!


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## jo-jo-beans (Jun 28, 2010)

HABU said:


> get a python...
> 
> 
> image
> ...


Ooohhhh I likie :2thumb: looks like what I have just now but on a bigger scale. I used to be able to shake mine in the water and it would suck it up, but something broke inside it - now I've got to do it manually - and I get to taste aquarium water every time!!! Yay go me!!! :lol2:


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## Moogloo (Mar 15, 2010)

Quicktip:

1- be brave, suck on the pipe for 2 secs to get water up and over edge of tank, will gravity siphon from their...

2- if not so brave.... hold pipe one meter from tank, kink it tight in your hand, fill tube with water and tip up so it fills pipe, do it until pipe above kink is full of water, put siphon in water and make sure no air, let go of kink and it will siphon out


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## SkinheadOi85 (Sep 28, 2008)

I used to do the mouth syphon n get a gobful of tank water NOT nice lol....th pythons are expensive i feel but worth it...so still syphon with sucking pipe but got it down to an art lol

and freakinfreak hello u been a while 

x


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## Freakinfreak (May 13, 2009)

SkinheadOi85 said:


> I used to do the mouth syphon n get a gobful of tank water NOT nice lol....th pythons are expensive i feel but worth it...so still syphon with sucking pipe but got it down to an art lol
> 
> and freakinfreak hello u been a while
> 
> x


SKINNY!!!

PM me your msn if you still go on it


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## jo-jo-beans (Jun 28, 2010)

Ok, well nicked into B&Q tonight, go me a hose and a mixer tap connector.
I cut the hose to size (it was 15m), one end is in the aquarium, one end in the sink, and its draining the water as I type!!! :2thumb::2thumb:
Whoooooohooooooo!!!!!!!!

Thanks guys!!! :no1:


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## Llamekuf (Jul 8, 2011)

jo-jo-beans said:


> Yup, and moaning aside, I'm loving it :flrt:
> 
> It's about 400 litres. My bucket holds about 4/5 litres, but anything bigger and I don't think I'd be able to lift it :lol2:
> 
> ...


Just a thought we bought an RO unit and added metres of pipe no more carrying water and water changes were easy hosepipe to front window and into gutter remove and then set up RO and fill.
It was a 650ltr tank so would have been a royal pain otherwise. Also added advantage of RO water for your fish......The only issue is make sure you connect to the clean end of the RO unit and not the waste


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## _simon_ (Nov 27, 2007)

Doing a 50% on mine this morning. Started at 9am. It's still filling back up now at 11:25am. Reckon there's at least another 30 mins to go if not more!


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## sy-core (Apr 26, 2011)

Just put together a 400 litre, but that was from scratch. Maybe 4 hrs from opening the bags of subtrates washing them out & filling with fresh water. Luckily LFS lent me a 25 litre container till they could order me one in. But still it was quite a job. 

Got the filter running, heater is on, pure white sand is nice. LED's & 2 1200mm T5's works a treat.

Now just a few good weeks of cycling & i'll be set to go.


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## BornSlippy (Jan 11, 2010)

HABU said:


> get a python...
> 
> 
> image
> ...


I second this. I got one sent over from the Us when you couldnt get them here. Probably the best bit of kit I've ever bought for my tanks.


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## caribe (Mar 21, 2010)

I was just looking at that link, how does it actually work? (ignore that I just googled it)

Is it having the tap on then creates pressure and that pulls the water from the tank to the sink?

Can you fill the tank back up again as well?

If so then I am 100% buying 1 as I HATE water changes.

I am currently doing them daily for since the fry are there.

About 20 - 30 litres a day so I dont have that long water change at the weekend to do. I find that so much easier.


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## caribe (Mar 21, 2010)

Actually, what are the attachments like that go on your tap as that looks like a screw fit thing and my tap aint threaded.


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## BornSlippy (Jan 11, 2010)

caribe said:


> Actually, what are the attachments like that go on your tap as that looks like a screw fit thing and my tap aint threaded.


It's one of these, fits most if not all taps.

Hozelock Multi Tap Connector Yellow/Grey HOZ0007


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