Water Change Reservoir

[MattB]

Hello, sorry if this question has been answered before but I have scoured the forums looking for it without much luck :(.

I am currently setting up my first discus tank (120cmx45cmx35cm=189L), and I am wondering whether to invest in a water barrel/drum/bucket to prepare water properly for WCs. I am planning to do roughly 30% twice weekly so I am guessing I'll need a 60-70L reservoir.

Basically my questions are:

1) Is this practical, and how long would it take to condition the water (my sydney tap water is quite hard and alkalinic :( )

2) Should I buy an air stone/pump to aerate the water and thereby speed up the condition process?

3) Does anyone know anything else about this, and have any advice they can lend me?

Thankyou all for your time.

*edit- when i said biweekly i meant twice weekly sorry :(

[Nathan]

i definitely think this a good thing to get, you need an airtstone an pump, youl also need a heater to heat this water. Id still be adding Prime or any other water agers while filling the barrel as it helps break down heavy metals.

it takes about 24 hours minimum but id leave yours a bit longer, youl need to make your water softer an lower your ph, i suggest your get a stocking an fill it with peat moss an put it in your water aging barrel.

other may have better ways of lowering you ph an an gh, but yea id definitely be inveasting in this!

remember when buying a barrel or any sort of containor that your goin to be aging your water in, the plastic needs to be food grade, if it isnt then after a while the plastic develops a slimy coat an will affect your fish.

hope this helps mate, an make sure u keep asking questions as everyone will be happy to help

[ellwa]

Hello, sorry if this question has been answered before but I have scoured the forums looking for it without much luck :(.

I am currently setting up my first discus tank (120cmx45cmx35cm=189L), and I am wondering whether to invest in a water barrel/drum/bucket to prepare water properly for WCs. I am planning to do roughly 30% biweekly so I am guessing I'll need a 60-70L reservoir.

Basically my questions are:

1) Is this practical, and how long would it take to condition the water (my sydney tap water is quite hard and alkalinic :( )

2) Should I buy an air stone/pump to aerate the water and thereby speed up the condition process?

3) Does anyone know anything else about this, and have any advice they can lend me?

Thankyou all for your time.

First up, you should be aiming to do more than 30% if you're going to be changing biweekly.

I do about 40% every 5 days, in my planted 40G.

I use water straight out of the tap, one because I don't have space for an aging barrel, two because my tap water is 6.6-6.8 with no hardness at all.

I'd be going for 30% a week at a minimum.

Lowering PH and hardness is pretty easy, as Nathan stated, peat is a good method.

One of the things I've tried to do this time around is avoid adding too much stuff to the water. I have a UV sterilizer, and add ferts. daily or there abouts, an pump in co2, but very few, if any, chemicals for treating fish.

Make sure you clean out your barrel with a weak bleach solution, and then double dose with a water ager when you fill it with water for the first time.

[MattB]

Thanks for the great reply Nathan :)

It seems I have a lot to think and plan about, just need to find the most economical and efficient way of doing all of this :)

I'll keep talking to the guys at my LFS and researching on this, and I hope to get it all done before I actually get the discus in the tank :D

Thanks again, and I'll try and keep you updated on how it all goes.

[samir]

Matt, you can get an old 200 litre barrel on ebay for 20 bucks. you will need a heater, airstone and water conditioner. Sydney water is fine you should not have any problems with it as long as you add something like seachem prime. just to be safe. do at least 50% biweekly, or if you want your fish to look stunning and have a total disregard for water restrictions, even more. a powerhead or old canister to pump the water into your tank also makes things easier.

[MattB]

Oops, didn't notice all the other posts coming in at once... Thanks a lot for all the advice though :)

I'll look into it all extensively.

[Nathan]

yea as samir said this can be done quite cheaply, i bought a 50l container from kmart aswel as an airstone for around $25.

[ziku1]

you guys can use a 125l storage container for clothes from the reject shop for $22

[MattB]

Hello again,

I bought a handy little cheap 60L water storage box (with wheels :)).

Just wondering: would it be worth getting a http://www.aquariumproductswholesale.com/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=534 over http://www.aquariumproductswholesale.com/cart.php?m=product_detail&p=529 to heat up the water as fast as possible?

Ty :)

[*Chris*]

id probably get one inbetween those wattages mate maybe 200 watt will be enough
if you only get a 55watter it will probably burn out in a yr
cheers
EXAI

[Mulisha]

Like they always say "bigger is better" :lol: :lol:

I would get 300W so if u decide later u want a bigger tank you already have a big heater.

Goodluck. :wink:

[MattB]

I've got it running successfully now, and I did a practice water change today, all went well. Thanks for all the advice everyone :)

[Mulisha]

Good to hear always good when things go to plan 8-)