Garden Hose

[waterdrop]

Right, so cool to get all the help and even a spreadsheet!

After reading dozens of threads here at TFF about water filling in all of its glorious detail it eventually occurred to me that the topic of filling an *empty* aquarium prior to fishless cycling and the subject of *water changes*, done to a tank with fish should be treated as separate topics to some extent.

My question about using my backyard hose was strictly for this initial fill in the fishless state.

For me, when I get around to the topic of water changes, I will have to decide whether I can come up with either a working mixing tap system OR whether I can find large plastic bottles to store water in the heated house and then use them the following week for the water change. (apologies.. those few who have seen my other thread in hardware section know that my only mixing faucets are made by Grohe which the Python people say is the only faucet that doesn't work for them!) (despite this I intend to try to find an adapter and then put together individual Python parts to suit my odd situation.)

Thanks again! ~~waterdrop~~
ps. As I write this, I am -finally-,-finally-, rinsing my new filter equipment and tank prior to filling. We are so excited we can hardly stand it. My poor 11-year-old has had to withstand weeks and weeks of Dad's research and will still have to endure weeks of water tests with not a fish in sight! One thing though, he knows his Nitrogen from his Oxygen from his Pee!

 

[andywg]

Why worry about mixers? Unless you see regular changed in excess of 40%, just the cold tap is fine.

 

[RadaR]

Why worry about mixers? Unless you see regular changed in excess of 40%, just the cold tap is fine.

My thinking exactly.
Ive also found that some species enjoy the slightly colder input of water.

 

[Kevstir]

i do 50% water changes so all cold would be a bit to much i think.

 

[smithrc]

only calculates the maximum temperature drop, failing to take into account the constant sources of heat to the tank

jeeeez... your hard to please

It doesn't "Fail" to do it - it wasn't intended to!
what would you prefer? - worst case, allowing a margin for a better case?

 

[andywg]

jeeeez... your hard to please

My hard to please what?

(Is it that hard to use another two keys to make you're? )

It doesn't "Fail" to do it - it wasn't intended to!
what would you prefer? - worst case, allowing a margin for a better case?

The intention of an egg does not include resisting blows from a hammer, that does not prevent one from saying it fails to resist the blows. Similarly, the Theory of Relativity was not intended to deal with what goes on at the quantum levels, that does not prevent one from saying it fails to predict quantum events

I would prefer people to know that the numbers in that spreadsheet will not occur in the real world due to a number of heating effects on the tank and the water therein. I don't think that is being particularly hard to please. When I use the mathematics to point out maximum temperature drops I try to point out the flaws in the calculations when applied to real life and state that those numbers will not be observed.

 

[waterdrop]

BUBBLEFEST!

Boy! One big blast of crystal clear water from that backyard hose was a lot more fun than filling buckets in the tub!!

We've been having fun sticking our forearms into the 44 degree F water and yelling "krikee I can't feel me arm!" in between checking for leaks and running in to the computer to be entertained by rc and andy.

The eheim came to life creating a glorious waterfall of bubbles dancing all over the tank, which has bubbles all over the walls and is quite beautiful as the only thing lighted in the room tonight - this is quite the fun for us since we are weeks away from live inhabitants. We fired up the Hydor inline before leaving for dinner and upon return it had raised the tank 10 degrees. So the heater and filter are working, neither the tank, filter or hoses are leaking and we have exchanged our high fives!

Wish we could give high fives to all of you (RD, BTT, MissWiggly, T1, andywg, jonsey, bastables, smithrc, Tolak and all the rest of you at TFF) as you've made it really fun and taught us a ton of stuff in the the last few weeks!

~~waterdrop~~

 

[rdd1952]

Glad to hear that you're up an running and that everything is running with no leaks (always a good thing). The bubbles will go away pretty quickly. For those on the glass, you can just run your hand or a glass magnet over them to get them to turn loose.

 

[waterdrop]

Yes, RD, pump and heater continued to function overnight and all day today. I've been gradually jumping up to new heat settings to see how close the dial is to the thermometer we've got and luckily it is pretty close.

Of course I'm preparing to follow the add&wait method in your document. I'm aiming the temp toward the high 80's, maybe even the low 90's like you've tried.

On re-reading I got a little shock realizing I'd overlooked an airstone which you recommend to add O2 back in for the bacteria when the temp is this high. I picked up that equipment today.

I'm at that initial stage where you recommend waiting a day or two for the cloudiness to settle so that it won't throw any of the tests off. But this is where I've bucked the majority advice. You and several others I respect have recommended adding and shaping the substrate prior to the initial tank fill. I even know from my own ancient experience that this makes the most sense as I remember how difficult gravel was to work with in deep water.

But I really liked the suggestion by one TFF member that leaving the substrate -out- of the fishless cycle had the advantage of not subjecting it to any brown stringy algae that so often occurs during the cycling. So I've decided to detour from the tried-and-true and wait to add my substrate after the tank is cycled but prior to adding fish. I will report what happens.

On top of that I went back and forth over and over between eco-complete vs flourite and against my better judgement I decided to try the flourite, partly because I could get a version that was pure black and then add some very black gravel over that. I may be very sorry about this, especially if the flourite floats all over the place when I try to pour it down a 17" water column!! But I will take my licks and report this too so you can all hear how it goes.

OK, gotta go, my cat Cooper is making me sit and type in one position too long! Your friend, ~~waterdrop~~