So i have a 55 gallon and water changes were a pain before with my little 5 gallon bucket back and forth in the yard. Unfortunately, i now have knee braces that i have to wear nearly all the time and my knee pain keeps me from properly lugging around a bucket for 6 times back and forth. Does anyone have any ideas on how to do these faster without hurting my knees?
How to do faster and easier water changes?
- Thread starter Finn1231
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FishHobby99
Fish Gatherer
. Had to lose the buckets on the 90 G. Basically, I use a 25 ft siphon To move water from the tank to the toilet. Then fill 12.5 Coleman Cooler in tub, approximating tank temp. have a small pump in the cooler to return conditioned water to tank.
Similar to @JennySolano
I had 20 meters of clear plastic hose and used a 2 litre drink bottle as the gravel cleaner. The bottle went into the hose at one end, and the other end of the hose went out the door onto the lawn. You can use a garden hose too.
To fill the tank, I had spare tanks full of dechlorinated water and used a water pump attached to a length of hose and a pvc shaped U to hold the hose over the edge of the tank. The U is upside down when hanging on the edge of the tank. Then just pump the new water into the tank.
You can use a plastic wheelie bin, plastic rubbish bin, plastic storage containers or buckets to hold water and put the pump in it to fill the tank.
I had 20 meters of clear plastic hose and used a 2 litre drink bottle as the gravel cleaner. The bottle went into the hose at one end, and the other end of the hose went out the door onto the lawn. You can use a garden hose too.
To fill the tank, I had spare tanks full of dechlorinated water and used a water pump attached to a length of hose and a pvc shaped U to hold the hose over the edge of the tank. The U is upside down when hanging on the edge of the tank. Then just pump the new water into the tank.
You can use a plastic wheelie bin, plastic rubbish bin, plastic storage containers or buckets to hold water and put the pump in it to fill the tank.
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I use sand so I don't have to gravel vacuum, have good flow and mechanical filtration to catch particulates, and then use a return pump to drain the tank. To fill, I dose for the volume of my aquarium with dechlorinator then fill directly from the tap with a child safe hose.
asoftuk
Fish Fanatic
My Fluval FX6 has a dedicated pump outlet, I just attach a hose to the pump outlet and redirect the flow,. The fx6 pumps the water out. To pump the water back in I use a spare 20 gal tank and place the pump inlet into the conditioned water to pump the new water back into the tank.
Bruce Leyland-Jones
Fish Aficionado
Bigger bucket and a trolley?
Animallover😍
Fishaholic
I use a long hose and taped it to my siphon to the nearest outside door or bathroom. I use the outdoor hose to fill it up, using a aquarium hose holder. However, using a hose, you have to dechlorinate the whole tank, not just the water you changed.
Bruce Leyland-Jones
Fish Aficionado
Beastije
Fish Addict
Same, use a garden hose directly from the tank to the toilet or outside rain gutter to drain. To get the water flowing out, I first start pumping the water IN to the tank, by attaching the hose directly to my water faucet in the bathroom, let the water fill in the whole hose (no air bubbles out of the hose), then move the hose to the toilet for the flow to start. Used to try to suck out the water to get the flow started, but with a 10m hose, hat was just silly stupid. This way it is almost no work, filling in from faucet works for me, because I have low levels of chlorine, but I am not recommending it to anyone, follow your water parameters.
Bruce Leyland-Jones
Fish Aficionado
I once had a system where I couldn't see both input and outlet of my pipes...it didn't go well. 
A python hose system works really well, I used my own DIY python system all the time for my water changes.
This is a system using a long hose to go from kitchen sink or bathroom to the tank, and using a universal pump you can take the water from the tank to the sink or bathroom and if you can attach the hose from tap to the tank, the water pressure from taps will simply go through the hose to the tank.
Be mindful you'll need to keep an eye on the tank while you're doing this but once you get a system up and running and with a few tweaks here and there, you'll be thankful for this system, a real back and time saver tbh.
You could try something like this -
www.fishforums.net
This is a system using a long hose to go from kitchen sink or bathroom to the tank, and using a universal pump you can take the water from the tank to the sink or bathroom and if you can attach the hose from tap to the tank, the water pressure from taps will simply go through the hose to the tank.
Be mindful you'll need to keep an eye on the tank while you're doing this but once you get a system up and running and with a few tweaks here and there, you'll be thankful for this system, a real back and time saver tbh.
You could try something like this -
[Tutorial] Diy Python System
No more buckets water changes! AKA DIY Python system Hello everyone! The brief context of this tutorial is this:I have a 60L tank which is slightly on the overstocked side, though I plan on getting a much bigger tank in the coming months. For this reason, water changes have become a big thing...
www.fishforums.net
FishHobby99
Fish Gatherer
Isn’t a Python hose a regular system with ~25 ft tubing? I bought 20 ft tubing at Lowe’s & attached it to the shorter syphon I had.A python hose system works really well, I used my own DIY python system all the time for my water changes.
This is a system using a long hose to go from kitchen sink or bathroom to the tank, and using a universal pump you can take the water from the tank to the sink or bathroom and if you can attach the hose from tap to the tank, the water pressure from taps will simply go through the hose to the tank.
Be mindful you'll need to keep an eye on the tank while you're doing this but once you get a system up and running and with a few tweaks here and there, you'll be thankful for this system, a real back and time saver tbh.
You could try something like this -
[Tutorial] Diy Python System
No more buckets water changes! AKA DIY Python system Hello everyone! The brief context of this tutorial is this:I have a 60L tank which is slightly on the overstocked side, though I plan on getting a much bigger tank in the coming months. For this reason, water changes have become a big thing...
I later bought a second syphon, not Python, with 25 ft tubing. It amuses me to see water going from my big tank to the toilet, labor free, in minutes.
Bought wider tubing at Lowe’s & a $15 pump to return conditioned water from Coleman cooler to the tank. Also goes quickly.
A python hose system is basically any hose system, regardless of length, shop bought or DIY, as long as it a system that uses hose/s going to and from a drainage and tap in a separate room, and whether a pump is used or not really depends on how far the tank is from the sink/taps.
My link in previous page is just for ideas and inspiration, I have a similar python system but tweaked for my own needs and uses.
Just as long as the water going from tap to tank is not too hot or too cold, a degree or two cooler water is best imho and remember to add dechlorinated water for the volume of water replaced, not for the whole tank is best practice.
And yes, it can be fun just watching the water drain from tank to sink while you're sipping a cup of tea is nice, especially if you've experienced many, many buckets of water changes and knowing the back pain and time consuming procedures, especially if you have larger tanks
FishHobby99
Fish Gatherer
For some reason I thought Python was a name-brand.A python hose system is basically any hose system, regardless of length, shop bought or DIY, as long as it a system that uses hose/s going to and from a drainage and tap in a separate room, and whether a pump is used or not really depends on how far the tank is from the sink/taps.
My link in previous page is just for ideas and inspiration, I have a similar python system but tweaked for my own needs and uses.
Just as long as the water going from tap to tank is not too hot or too cold, a degree or two cooler water is best imho and remember to add dechlorinated water for the volume of water replaced, not for the whole tank is best practice.
And yes, it can be fun just watching the water drain from tank to sink while you're sipping a cup of tea is nice, especially if you've experienced many, many buckets of water changes and knowing the back pain and time consuming procedures, especially if you have larger tanks
I add conditioner the cooler in the tub before pumping to the tank. I was ok carrying buckets until I bought that secondhand 90 G tank with the 20 G sump tank.
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