My fish tank gave me pneumonia

[gilpi]

I have the same setup and do it the following way:
first connect the hose to the tap and place above the tank water. Turn on until water starts flowing out of the hose to the fishtank. Lower the hose end to the fishtank so it is underwater, stop the water from tap, remove hose from the tap, place your finger on it, move to the place where you are depositing your fishtank water (which let me be frank, should be to a retention place, not down the drain, cause hello, droughts and water shortage ). By filling the hose first, the water movement will start automatically.

Aha, so simple. Yes makes sense, open the tap just enough to fill the hose and then disconnect and let it flow to your destination of choice. Will be doing that!

 

[AdoraBelle Dearheart]

Sorry to hear about this, but very glad to hear that you're on the mend and feeling better!

I've gone through the right of passage of getting a mouthful of water a few times when I was a kid helping clean my dad's tank. I was fascinated and found it weirdly satisfying to use the gravel vac and see all the muck coming out, lol, so that was my job, and parents taught me to start the syphon by sucking on the end. Now they're elderly and I'm caring for them, I took over maintaining my dad's tank and finally got into fishkeeping myself. Found a brilliant youtube vid (below) about how to start a gravel vac/water change hose on youtube without ever needing to suck on hoses, and I share it whenever I can! Works brilliantly. Cory in the vid crimps the hose to pause the flow, but I find it easier and quicker to just hold the end that's in the bucket and just put my thumb over it to pause the flow. My dad was stunned when I showed him how, and he moaned that in his 50 odd years of keeping fish - (including having an aviaries and aquatics business, BTW) he'd not known this trick!

I’ll try not haha it’s my 1000ef, I find never keeps the siphon very well

When you service the filters do you re-attach empty....sounds like you are doing, maybe

I always made sure to refill my canister with bottled water before fixing the top back on and re-attaching the hoses. No re-priming required when the canister is full of water instead of empty air. Once all re-attached, opened the hose locks and there was little or no air trapped, so no priming required.

Give it a try next time...fill to the brim before locking the top down and opening the hoses.

This! My small All Ponds Solution canister filters gave me trouble at first before I really figured them out. Was always frustrated trying to prime them and with losing flow, I almost threw my first one away. But I figured it out in the end, and now find it easy and love them. When re-setting them after a cleaning, I place the canister part in a wide plastic tub since it will overflow slightly, but makes it easier to prime it. While unplugged, once hoses re-attached and water valves closed, fill the canister right to the top so it's almost overflowing before clipping the top part on. This usually means some water slops over the canister, but seals the canister itself so there's no air in there. Dry canister, plug back in and turn on, open water valves.
Prime according to instructions once or twice.
Now, at this point I usually have a few bubbles in the hoses if it's been a deep clean and the hoses were empty, slowing the flow, and priming it using the water valves doesn't help. So it's time to use gravity.

Lift the canister carefully high so it's higher than the tank water level. The air in the tubes is then forced down into the canister where it passes through and escapes. Full flow restored, can lower the canister again. Works every time!

Keep a check for a while to make sure everything is attached correctly and canister isn't leaking/dribbling.

As I just finished syphoning my tank into the sink... (I have a long hose from tank to sink and to fill up, right from sink, tap, to the tank) I started to read this! The water has a long way to go so one quick suck does it but now Im thinking how to get the syphon started after reading this. Sorry this happened to you, I'm surprised more people in the hobby don't get sick from sucking the tube, not a good thing having dirty water going into your lungs! Hope you feel better soon.

Check out the link above! Perhaps you can start the syphon, put your thumb over the end and walk it to where it needs to be. Should be a way to avoid sucking tubes! I never do anymore.

The nitrate remover I’m just giving a go and see how it goes, the filter boost I just use about 2ml a week of beneficial bacteria, always have I guess haha

I'd personally avoid chemicals like that too. I stick to only the essentials, especially since these chemicals getting in your lungs made you feel this bad, while your fish are living and breathing it... I'm always wary of unknown products messing with my water chemistry, when a proper cycle and perhaps extra filtration should handle that. You don't need to add nitrifying bacteria to an established tank either. Even after a thorough clean of the filter (in tank/declorinated water) and a full gravel vac/tank clean, there should still be enough bacteria to quickly replace the amount lost. If a thorough cleaning is leading to a rise in ammonia/nitrites, then I'd think it's either overstocked or underfiltered.

 

[AmyKieran]

I may reduce the chemicals i use, I’m still on the fence about using salt regularly

I was told that using salt regularly will prevent diseases and other problems so I use it every water change

I’ll also stop using the nitrate remover and I’m going to try a nitrate sponge in my filters instead

The cichlid rift lake salt I need to use for gh. Mine currently is about 16 dgh (I think it needs to be about 19)

The Malawi/Victoria buffer I need to use because my kh out of tap water is 3! So need to buffer that also ph from tap is 7

Seachem prime I need to use just because of dechlorination

And filter boost I may use the last of the bottle then stop using it, if it’s not going to make a difference

Any advice on these chemicals would also be appreciated

 

[AmyKieran]

Update - chest x ray has came back ok (as in no cancers or permanent damage or anything like that) I also had bloods today.

I have done a water change and only used Malawi buffer, cichlid salt and seachem prime.

Is this enough chemicals to be using? I don’t need to add anything else?

 

[Rocky998]

Update - chest x ray has came back ok (as in no cancers or permanent damage or anything like that) I also had bloods today.

I have done a water change and only used Malawi buffer, cichlid salt and seachem prime.

Is this enough chemicals to be using? I don’t need to add anything else?

Glad to hear you're alright!