Sand And Water Changes

[The Duke]

Specically, when pouring the clean water back into a tank with a sand substrate. Does this not cause the mother of all sand storms? I guess the water would be poured in the general vicinity of the sand? Where would it be poured to allow for the least disturbance of the sand?

 

[m_attt]

I float and old bag (that fish come in) on the surface and pout onto that. On my bigger tank i put the hose onto the wood and that diffuses it.

 

[Alm0stAwesome]

Try to pour your water onto an object in your tank, if that's an option. I pour mine onto a decorative rock and I don't get any sand blowing around.

You could also try putting a small plate or bowl in the tank to pour the water onto - anything that breaks up the water and stops the stream/current from actually hitting the sand

 

[Noahs ark6]

I put the bucket above the tank and use my syphon to slowly put the water back into the tank

 

[mattyeatsmatts]

i use an airline tube for water changes, slow but delicate

 

[Alm0stAwesome]

airline tube!? Fo' realz??

 

[m_attt]

i use an airline tube for water changes, slow but delicate

you have too much spare time lol

 

[Tizer]

small tank = air line tube, big tank = hose plugged into my spraybar.

 

[fluttermoth]

I always put a rock or piece of wood where I'm going to pour/hose my water back in when I set my tanks up, or I pour it over the back of my (clean!) hand.

 

[mattyeatsmatts]

My tank is only 30L though so an airline tube is ideal haha.

5 litre carton above below tank when taking water and above when adding. You should see the system of tubes and junctions I have lol

 

[OldMan47]

Try adding your water back in this way rather than pouring it. By using the lower flow of my siphon, I seldom see a substrate issue.

Yep. I just laid a board across the top of that tank to hold my 5 gallon bucket.

 

[waterdrop]

small tank = air line tube, big tank = hose plugged into my spraybar.

That's a nifty variation Tizer - never thought of that one before! WD

 

[Aqua Tom]

small tank = air line tube, big tank = hose plugged into my spraybar.

That's a nifty variation Tizer - never thought of that one before! WD

+1, I am going to try that today.

 

[Tizer]

yar, works well, i don't actually use the spray bars with my filters so i've got a 5 foot spray bar that's permanently stuck to a glass support bar out of the water which never actually goes under water and is just used for refilling. In the past i tried putting a watering can spray nozzle onto the end of the hose, it worked, but took longer to refill the tank, which is ok if you got all day.

 

[waterdrop]

Tizer, that comment gets me thinking even more... I suppose there could be all kinds of cool additions one could invent to customize the "return water" process. You could hide some sort of support hardware on the back of the tank stand into which you slid a bar or whatever and that bar could have a homemade spray bar to which you screw on your hose coming from the sink... would be kind of neat because all the visible stuff would disappear except at water change time when you're working but at water change time it would make the re-introduction of water faster but more controlled or whatever you're goal is...

Just to daydream... I find over time my mind keeps going back to years ago when I kept big tanks for my school. They had their very own plumbing and faucets and drains (!!!) built right in to the tanks. So water draining or adding water was just a matter of turning some faucet knobs, sheesh that was wonderful... I sort of dream of that on a 75G tank these days, lol.

~~waterdrop~~