# Water changes



## atvaholic (Nov 4, 2008)

Hi,

I have a 65Gallon tank in my living room, doing water changes is a challenge. Right now to do a 25% change i need to empty a 5g pail 4 times, walk down a set of stairs to empty, then dechlorinate and bring 4 buckets back up.

I am aware of the "python" - but is this safe to do since you cant dechlorinate? Any better ways to do this?


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## ZeroSystem (Sep 4, 2005)

I usually add enough dechlorinator to the tank in order to treat the entire volume of water (e.g. with a 75g tank I use enough conditioner to treat 75 gallons worth of water, even if I'm only doing a 50% water change) and then start filling the tank up. I've heard other people say they add their conditioner while filling or even after. Seems to me like it's almost a matter of preference as long as you get the stuff in there within a reasonable amount of time.


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## jrf (Nov 10, 2009)

Quite a few people fill with a python without having any issues at all. IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢m not one of them. My tap water is treated with chloramines and the water conditioner doesnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t seem to act fast enough when I go straight from the faucet to the tank. If you only have chlorine in your water, you shouldnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t have this issue though.

Given the amount of work it could potentially save you, IÃ¢â‚¬â„¢d say give it a try. Just make sure the tap temperature is close to the tank temperature. Then fill slowly and stop if the fish show any signs of distress. The few times I tried it, I didnÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t outright kill anything in the tank. But, it was obvious that the fish were bothered by the incoming water - fin f l i c k i n g, flashing, and darting around.

Edit: It seems the forums filter doesn't like the word f l i c k i n g


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## RyanR (Apr 29, 2008)

As stated, just add stuff to the tank while filling. Our fish seem to even enjoy the fresh tap water pouring into the tank.

-Ryan


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## cjacob316 (Dec 4, 2008)

i use prime, my 55's and smaller tanks get treated for full tank volume, but my 75 only gets treated for 50 gallons, after rocks and sand, and the fact that I don't even take 50 gallons out, i haven't seen a need to do more than that. I am still nervous, but have seen no ill effects after several water changes


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## atvaholic (Nov 4, 2008)

ok, im gonna buy a python, and use prime to dose the tank. Where can I get prime cheap?


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## kmuda (Nov 27, 2009)

If you don't have chloramine in your tap water, investigate API Tap Water Conditioner. It's the most economical dechlorinator on the market, but it will not detoxify ammonia.

When you get down to it, all of the additives in most water conditioners are unnecessary. Provided you don't have chloramine in your tap water (and if your tap water does not register for ammonia, you don't), then all you need is a dechlorinator + heavy metal binder. API Tap Water Conditioner does both, at 1/2 the cost of Prime, and is twice as concentrated (1 drop per of water). So total cost is 1/4th that of other conditioners.

If you have chloramines in your tap water, Prime is the recommendation. It is an excellent conditioner. If you don't, save the cost and go with API Tap Water Conditioner.


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## Gervahlt (Jun 25, 2009)

^^^ +1 :thumb:

I've been using API Tap Water Conditioner for about a year now with excellent results. I'm a big fan of the school of thought that the less you have to add, the better.


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## cjacob316 (Dec 4, 2008)

prime isn't cheap, but it treats more water per mL of prime than any others i used, about 5 times more actually.

1 mL per 10 gallons vs 5mL per 10 gallons

is API better than that? I might have to look for it


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## Gervahlt (Jun 25, 2009)

Yeah, it's roughly 1.25 mL per 20 gallons.


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## cjacob316 (Dec 4, 2008)

see i hate the odd conversions, why can't it be as simple an 1ml per 20 gallons, .5 per 10


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## Gervahlt (Jun 25, 2009)

Because it is a conversion into a different measurement system. The actual measurement listed on the bottle is 1/4 teaspoon per 20 gallons, or one drop per gallon, whichever works better for the amount you're changing.


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## cjacob316 (Dec 4, 2008)

so i guess an 8th of a teaspoon for 10 gallons, that's not bad


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## LSBoost (Jan 21, 2010)

Wow i didn't know api is more concentrated then prime...

I've been using prime and 500ml (16.9 fl oz) treats 5000 gallons. The smaller bottle 250ml treats 2500 gallons. The cost of the smaller bottle is around 6-7 dollars and 7-10 dollars for the bigger bottle. Can someone post up some comparison numbers for these? Thanks


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## kmuda (Nov 27, 2009)

A 16oz container of API Tap Water Conditioner $5.69.

http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/p ... catid=4038

16oz of API Tap Water Conditioner treats 9,600 gallons. 1 teaspoon (or 1 capful) treats 100 gallons.

But again, I want to emphasize, If your tap water contains chloramine you need to be using Prime. While API Tap Water conditioner will break the chlorine/ammonia bond, it will not detoxify the ammonia. Prime will.


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## LSBoost (Jan 21, 2010)

k thanks, I guess I'm still stuck with prime. My water have chloramine.


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