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So, according to a lot of opinions it's seems O.K. to use tap water for adding fresh water to the tank. I've been really cautious so far and have been aging buckets of water and adding boiled water to warm it to tank temp.Then I added the water conditioner to each bucket. But, my new tank is 120 gal. and thats a lot of buckets and I'm getting tired already. So, how much water conditioner do I add to the tank? as much as the % I remove or the whole 120 gal. amount?

120 GAL. Community Freshwater (2 huge mated angles, 2 German rams, Red tail shark, 2 Pearl Grammies, 3 Bushynose Plecos, Swordtails

110 Gal. (3 Koi Angles, 3 black marble viel tail Angles) 20 Neon tetras, 1 red tail shark, 3 clown loaches, Platys

Since you are adding directly to the tank and then adding the water you need to use the amount for the full 120gallons. Aging water doesn't really do anything anyway except let the ph balance out and let cold water reach room temp. Just about everywhere has gone to using chloramine which does not degas from the water. You have to use a water conditioner if you use tapwater.

I store 2x25Lt 6.6 US Gall and that is getting rather heavy now especially as I am get older 68 yld. I have to lift and carry them for a short distance. I transfer the water to a bucket to pour it into the tank this makes it a bit easer.

Have a look in [link=My Profile] http://www.fishprofiles.com/forums/member.aspx?id=1935[/link] for my tank info

Look here for my
Betta 11Gal Desktop & Placidity 5ft Community Tank Photos

Keith

Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
I VOTE DO YOU if not WHY NOT?
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Hi Bar-B
When I set up my 298L - 79G 5' Tank in 2003, I first measured by bucket loads how much I took out for a water change then put a small black marker on the side of the tank. (Only visible if you know it is there.) I then could work out how much conditioner to add in the tank on each of my water changes without having to remeasure. I found the easiest way to water change was to buy a new hose and attach a 'tap' inbetween near the gravel cleaner. I then have that end in the tank and have the other end going out my front or back door. I empty to my marker line then get the outside hose into the tank and refil straight from the tap adding my conditioner. I don't think I could handle carrying buckets every week across my lounge room carpet

Attached Image:

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My Fish like swimming all day long,
They love my bubbles 'pop' on their bum!
http://photos.yahoo.com/shedevil_90

Hi,
I too use the black marker on the side of the tank out
of normal viewing. In my 30G tank I marked off 1G
increments, down to the 50% point.

That would be foolish in your 129. I'd mark off 10% and
20% (25.8G), perhaps 30, 40, & 50% points as well.

When adding the conditioner (Chlorine/Chloramine remover)
you only need to add enough for what you are replacing.
If you are changing out 20% (28.5G) you need only add
enough remover for the 28 gallons. When you add the water
with the python, you are stirring the water with it as well
as the running filter(s) and together, they will mix the
conditioner.

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

All conditioners say if you are adding it to the tank instead of to a container or buckets of new water that you have to add the amount for the entire tank not just what you are replacing.
For example my bottle of Prime:

May be added to aquarium directly, but better if added to new water first. If adding directly to aquarium base dose on aquarium volume.

Bar-b,

I like Frank's suggestion on incremental marks on the side of your aquarium. I also have level indications on my 125G. One is at 25% and the second is at 50% from my fill point.


Nice catch on the Prime conditioner instructions, Sham. I had always assumed that you conditioned according to the water that you added until I responded to one of these queries on the board and read the directions.

By the way, the python is God's gift to aquarists. If it wasn't for that invention we would never change enough water in our tanks!



__________
"To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is research."
researched from Steven Wright

Wow guys, thanks so much for all of your replies. I love the advice from Bubblelover and Frank about marking the tank. Bubblelover, thanks for sending the pic. great idea out the door, but I live in Canada, and right now my sliding door is still frozen shut we got 2" of snow last nite! So I assume you only add the conditioner to the amount of water you remove right? Frank I see you do the same. Sham your conditioner says to treat the whole tank. Mine, I use Big Al's Multi-purpose water conditioner, only says to "use 1 tsp for every 10 gal. of water to remove chlorine or 2 tsp/10 gal. to help repair slime coating on skin and torn fins. I'm still confused if I use the python from the sink with tap water. Maybe I should just stick to the ol bucket method?

120 GAL. Community Freshwater (2 huge mated angles, 2 German rams, Red tail shark, 2 Pearl Grammies, 3 Bushynose Plecos, Swordtails

110 Gal. (3 Koi Angles, 3 black marble viel tail Angles) 20 Neon tetras, 1 red tail shark, 3 clown loaches, Platys

HI,
For goodness sake no! Put some dirt in the buckets and
use 'em for house plants!!!

We have been saying that all you have to do is use the
buckets once. Empty the tank with a regular hose once.
Each time you take out a gallon, mark the tank with the
felt tip pen. Now... That would be foolish in a tank your
size, so instead, figure out what 12.9 or 13.0 gallons
would drop the water down to. Use buckets the first time
or whatever, and put a pen mark on the tank. Then another
10%, mark the tank, and another 10%, mark the tank, and
so on till you have the tank marked off at 10% intervals
down to the 50% point. You can practically do this by eye
by finding the half full point, marking it, and then
dividing the tank off from the 50% point back up to the
surface in fifths.

Then once you are done all you have to do next week or
whenever you want to do a water change, is simply stick
the Python into the tank and drain the water down to the
premarked 10% line, or 20% line, however much you want
to drain off. Then pour in the required amount of
chlorine/chloramine remover, and reverse the Python valve
and fill the tank back up to normal. NO BUCKETS, no
mess.

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

Does anyone have a picture of this python? I dont think i've seen them in any of the fish shops.

Thanks
Crusha

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Those who say they cant, Never will !!!

Crusha,

Neat gadget, it is actually a water bed fill kit adapted to our needs! There are a number of knock-offs on the market that you should be able to find in god's country.



Attached Image:


__________
"To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is research."
researched from Steven Wright

I got you Frank, thanks. But what I was confused about was the amount of conditioner to put in. Should I calculate and add the same amount of conditioner based on the % of water I have removed or based on the amount of gallons the full tank holds? Just let me know when I've driven you crazy O.K.? (but some people said I should treat the entire amt.) Barb

120 GAL. Community Freshwater (2 huge mated angles, 2 German rams, Red tail shark, 2 Pearl Grammies, 3 Bushynose Plecos, Swordtails

110 Gal. (3 Koi Angles, 3 black marble viel tail Angles) 20 Neon tetras, 1 red tail shark, 3 clown loaches, Platys

Bob, thanks for the pic, I have a syphon that is exactly like Bubblelover's. That phython one seems to have a lot of taps on it? As for "god's country" i'm in Western Australia ... WA stands for "wait awhile".


Bar-B, when I refill my aquarium, straight from the garden hose outside, I just add enough conditioner for the amount of water i'm replacing. I haven't had any problems to date with this method.

Cheers again
Crusha

---

Those who say they cant, Never will !!!

Hi again Bar-B,
I only add my water conditioner in proportion to the amount of water I'm taking out. After reading Sham's reply I thought I would see what the exact directions are on the product I use being 'Sera Aqutan'. To my surprise this is what it states

Add 5ml sera aquatan for 20 litrers (5 gal) of water in new tank set ups and with every water change

I guess when I first started my LFS must have told me to add according to how much I took out. Anyway my fish haven't suffered to the way I've been adding the conditioner and my perimeters are aok. Can't see the need to change and have to fork out more for going thru conditioner 3 times as quick !!! Hope I haven't confused the issue further........
BubbleLover

---

My Fish like swimming all day long,
They love my bubbles 'pop' on their bum!
http://photos.yahoo.com/shedevil_90

Hi,
Sham's reply caught me by surprise as well. I cannot
believe I've been doing it wrong for all these decades.

Actually I suspect that it depends upon the manufacturer
of the product that you use. I'm going to take some time
this weekend and stop by a couple of LFSs and see what
their products actually are saying. As I said, I suspect
it depends upon the product and its purpose.

The one I use "Start Right" says to use "1 teaspoon/capful
for every 10 gallons in all new water. For bowls use 10
drops per US gallon."

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

Pheeewwww, I think we all have this isue pretty well resolved finally. I'm new to this site and I've already stirred up some contraversy (I thought I was either duhh or I was getting some people really p'd off at me tee hee) Hey, guess what I'm doing next...YESSSS a water change with my PYTHON !! back in 5 min...well maybe a bit longer. Barb

120 GAL. Community Freshwater (2 huge mated angles, 2 German rams, Red tail shark, 2 Pearl Grammies, 3 Bushynose Plecos, Swordtails

110 Gal. (3 Koi Angles, 3 black marble viel tail Angles) 20 Neon tetras, 1 red tail shark, 3 clown loaches, Platys

Back again after a short absents.
OK I will confess I have been using a marker for close to 30 years now. The 5ft tank had a thin piece of sticky paper at the remove to water level, and the Betta 11G is to the top of the stick on temp gauge. I prefer the buckets as it is safer than the water directly from the tap as I have explained many times in previous postings.

I add all the necessary additives except the dechlorinator at change over time only, The dechlorinator is added one week before hand.

As far as pythons I have never seen them for sale in Aust that does mean they are not available it is I have never looked for them. I use two different sized syphon tubes one for each tank.

Have a look in [link=My Profile] http://www.fishprofiles.com/forums/member.aspx?id=1935[/link] for my tank info

Look here for my
Betta 11Gal Desktop & Placidity 5ft Community Tank Photos

Keith

Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
I VOTE DO YOU if not WHY NOT?
VOTE NOW VOTE NOW

Hi,
Just out of curosity, I went to one of the local stores
and checked out their "Water Conditoner Products" as they
now call them.
The only one I found that matched Sham's comments was
PRIME, and they said to treat the entire tank with each
water change (my paraphrase).

I looked at:
HBH "Bowl Prep" 1 capful per 1/2G Chlorine only
API "Propical water conditioner" 1ml/20G Chlorine and
Chloramine
API "Stress Coat" 5ml/10G Both
Seachem "Prime" 2 drops/1G in bucket Both
Kordan "Novaquat" 5ml/10G Both
Proquatics 5ml/10G Both
Tetra Aqua "Aqua Safe" 5ml/10G Both
Jungle "Start Right" 5ml/10G Both

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

Alot of them say how much to add per gallon of water but not whether this is per the amount changed or per the whole tank. All the ones I've used that have specified this have said to add it per the volume of the whole tank if you are adding it directly.

Frank, you've really done some homework cking out all the different brands. The ones I've checked out around here only seem to specify how much to add per gallon, but don't say anything about specifically about treating the whole tank or not. I think it would be interesting to try to contact some of these manufactures and see what they say. I think that it should me MANDITORY to specify this!!!

120 GAL. Community Freshwater (2 huge mated angles, 2 German rams, Red tail shark, 2 Pearl Grammies, 3 Bushynose Plecos, Swordtails

110 Gal. (3 Koi Angles, 3 black marble viel tail Angles) 20 Neon tetras, 1 red tail shark, 3 clown loaches, Platys