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I've never used a python before for water changes. When you refill the tank, how do use the python and also dechlorine the water before it goes into the tank?

My Scapes

While it isn't necessary to dechlorinate tap water before adding it to a tank, it is certainly helpful. The reason for this is that you only have to dose dechlorinator for every bucketload of water, instead of for the whole tank. This is a disadvantage of the Python; it is necessary to apply dechlor to cover the entire tank, since the tap water (and its chlorine/chloramines) will quickly disperse throughout the "regular" tank water.

You can apply the dechlorinator just before or during the addition of the tap water. The brands available on the market today work instantly, so you shouldn't have any problems with chlorine killing fish.

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

Oh so you actually put it into the tank as the water is refilling from the tap? So if you do a 125 gallon tank you have to dose for 125 gallons, not the 20% your changing.

My Scapes

Yep, you got it.

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

Hi,
I'm not sure that I agree.
When I perform my weekly aquarium maintenance in my 30G
tank, I drain out 5 gallons with my python and then
return to the tap to double check the temperature, and
then refill the tank directly from the tap.
While filling, I add enough dechlorinator for the 5 gallons
that I'm adding and allow the currents during the refill
to mix it. It makes no sense to me to add enough
dechlorinator for 30 gallons when only 5 is being added.

Frank


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

I'm with you there, but it seems to be a little more complicated for larger tanks. Though the dechlor does get dispersed throughout the tank, so does the tap water, which means that the say, twenty gallons of new water doesn't always mix with the dose of dechlorinator (dosed to treat those twenty gallons of water). (What a sentence!:%)) In large tanks, there's more water to be added, more dechlor to be added, and more space for each to have to find each other in. If the dechlorinator doesn't hit all the tap water, there'll be a little bit of chlorine left hanging around.

The bigger your tank is, the better it is to add more of the dechlorinator. Dosing enough to treat the whole tank is just a safety measure, designed to make sure all of the tap water gets treated. I'm paranoid about chlorine thanks to customers who didn't know about dechlorinator, so I make sure that I (and recommend that everyone else) add extra dechlorinator to ensure that tap water won't go killing fish.

Last edited by sirbooks at 13-May-2005 05:44

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

Frank you adjust temp from the tap? In othe words your mixing hot and cold tap water? I always thought you couldn't use hot water from the tap because of increased "metal" in the water or am I misquoting you?

My Scapes

I use a Python on my two 75 gallon tanks, and only add enough dechlor. for the 30% I remove.

If you think about it chemically, you add x number of "chlorine neutralizing molecules" (which is ususally Sodium Thiosulfate) for x number of chlorine molecules. The Sodium Thiosulfate will not neutralize non-chlorine molecules. So, they're not "used up" until they come into contact with the chlorine.

I can see how it might take "longer" to neutralize the chlorine due to dilution. But, the difference is probably negligable.

It can cause harm to fish and plants to O.D. on dechlor. Some say they're safe up to 2x the recommended dosage. But, I don't know that I would risk it.

I do 40% water changes in my 125 gallon tank with my Python. When I refill the tank I temper the water to 84F by feel and add Prime for the 50 gallons that I am replacing. Nver had any problems with the discus. It strikes me that dosing Prime as if it were a 125 gallon water change is significant overkill.

Since I temper my water, that is, combine hot and cold. I was curious as to the test differences between hot water and cold water. The difference in hardness was small, about 0.2 pH, with no difference in nitrates, nitrites, phosphates or pH.

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

Hi,
Gosh Tetra, I don't recall ever expressing an opinion
about hot vs cold water. I have always mixed them either
into a bucket to match the tank temperature (pre python
days) or before reversing the water to the "fill" selection
on the Python valve.

I've never had any problems, no matter what fish were in
the tanks, and because of that I've never tested the
water from the hotwater tank vs the cold water supply.

I do wait at least two or three hours before testing after
the refil for the GH/KH/Nitrate values as I adjust the
KH and Nitrate levels for the plants. I have an electronic
monitor that runs 24/7 for pH so I don't "test" for that
any more (I just read the meter).

Frank


Last edited by FRANK at 14-May-2005 17:19

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

Learn something new everyday. I never thought you could use the hot water tap. Might be an issue by area so I guess I should test before I use.

My Scapes

I think it really depends on how old your water heater is, and all as to whether it is an issue...I know I wouldn't use water out of my bathtub because it tends to have a yellow coloration, while the kitchen sink does not:%)Go figure...if the hot water heater is rusting and getting close to needing to be replaced, I'd by pass the hot water, but like Frank mentioned, I too have not had any problem using the hot water tap

Also it does make it a bit harder to judge how much water you are taking out using a python on a larger tank, so I tend to dose the tank approximately, usually half the size of the tank is how i dose it to be sure all is well, and i do it into the running water from the python "head" that pours the water back into the tank...

Just a quick tip I figured out and you might not have by now, take a look in the pond section of your lfs/lps for your dechlorinator since you are working with a tank of 125...it will save you a bundle of money, not to mention headache of counting 542 tsp (:%)) of X to dose the tank...same stuff, more potent, and cheaper

heidi michelle


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Children of a future age
Reading this indignant page
Know that in a former time
Love, sweet love, was thought a crime.
William Blake
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"I've got a great ambition to die of exhaustion rather than boredom." Thomas Carlyle

I've been using my python for a year now on my 29G and 75G. I have always added dechlorinator directly to the tank before refilling. The quantity of dechlorinator is enough to treat the amount of water removed by the python, not for the entire capacity of the tank. I have not experienced any problems with this method at all.