General Care Discussion :: changing out the tank water

[monolithmaji]

I hear how people have 100 gallons tanks and i would like to get something bigger for my turtles. I only have a 10 gallon tank but they just hatched my problem is just filling it with 5 gallons of water once a week is a pain. we have hard tap water so i refill 5 gallon jugs at the store once a week. i was wondering how people with the 100 gallon or just 20 gallon tanks get them filled, are the tabs a better way to go, or are there other ways of geting clean water?

[megcornell]

The easiest way to change a lot of water is to use the python. It's a long tube with a syphon on the end that can either be used to suction water out of the tank or to add water... you can buy varying lengths of hose depending on how far your tank is from the nearest sink. It really is a lifesaver. Then you just add however much water, add the conditioner and I usually let the filter work for a while to spread the conditioner equally and then put the turtles back in when the temperature is correct.

Here's a link to the python... most online stores and petstores sell them, so you can check around and compare prices.

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.j ... h&keepsr=1

[TXGUY]

Yes it is exactly what i use for my 45 gall tank, & 30 gall, is the best thing to use

[SpotsMama]

That's what I use for my 100 gallon tank. I don't know how anyone would manage without one!

[LadyBloodRose]

alota times to people with bigger tanks don't do full water changes usdualy half an half works best. Thats what I do depending on hw dirty my girls made their water for my 55 gal.

my lil 10 gal i have a 20 gal subvmerageble filter in it lol so it stays prety clear with my baby softie.

[Tattoo]

How often should I change the water out? My water stays pretty clear.

[kmichael55]

do you have a test kit? I change out the water when the test kit says there's too much ammonia etc, or when it starts to look grody... about every 2 weeks.

[LadyBloodRose]

as longa s you have a good filter an you keep an eye out for any odd smell you can do a partal weekly. i know someone who does theirs in a 10 every 2 weeks an only takes out roughly 5 gal.

I dun keep my 10 filled up so theres roughly 5 1/2 to 6 gal in my tank since i keep fish in an have 2 eels in the same tak with mine it would become prety obious if theres a problem with it lol.

some people use test kits, i noticed alota people on here do.

al in all its your judgement call on what you want to do.

Walmart an alota diffrent petstores sell the python hoses, an syphon hoses. theres one that you can attach to your faucet, an place in your tank an has a valve on it, one for syphoning water, the others for adding water, you can also just get a cheapy syphon hose an use a bucket abn move the hose around your tank if you have anty gravel or anythinin it the syphon often stirs the gravel up an allows you to get hidden waste .

If your not sure about one of horses go to your local petstore an ask someone on hand, you should even be able to ask them if they could demonstrate one for you. Any decent store will an will always be happyt o demonstrate a product or even use their own products in store.

[tissigirl]

One thing about the Python is make sure your house has decent water pressure. Otherwise it will not work! I learned this the hard way. I just moved to a place that the pressure is not enough to pull the water from the tank to drain. It works just ok to fill it which is good, but I had to go back to the syphon/bucket method to drain water from the tank. Not fun!!

[Tattoo]

I went and bought a test kit and a vacume hose last night. Good thing I did cause I didn't know I needed a test kit until kstewart55 mentioned it. The water was in the harmful area. I did about a 75% water change last night. Now the water in in idea. Now it seems as if Turbo is having to get used to a new home again. Is this normal?

[marisa]

What was at a harmful level?

How is Turbo acting? Is the temp the same as before?

[Tattoo]

the ammonia level on the color strip said harmful. Yes the temp was only 2 degrees of from his normal water but it took about 1 hour to go back to normal 75-78. It took him all day to bask and I thought something was wrong but now he has been basking off and on for 4 hours. Everything seems ok.

[SpotsMama]

Tissigirl, if there's door or window near your aquarium, perhaps you could use the python like a syphon and let it drain outside into the yard. That would beat lugging the buckets!

[steve]

One thing about the Python is make sure your house has decent water pressure. Otherwise it will not work! I learned this the hard way. I just moved to a place that the pressure is not enough to pull the water from the tank to drain. It works just ok to fill it which is good, but I had to go back to the syphon/bucket method to drain water from the tank. Not fun!!

Can you siphon the water out the door or window?

[ACF&RESLOVER]

I change about 25% of the water weekly and test the ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates every couple of weeks (and after a filter change). If anything is out of whack chemically I stay on top of the testing and change more water if required.