# How to do large water changes fast? will my idea work?



## Canuckgame (Mar 2, 2013)

Hey everyone so i have a 75G tank im currently cycling, it will be a Discus Tank,

as you know Discus need pristine water conditions so water changes will be a big part of my life very soon.

i was using a python, but im not a big fan of this method as

1) alot of wated water
2) the water pressure at my house is HORRIBLE so it takes forever to drain the tank.

i was planning on getting a water pump like this one

Water Currents and Movement in Aquariums: Eheim Hobby Pumps
MODEL 1260

this way i can place it in my tank, connect a hose and run it to my bath tub to drain the tank within 10 minutes, and then i will use a Python to refill the tank, as for some reason filling with a python doesnt take that long, probably 20 mins (I will probably graduate to storing my water in bins and using a pump to refill my tank as well)

will this work? is that a good pump? are their better options? i will be doing 80% water changes every single day until the Discus get to 6" and then i will slow it down to once every 2nd day, so i definitely want to streamline the WC process and make it as quick and painless as possible.

thanks for any advice!


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## hp10BII (Apr 23, 2010)

When I use to grow out discus, I use this:

Safety Siphon Aquarium Drain

I still use it to drain/refill my 6 foot tanks. You could probably build your own too. The 3/4" ID hose option siphons water quickly and I use a Mag 7 to pump water back in from my water barrels. One of my tanks has a head height of 6'.

A python with a 1/2" ID hose takes too long for me to siphon and pump water back in, especially if you're doing daily 80% water changes. The eheim is a very good pump, but if you're just using it for water changes, it's probably an overkill.


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## Canuckgame (Mar 2, 2013)

how long does it take you to do a full water change with that system?

the Eheim may be overkill, but if im doing huge daily water changes i want it to go as fast as possible as i work 12 hours a day at work, so i would rather enjoy my fish than spend an hour and a half a day doing water changes.


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## josephl (Apr 21, 2010)

I've got a 210 gallon tank. I put a pump($40 from Fraser Aquarium in) a 3/4 inch hose and pump the water out into the flower beds. This takes no more than 10 min for about 60%. I then use the equivalent of a python to refill. Whole thing takes about 30 min each time. I repeat right away so 2X60% water changes daily


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## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

I've never used a pump to remove water from a tank so I wont comment on that but I noticed you said. You use the python to drain the tank. It's faster and easier to drain the water out a window, door or bath tub. Using the python adapter is a waste of water and it's slow. Very slow! Let gravity do it's trick. Blow on the hose before you draw air. It will drain quick and the bigger the diameter hose the better. Bulk hose is cheap at Rona/Home depot. You can still buy a pump. I figured Id comment for those doing the same thing  Fast water changes are the key to a beauty tank


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## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

josephl said:


> I've got a 210 gallon tank. I put a pump($40 from Fraser Aquarium in) a 3/4 inch hose and pump the water out into the flower beds. This takes no more than 10 min for about 60%. I then use the equivalent of a python to refill. Whole thing takes about 30 min each time. I repeat right away so 2X60% water changes daily


2 60% water changes daily. What do you have in there the Ogopogo? LOL


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

The diameter and type of hose makes a lot of difference in draining a tank fast. I also use a safety siphon and built several to change the water in my tanks. Drain and fill 60 gallons or so in 20 minutes with a Rio 3100 with a 5/8" garden hose. I used to use a 1" hose with my FX5 and I could drain 75 gallons in about 5 minutes. So if you want to drain fast, use a bigger internal diameter hose, pump or no pump. However, the big diameter hoses are costly. The narrow diameter of the python hoses are as much a problem as the low flow rate.


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## MEDHBSI (Sep 4, 2011)

I use a 55g drum in my closet for aged water and use a pump with a 3/4 hose to remove water to my sink them put the pump in the 55g drum to replace the drained water. I draw 2 lines on the aquarium 1 for regular water lvl and 1 for about 50g of water removed overall it takes me about 10 minutes. Or if you have a sump and an available drain you could do a drip system  Thats what i used on my discus tank forever


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## josephl (Apr 21, 2010)

jbyoung00008 said:


> 2 60% water changes daily. What do you have in there the Ogopogo? LOL


Discus and Altum Angels


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## Canuckgame (Mar 2, 2013)

so should i use a pump inside my tank? i could try the window thing, except i dont have a window close to my tank and the closest one is 12 feet away, and the water would have to climp 4 feet off the dround to get out the window.

i just think if i setup a hose to a powerful pump in the tank it could suck the water out in 5 mins flat. then another 15 mins or so to fill back up.

is the pump going to do the job? or do you guys all still think i should just get a large hose in diameter and syphone the water out manually?


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## hp10BII (Apr 23, 2010)

It's hard to figure out what you need without looking at your floor layout, tank location, head height etc. If you use a pump to pump water out, the ID of the hose is still critical - that would be your bottleneck and slow down flow. Gravity, elbows/bends in piping, connectors, things like that would slow down actual pump performance. So even though you may have a 1200 gph that in theory could drain out your tank in a few minutes, your actual time would probably be longer.

If you go the no pump route to drain your tank, you would still need a pump to pump water from your barrels...unless your water containers are higher than your tank?


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## Kimrocks (Aug 30, 2011)

MEDHBSI said:


> I use a 55g drum in my closet for aged water and use a pump with a 3/4 hose to remove water to my sink them put the pump in the 55g drum to replace the drained water. I draw 2 lines on the aquarium 1 for regular water lvl and 1 for about 50g of water removed overall it takes me about 10 minutes. Or if you have a sump and an available drain you could do a drip system  Thats what i used on my discus tank forever


Agree with this - Drip system is the way to go.

Have done this for 8-months now and it cuts down on so much time and effort.

All the fishes seems to love it too - a lot more stable.


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Canuckgame said:


> so should i use a pump inside my tank? i could try the window thing, except i dont have a window close to my tank and the closest one is 12 feet away, and the water would have to climp 4 feet off the dround to get out the window.


The safety siphon setup looks like this. So yes, inside the tank.


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