Chuckmeister Posted January 11, 2004 Share Posted January 11, 2004 Well Hi guys. I never thought I'd be asking this question. I always thought that water ageing was for the fanatical but here I am trying it. My albino Dimis are suffering with my water changes at the moment. Whenever I do a water change they gasp for a week after like they have gill fluke. I'm thinking that they may be sensitive to chlorine in the water. Anyway I've just filled up a 250ltr drum with water and was wondering whether it has to be airated or not. I'd prefer not to as there is no power for a air pump on my balcony but will get power connected if I have to Cheers Charlie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anchar Posted January 11, 2004 Share Posted January 11, 2004 Hi Charlie, Is the water storage drum open to the sunlight because this will help to breakdown the chlorine (not sure about the chloramine though). If you are only holding the water for a couple of days before using it, I don't think that there's a problem with circulating it. What water conditioner are you using? Check and see if it removes alum. Perth water has high amounts of alum added to disguise the taste, especially through summer. HTH merjo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wazza Posted January 11, 2004 Share Posted January 11, 2004 But if the water is still wont it go sterile? and breed mosquitos? wazza Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Posted January 11, 2004 Share Posted January 11, 2004 G'day Charlie I aerate my water barrels. I simply fill up the barrel after completing my water changes and let them bubble away until the following week/water change. This way I also have water readily available should I need it in a hurry. No need to run power outside, just run some airline tubing outside. Super glue is great at encouraging it to stay almost invisible next to a skirting board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
catalyst Posted January 12, 2004 Share Posted January 12, 2004 For aging my water I use the 15 liter spring water containers I have 4 of them and just let them sit for a week before i use them, although I am now looking for a barrel as the 60L is not enough anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gigitt Posted January 12, 2004 Share Posted January 12, 2004 How big is you Drum Lid opening? This will also affact your water aging. If it's gotta small cap you should airate it with an air pump which will force the air out of the drum as the pump is pushing in fresh air. Basically you should airate the water as this helps in air/water exchange which helps in aging the water quicker. Also I hope that the 250 Ltr plastic drum on your balcony is UV resistant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arrafanatic Posted January 12, 2004 Share Posted January 12, 2004 Hey Chuckmister. I have a 205 litre water barrel that i use to store water for water changes. I don't use water ager at all. Sunlight helps break down the chlorine and airation also helps. What i use is a 2,400 litre an hour pump that has a long spout that goes to the top of the barrel, and a day before water changes, i turn it on and the continuous turnover of the pump airates the water. I leave my water standing for a week, and run the pump for the whole day before the water change, then on the day of the change, i run a hose from the barrel to the pump up to my 3 tanks. I have been doing this now for a year, and i have had NO problems with sick/stressed/dead fish. Hope this helps Arrafanatic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chuckmeister Posted January 12, 2004 Author Share Posted January 12, 2004 Hey thanks for the replys Arrafanatic, I think I'll do mine like yours. On a saturday morning I can turn the pump on and then later in the day do the change. The drum has a 6 inch square cut in the top. It gets the afternoon sun for about 5 hours but I've covered the opening with a piece of marine carpet to stop the evaporation. So the water will sit for a fortnight at a time. One more question though, Does having aged water allow me to do larger water changes? I currently do about 120-140 ltrs every two weeks in my 6*2*2. I'd like to take that to maybe 200+ ltrs if I can!!!! Maybe the whole drum a fortnight......!!!!????? Cheers again Charlie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anchar Posted January 12, 2004 Share Posted January 12, 2004 Hi Charlie, As long as the other parameters ie pH, dissolved salts, temp etc are on a par. you can do larger water changes. It's not just the chlorine that you need to worry about. Any dramatic paramter change can be a problem. merjo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elise007 Posted January 13, 2004 Share Posted January 13, 2004 My water change drum was a 100 litre rubbish bin bought from Bunnings for $15 on special which i put in my fishroom wiht an undergravel filter in it covered in quite a depth of shell grit and other bufferiing substrate. Used to leave it for a week or so after fillign and then all nasties gone and the water was pretty much at the same kh and dh as my tanks so i could change out almost 70% on my fry tanks in one hit no problem. Currently due to rearrangements not possible to do this but working on that again. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arrafanatic Posted January 13, 2004 Share Posted January 13, 2004 Hey Chuckmeitser, I should have explained my set up just a little better. The long spout that i ahve from the pump goes above the level of the water in the barrel, so when the pump is turned on, the water is returning into the barrel above the water level, thus creating a lot of water movement and thus oxygenation. Sorry for any misunderstanding orinconvenience caused. As far as turning on the pump, is it possible to turn it on and having it running for a whole day, rather than just the morning before.. The morning before should still be alright, however, the longer you can have it running, the better.. As for using the whole volume for the barrel ie 200 litres +, that is fine, especially if you are going to be letting the water stand for 2 weeks. Just when you are emptying the barrel, don't empty the barrel so that the pump is exposed, thus burning it out. 5 hours of sunlight is plenty, and yes, having aged water does allow you to do larger water changes, especially seeing that you have a large drum in which to store the water because the combination of the sunlight and the airation using a pump ages the water. (all the water is being moved and 'aged' as the pump sits at the bottom of the barrel, thus it draws water from the bottom). Just make sure you leave it a good week before adding it to the tank if you decide later to do a change once every week. Anyway, hope this helps mate, and please, any other questions, just post them up. Thanks an d good luck Arrafanatic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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