Think Fish Keepers Daily News. [2016-2019]

Oh dear @Sue what a time you are having... I'm not sure the below is what you need right now but I will just try and be logical about your water change situation...

I wouldn't say doing a water change with the light off is necessarily a terrible idea... as long as the fish are active after their nights rest I wouldn't worry about doing a water change with the lights off - admittedly any gravel vacuuming etc might be hard but a basic water change will still benefit the tank. My fish haven't seemed to noticed before when the light timer has shifted back an hour after a power cut either so maybe that's an option too...

It might also be interesting to see what level your nitrates are at to see how desperate a water change is...

I'm sorry those are the only real suggestions I have other than buying a python water changer or something of that sort to try and make the changes quicker or easier..

That just leaves me to wish you and your family all the very best... I'm sending positive vibes your way! 

I'm just trying to remember what things increase hardness... though im normally striving to go the othet way... certainly a small piece of tufa rock might help, would the salts you mentioned in another thread also work? Sorry I'm not sure I'm helping much!!

Would the water change system I'm planning to use be more acceptable to your husband? A garden hose to siphon water out to the garden, and a tap connector to fill the tank  back up using the same hose.  It would mean no dirty sinks.  If you had a clean and a dirty hose there would be no chance at all of cross-contamination.

Sue, I have a suggestion...send your other half around here - he'll soon realise that are much worse things that could horrify him than just tank water going down the sink.   

We actually have one of those in the garage. But I'd still have to lift the bucket on and off it. It is my mother's rollator but after she fell and hurt herself quite badly 13 months ago she's had to use a zimmer ever since. We've been keeping it just in case she can ever use it again.


I had already decided I'll do week and a half water changes after the ops - the day before, week 1.5, week 3, then at week 4.5 I should be able to do them properly myself. My son is self employed so we can work round his jobs.
I just got so frustrated at my husband's attitude. He doesn't like my hobby and thinks it's a waste of time. He can't understand why I'm complaining  Mind you, I can't understand why he spends 3 hours a day re-learning the viola since he retired  He hadn't touched the instrument since he left school, it was just sitting in the back of the wardrobe till a couple of years ago.

And there's the other reason....
At the last water change i took out all the hornwort. The stems were getting rather long so I wanted to prune the old, less attractive bits off before putting the pruned stems back. There are now rather a lot of hornwort leaves on the bottom of the tank making a bit of a mess and I'm desperate to get rid of them. It's just so unsightly 

Son called round a few weeks ago while I was doing a water change so I asked him then. He said he is quite willing to let me siphon the water into the dirty water bucket (consultant says this is OK) then carry it outside and empty it. Then let me fill the new water bucket in the sink and add dechlorinator, then carry it to the tank and place it on the stool I use so that I can ladle it into the tank with my jug (also OKed by consultant). Carrying 12 litres water outside then 10 litres water to the tank is not allowed but siphoning and ladling is allowed.

Hmmm, we used to live in Cambridge. Perhaps I should suggest a trip round some old haunts then casually mention I know someone who lives there......

Though he'd probably have a heart attack at the sight of so many fish tanks - then I'd have to go and visit him in Addenbrookes where I used to work.

But there is a downside - I don't drive and my favourite fish shop isn't on a bus route 

Your point about the surface water vs foul drainage is an interesting one... we certainly shouldn't be pouring waste tank water into surface drainage as responsible aquarists.  Looks like everyone here is doing the right thing from what I've heard so far but I bet there are a lot of people out there who wouldn't have had this thought!

It could kill native species if any tropical diseases are present, the indestructable Malaysian trumpet snails as an example could also enter our waterways threatening native species again.

There has been much documented about these potential impacts of the hobby, but I'm not sure the link to surface drainage has been made before?

I pour the old tank water down the same drain as the sink water. In dry weather I pour it over the planters on the patio and when they are soaked over plants growing in the soil. The only place I'm not allowed to pour it is over the vegetables - the 'b' word again.

The problem with pouring it down the loo is that I am notoriously clumsy and some of it would end up on the floor. Outside it doesn't matter if I get some on the ground.


Current problem solved - we are going out when he's finished this morning's viola practice so I can clean the tank this afternoon. And despite the weather forecast, we have blue skies and sun 

At last! All the mess from the hornwort has gone  And both filters cleaned - they were full of decaying hornwort leaves.


And I have forgotten to mention that I got a new male honey gourami a couple of weeks ago. Unlike his predecessor which stayed very pale and hid in corners before dying, this chap has fully coloured up and has even been spotted blowing a few bubbles. We were passing near my next to nearest Maidenhead Aq so called in - I was expecting to see yellow honeys and red honeys but they had a tank full of natural coloured honeys so I now have a trio of naturals again.