Hi guys,

I am curious. How do you all manage to change the water in your larger goldfish tanks?. I have a 180L and I find it quite hard to find containers to put the new water in and then carry them to the tank when i fill it back up after cleaning/ vacuuming stuff. Currently I have two large buckets. But I was wondering if there is an easier way to do this and what you guys method is?...

Thanks :)

Well I don't have goldies, but I do have a 550 litre tank and a bad back . I use a water butt and a pump, with a length of hosepipe to do mine. Very similar to the procedure in this article. Hope that helps :)

I use a similar method for my 240l tropical - fill a container the night before, add water conditioner, add a heater to bring it up to temperature. Then siphon into a bin, pump in fresh water with a water butt pump (I posted a link to the pump I use in the comments on the article FL linked to) then use same pump to pump dirty water outside, where I water plants with it.

I have a 600l tank for my fancies, absolutely no way could I change water with buckets on that.

I am a bit lucky as I use an Eheim 2260 filter on it which has a tap at the bottom, I simply attach a hose (which also has a python attachment on the end of it) and drain 50% of the water from the tank out through that, the hose goes out into the garden and helps water the plants!

Then when it comes to re-filling I take the hose off the bottom of the filter, put that end in the end and attached the python connector to my mixer tap in the kitchen and refill the tank, simple! I then add de-chlorinator / plant food once the tank is full.

I used to own a 200l tank and used buckets on that but it was a pain - with my 600l water changes have never been easier! I would struggle to do it without having the Eheim 2260 though.

Wow these are great tips. Thanks everybody. :)