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I have been having trouble changing water, talking bout dechlorniating the water. So my question is it any way posible i can rig one of power filters. have the intake conected to the end of my gravel cleaner? i was going to do this every water change and at the end of the month put in new water. so is that possible?

also, is it nessecary(sp) to dechlorinate the water every water change? because before i started dechlor the water at water changes i had 0amm/nit and 10-20nats. but since ive been using the dechlor ive been going through many cycles. and its getting me pissed.

its a 55 with 2 3 1/2inch oscars and 5 2inch assorted cichlids. i used to change the wa ter every sunday/saturday which would be when the nats got up to 30. but ive been doing water changes every other day.

the dechor i am using is amquel and novaquel. I am going to get rid of the cichlids and one oscar and put in a pleco by the end of february, and will get a xp3 in feb also. thanks for the advance info. appreciate it.

Hi rna I can tell you that you definately MUST use a dechlorinator because without this the chemicals alone will kill off you bacteria level in your tank & you'll be in a forever new tank syndrome over & over ... the system you describe sounds like the hard way my friend... there is far easier ways to do a water change, I use buckets myself but some people have a thing they put on the tap "Python" I believe its called. Good Luck

i used to change the wa ter every sunday/saturday which would be when the nats got up to 30. but ive been doing water changes every other day.

Try checking your tank before you do a water change.

Then check the new water your adding.

Sounds to me like the amquel and novaquel are giving you false high readings.

Using stuff like amquel etc to control ammonia is honestly just a headache in itself.. Your better of doing the weekly or even at the very least fortnightly water changes.
You do neeed to use basic stuff that nuetrilizes chlorine and chloramine. You could age the water but you need at least a 65 litre container and a way to pump the water into the tank(Ive used various forms of pumps myself when I used to practice it big time when I had more tanks than sense lol) Basicly just fill the container and stick a air stone in it and do it in a room that gets natural light, after 24 hours the chlorine,chlorime has been broken down.

so x on the power filter rig. ima going to go to the lfs and pick up some straight dechlor and chromine and hard metals. what brand would you recomend? think of picking up some PRIME

Wardley make a concentrated one called tri-start that goes a long way compared to other watered down brands. You can also buy other stuff in bulk and make it up yourself but couldnt tell you were to buy as Im in Australia and can get it from a produce wharehouse.

Hey there oscar2001 I'm in Oz as well in fact Sydney can you tell me where to get the chemical to make our own dechlorinator, I think I saw a recipe to make it somewhere ... I actualy brought some dechlorinator yesterday & holy cow its the strongest one I've ever seen & it was cheaper than other weaker brands ... Its called Super Strength Tap Water Conditioner ... 473ml $11.95 but check how strong it is 3 drops per gallon ... this bottle treats 30,000 lts WOW:D .... thanks oscar2001

but mr oscar2001 can yu tell me the ingredients cuz i got a towncenter near me, so i could probably pick them up. thanks and ill look into the tri-start and super strenght like hally recomended

Im near Brisbane Hally

Its called Dechlor Crystals with the ingrediant sodium thiosulfate.
I source it from a produce that sells bulk food for all animals from fish to horses.
I have seen it some LFS that specializes in pond supllies.