Tropical Fish Keeping banner

Python Question

2K views 7 replies 3 participants last post by  MBilyeu 
#1 ·
I recently acquired a python with a tank I got off craigslist. I have never used one of these before, but I understand how it works and am ready to do a water change tonight. My question is that if I use the python to fill the tank back up, how do I condition the water? Normally I would fill a bucket and condition the water, then let it sit for a few minutes before I would put it in the tank. If the tap water just goes straight into the tank, wont this harm the fish? Or will it be ok if I put prime in after the tank is filled back up? How much prime do I put in, enough for the new amount of water, or the whole tank volume? I would like to use it tonight if I could get these questions answered.
 
#2 · (Edited)
Measure out conditioner for the amount of water in the entire tank into a cup. Match the water temp from the sink to the tank. Dangle the output end of the python into the tank ans send the water down it. Go over to the tank and direct the stream of the water into the cup with the conditioner in it. Dump it out into the tank. When refilling with a python, it's best practice to direct the stream from the python at the surface of the water so that it outgasses and you don't end up with microbubbles in the tank, as you will if you put the end of the python underwater. If you get microbubbles, sooner or later a fish will breath one of them and it will be absorbed in the gills and cause symptoms in the fish similar to decompression sickness in humans (the bends. Like when divers surface too quickly.)

So the important thing: Condition the entire tank volume. mix well. Splash the water into the tank.

Another thing: if your tank is situated so that you have a drain somewhere within range of the python, you can use it as a straight syphon to remove the water - you don't need to use the sink attachment and waste a lot of water on maintaining a vacuum. I drain most of my tanks to the toilet.
 
#4 ·
I crack the window, throw the hose outside and drain my tanks into the yard.
My tanks are on the 2nd floor, may be harder to get the flow going if you have low windows.
I add the declorinater to the tank, then add the tap water.
I only declorinate the amount needed to treat the new water when doing a 25% water change,if I am doing more than 25% I added declorinated buckets of water till I get up to the 25% fill mark. Maybe not the best way, I have not lost any fish doing it this way.
 
#5 ·
So I used the python for my ten gallon, and when I re-filled the tank there was this cloud of white specs that filled the tank for about 20 minutes or so. I couldn't even see the back glass they were so thick. I was afraid to do the same to the 30 gallon, so I used the old bucket system and that worked fine. Nothing like that showed up in the thirty gallon. Any idea what that was? I hope that didn't harm my fish...
 
#7 ·
That was the microbubbles. Your municipal water has a certain amount of dissolved gas. When you put water conditioner into it and, more importantly, when you warm it up to tropical temps, the gas comes out of solution. If you agitate the water into the tank, it will cut way down on that. If you age the water, it will eliminate it. If you match the temps of the tap and the tank closely and fill slowly, with plenty of splashing, that will take care of it. If you don't do any of that, you will occasionally lose a fish to breathing a microbubble and getting gas in the bloodstream.

It's not a terrible thing. It beats the heck out of not doing water changes. Do what you can to fix it and don't worry about it if you can't fix it completely.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top