Bucketless water change.

[BigBen]

I used a food grade pipe, a pond pump and an empty bucket in the sink. Chuck the pump in the bucket, turn on the tap and watch the fish play on the fresh water. I have an old spray bar I hook to the side of the tank so it doesn't need holding. I have one of these, but can't remember if it's this size or not. https://www.allpondsolutions.co.uk/1400lh/

Have you got a quick release system for connecting to the pump? I have a JBL hook type thing I use to syphon the water out of mine, but it takes nearly an hour to empty enough water using gravity alone. Not sure how I'd switch from a pump for emptying, back to the hook thing without unscrewing it and risking leaks every time.

I have two tubes, one for out and one for in, so I never remove the tube from the pump. I'll take some photos when I do my changes on Sunday.

[VikingMummy2015]

Seachem Safe is even cheaper than Prime (it’s a powder form). I dissolve full tank amount in a wee tub of tank water and pour it in just as the tap water starts going in. Been using it for something like 18 months to 2 years and I got through the smallest tub and am maybe a third of the way into the next size up tub.

[SPACKlick]

Yeah, I'm nearly at the end of a bottle of Prime and just restocked with safe. Haven't quite worked out yet how much I need, It's 1/20 tsp. I do have a set of small measuring spoons but they're marked Smidgen, Pinch and Dash. I think they're approx 1/32, 1/16 and 1/8 tsp but I'm not sure how to calibrate... But yeah, that's going to bring the cost down to about 1p per water change. Maybe 2p. Safe is far and away the best value, even the small tubs treat 50,000 Litres. The only downside I can think of is needing to measure small amounts of powder.

[Munchy2007]

I've considered switching to Seachem Safe, can some of it be mixed up in advance and then stored as a liquid for a while, or does it need to be used fresh each time?

[SPACKlick]

From what I've seen, to premix it you need to sterilise the water, sterilise the storage vessel, add a ph buffer, add another stabiliser I forget and these have to be chemically inert with the safe itself. I couldn't see a practical way of doing it that was less effort and faff than prime.

[fr499y]

It doesn't have stablilisers so no, don't pre-mix it.

I've been using it for years and will carry on as long as I can buy it. I actually put a smidgen in each 15L of tap without any issues.

[Munchy2007]

Thanks guys, I suspected as much, that would have been too easy

[WinterRose73]

I use the same method as BigBen for water changes. I have a shepherd's crook on one end of the hose and pond pump on the other.

When siphoning water out, pond pump goes in the tank, the crook hooks around the base of kitchen tap and keeps water directed into the sink. When that bit's done I swap them, hook the crook end over the rim of the tank, pop the pond pump in a bucket in the sink and job done