pre planning water changes

[ironbone]

my q is, i have 2 brackish tanks 1 for mollies 1 for gsp.i would like to get a big rubbermaid trash can to have water change water already made up to temp salinity for both tanks.is that too much water to have made up with evaporation and all the other variables,should i go a little smaller gallon wise or just make it up as i do the changes?i have my mollies in .010my puff is in.005 moving him up gradually to the proper sg content.open for any tips on this process

[Dadof4]

I keep a 50 gallon rubbermaid tub mixed at all times. The food grade trashcans with lids work wonderfully, just make sure you have a power head and heater in it to keep it warm and circulating (I do at least). Bringing your GSP tank up to the same SG as your Mollies will make it easier to manage too. The GSP needs to be in the high brackish to marine conditions eventually anyway, the Mollies can do well in high brackish also (I keep mine in 1.018 - 1.020 right now and they are doing fabulous).

[CarmenH]

I make up salt water at the proper salinity for my reef tank in a 20g Brute garbage can (food safe), with a heater and powerhead going. My intention with my new brackish tank is to simply draw water from there into a 5g bucket and dilute it with RO water until it's the right salinity...

[pufferpuggirl]

Carmen .... just seen your signature -- Zephyr, Giant mutant Tetraodon nigroviridis ???

Mutunt Ninja Puffer?

[RTR]

All my water for changes is aged at least 48 hours - FW, BW, or SW. Just as the others have said, I also use food-safe plastics (or glass tanks), heaters, and circulation pumps (good full-depth and surface current but no splashing). Then the prepared water is pumped to the tank needing it. I am lazy and have not carried buckets in years (except when setting up a tank - to confirm actual volume of water).

[ironbone]

thanks for input.just wasnt sure on quantity have on hand cant see it going bad but never know.yes mollies pretty durable fish to bad cant hang with puff he does fine in his own tanki definetely enjoy him i cant speak for the cats they just want his food they dont have no love for him,ingrates.back to subject maybe have 25-30g made up matured i can work with that
im not being lazy i just want to make water changes smooth specially for puff

[SammyDee]

I bought a 30g tupperware at my local grocery( meijers) Lid too! I'll mix my water using a water pump. Then when its time to add water after a water change I just add my Tubing to the pump (sometimes i just leave it on n I can direct the flow) and pump it into the tank, 20 feet away a from where the water is actually mixed. Makes life real easy for wc's. I really havent used a thermometer in it bc by the time I use the water its about room temp anyway (75 degrees).

[CarmenH]

Yea, he's just sooooo huge. He's in a 90g (alone) and needs it! We had some discussion here about whether he was or wasn't a gsp but I'm pretty sure he is, just a monster one That's how I got him...his previous owners loved him but couldn't accomodate the tank size he needed...he just kept growing and growing!

Carmen .... just seen your signature -- Zephyr, Giant mutant Tetraodon nigroviridis ???

Mutunt Ninja Puffer?

[pufferpuggirl]

Any chance of seeing any pictures of him? I'd love to see a mutant ninja puffer.

[CarmenH]

I keep meaning to get a picture with a ruler but it might not be that impressive, since much of his size is in his girth. I have pretty big hands, and I would guess he is almost (not quite, but almost) as big as the space made when I put pointer finger to pointer finger and thumbtip to thumbtip...

[pufferpuggirl]

I know what you mean Carmen, I've got a fairly large GSP ... "Ying" and when I put a ruler to him, he doesn't seem that large, but to look at him, he's really quite big. It's the girth more than the length in most of my puffers, Ceylons included.

I am going to post some pics of Ying later, so you can see what I mean. Actually he looks a bit like yours, but the spots are different.

[soggydrysuit]

Could I just say re water changes: 'pump it or syphon it'. Water that is, just for the sake of your backs. I damaged mine dragging barrels around before using pumps etc. It's recovered pretty much now due to no lifting. Took a year or so with excercises.

I had horrendous sciatica maybe five years ago by bending over the bathroom sink and sneezing at the wrong angle - could not even turn over in bed and I wonder how much underlying damage was caused by tank maintenance?!

BTW, CarmenH - that beauty of yours really does look like a T. sabahensis if you look in the 'pedia. Size fits, too

[Pufferpunk]

Looks line a normal, adult GSP to me, just like mine were. Here they are at 6":

[bigfatfish]

Everytime a picture of the handsome Zephyr is put up, it starts a debate on what he is!!

[pufferpuggirl]

Zephyr and PufferPunk's puffers both look like my big guy. I will have to post some pics of him so you can see what I mean.