pre planning water changes

[CarmenH]

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

LOL, I was thinking the same thing About the debate AND the handsome

[jmiller]

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).

What type of pumps is everyone using? Any problems pumping up 4' or so?

[J-P]

In that situation I would use a standard submersible pump available at the hardware store. The are cheap, very portable and can be easily hooked up to your garden hose

[RTR]

I use more Eheim Hobby Pumps than any other brand for bulk water movement and circulation, but I am a bit of an Eheim nut - I have spares for several sizes and impellers add shafts and prefilters and valves to match or mate in reserve for all. That is made easier as my LFS stocks lots of Eheim equipment.

I have used some other brands of bulk pumps with pretty similar results, but components and size selection is not very good locally for me. Besides, my life is easier by sticking largely to one brand. I run a number of tanks, and interchangeability is important to me - fewer spares and back-ups are needed.

[jmiller]

You both bring up good points to consider. I like the idea of cheap, but I don't mind spending money I just hate wasting it. The one LFS around here with any type of selection is a Marineland dealer so are Eheim products worth it?

[RTR]

In general, Eheim products are the most lasting I have ever used, so for me they are well worth the money. I have several canisters in their 30s, and still going strong. The pumps may not be quite as lasting as the Classic canisters, but like those they are relatively power-efficient for the work they do. Quite a number of mine have been in constant operation more than 20 years, so I cannot complain about their initial cost. I have destroyed several impellers though - I am rather clumsy, and dropping them is hard on those big impeller vanes. Most of my tank installations are hard-plumbed, but the water-holding vessels are mostly flexible tubing only - that may need replacement after 15 or so years if it loses flexibility The larger Eheim tubings are not cheap either, but they do last longer than the smaller tubing on most of my canisters.

HTH

[Pufferpunk]

I just cleaned both of my Eheims yesterday & noticed one of the ceramic impeller shafts was broken in 1/2. Just pieced them together & the thing is still quiet as can be.

[RTR]

Quite a number of the Eheim impeller shafts are two-piece from the get-go. They last longer that way. Especially for clumsy folk like me.