okay, so, my 29g FW planted is up and running pretty well. however, water changes and ever top-offs are a pain in the ASS! i siphon the water out, vacuum some gravel, and then get more water and treat it. so far so good. after i get the new water... mayhem. it's a royal pain to get the water back in. i've tried all sorts of things and none have really been any good. how do you guys replace water in your tanks? even better, what are the steps you go through to do water changes?

__________________
29g planted, Eheim 2215 canister, Top Fin 150w heater.

Albino Cory x 4, Guppy x 8, Oto x 3, Bolivian Ram x 2

i use a phyton clean and no spill system, it takes the water out plus it vacumes teh gravel and when your done taking water out, you can add water back to your tank with it as well

__________________
What happens if you get scared half to death, twice?

yup seems the easiest way is a python. Sadly for me, i dont have threads on my faucet so i'm hauling buckets haha

__________________
"Being ignorant is not so much a Shame, as being unwilling to learn".-- Benjamin Franklin

Most likely the actual output screen on your faucet unscrews and the adapter that comes with the Python will fit it. It may not look like it, and on many sinks it is kind of tight and stuck shut since no one ever uses that feature, but almost all sinks have it. I would use those rubber grippers for opening jelly jars and unscrew the output on the sink.

__________________
Biologist-Professional Aquarium Care-Published Author (Aquarium Fish International Magazine)

Stocking has NOTHING to do with tank volume, it is all about water changes.

Sorry I can't help.

I don't do water changes with my planted tanks.

sorry.

my .02

__________________
fw leiden since 1979, fo salt since 1979, mixed reef 55g 2002-2009. Strong emphasis on the tank taking care of itself. Balanced with plant life, no water changes, tap water, no filters in FW. Only dosing calcium, alk, mag in marine reef tanks. http://www.aquariumforum.com/f15/my-...ods-26410.html
recent tanks (till 2009) 7 years- 10g FW leiden 7 yrs, 55g mixed reef 7, 2 yrs, 20g FW leiden, 10 g fw leiden , 29g mixed reef, current tank 55g leiden

I never vacum the gravel and have never had any fish problems. I do have strong filtration. I make a 25% water change very two weeks and usually drip the new water into the tank.

Nope, theres nothing to unscrew.

__________________
"Being ignorant is not so much a Shame, as being unwilling to learn".-- Benjamin Franklin

I wish I knew better...syphon to a bucket, replace water by pouring from bucket back into tank. Not an elegant solution nevertheless. Very interesting question.

Take a picture of the faucet. 99% sure you can unscrew part of it.

__________________
Biologist-Professional Aquarium Care-Published Author (Aquarium Fish International Magazine)

Stocking has NOTHING to do with tank volume, it is all about water changes.

Emptying
All tanks - vaccum tube hooked to a hose which runs outside onto my garden

Filling
For town water tanks - I use a hose connected to the outdoor tap, straight into the fishtank
For rainwater tanks - I use buckets to fill

__________________
1x350L Goldfish, 1x 286L Planted, 1x190L Cherry shrimp, 1x140L Feeders, 1x130L Planted, 1x119L Peppermint BN breeding colony

I siphon to a 5 gallon bucket and then fill the bucket and dump it in the tank.

__________________
75 Gallon Planted

Water changes can be a little cumbersome if they are new to you. Although, is there something that maybe you are doing that is making it harder for you? Do you have a gravel vacuum/siphon hose piece of equipment? Maybe just a section of hose? What is the pain in the butt part to you?