do you spend on water changes / tank maintenance in a month? I've said for a month because not all of us do weekly water changes

I mean taking into account the whole lot, getting new water ready, heating it up (if you do), taking water out of the tank, putting new water in, general maintenance like filters and pumps, cleaning substrate etc

For me, i have x3 set-ups

450 litre Cichlid / Odd-ball, i do 40% every 7-10 days

300 litre Malawi, i do 40% every 7-10 days

300 litre Community, i do 40% every 7-10 days

I get my water ready in big buckets the night before, this makes them room temp by the time i do the water changes, and although i know the fish wouldnt mind some cooler water, i still heat it up a bit first anyway before it goes into the tank (up to about 72-74F). I do this with a spare heater i got.

I reckon it takes me 1 hr altogether for the 300 litres and about 1.25 hrs for the 450 litre (including any filter maintenance)

So over a month i reckon i spend about 12 hours on it all

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what AC member has these tanks.......

8' x 2' x 2' - Piece of Ocean.
6' x 2' x 18" - Soon to be home for Zaire Blues
4' x 2' x 20" - Malawi
4' x 22" x 18" - Malawi + Victoria
4' x 18" x 18" - American Cichlid
Trigon 190 - Paratilapia Polleni
30" x 1' x 1' - Hospital Tank
2' x 1' x 1' - Tropical

and

7x - 1' and 2' cichlid fry tanks

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I must admit I'm pretty lazy when it comes to maintenance - water change every 2 weeks (sometimes only once a month) and trim back plants each week. So only 2 hours a month for me. I do only have a 12" nano cube and juwel rekord 70 though.

i just about to close down my 10 litre plastic fry tank, a 50% water change took about 2 minutes!

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yeh, i do envy that, as much as i try to, i cannot convince myself i enjoy water changes, i love it that it benefits the fish, but it cause too much chaos in my flat, its not even the time, its the lifting and faffing about that gets me

but then again, if you cant do the time dont do the crime, all my 3 tanks are stocked heavy, so its a committment to my fish and myself

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I take forever and a day doing water changes, my back is gubbed so I have to take my time doing the changes. Doing 30% on the 6x2x2 takes me a couple of hours, then the 4x2x2 and standard 4' to do afterwards The half hex has a leak 10" up from bottom, so have fry in there with 6" water, takes minutes to do a change lol

And Slash has those tanks, he's looking after the 8x2x2 for me lmao

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Dunno, must take him ages though.

I tend to do most or all in a day which can take several hours. Perhaps 3/4 maybe 5 hrs a week? Depending on what needs doing. Dunno really. A long time we'll say.

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8' x 2' x 2' - Piece of Ocean.
6' x 2' x 18" - Wild Caught Zaire 'Moba' Frontosa
4' x 2' x 20" - Malawi
4' x 22" x 18" - Malawi + Victoria
4' x 18" x 18" - Breeding Cuban Cichlids.
Trigon 190 - Paratilapia Polleni
30" x 1' x 1' - Hospital Tank
2' x 1' x 1' - Tropical

and

7x - 1' and 2' cichlid fry tanks

Take it! its yours!!!

I reckon after a week or two you would be a poorer man begging me to take it back!

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8' x 2' x 2' - Piece of Ocean.
6' x 2' x 18" - Wild Caught Zaire 'Moba' Frontosa
4' x 2' x 20" - Malawi
4' x 22" x 18" - Malawi + Victoria
4' x 18" x 18" - Breeding Cuban Cichlids.
Trigon 190 - Paratilapia Polleni
30" x 1' x 1' - Hospital Tank
2' x 1' x 1' - Tropical

and

7x - 1' and 2' cichlid fry tanks

LOL, basically Slash, the answer for you is..... "a long time"

Do you have anyone helping you with all those tanks or is it just you?

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My Set-Up's

http://www.aquarist-classifieds.co.u...et-up-925.html

http://www.aquarist-classifieds.co.u...et-up-918.html

http://www.aquarist-classifieds.co.u...l-set-929.html

Yes! But that isn't an option on the poll....hmmmmm...

Mostly my tanks so usually just poor old me. Although help is needed with the marine tank as quite a bit of water has to be changed.

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8' x 2' x 2' - Piece of Ocean.
6' x 2' x 18" - Wild Caught Zaire 'Moba' Frontosa
4' x 2' x 20" - Malawi
4' x 22" x 18" - Malawi + Victoria
4' x 18" x 18" - Breeding Cuban Cichlids.
Trigon 190 - Paratilapia Polleni
30" x 1' x 1' - Hospital Tank
2' x 1' x 1' - Tropical

and

7x - 1' and 2' cichlid fry tanks