Easy WC for weakling??

Ok heres the deal, i just found out last night i have pneumonia...im as weak as a newborn kitten! And in the same day after a painful struggle my clam finally passed on and i need to do a waterchange now...i know my method is confusing and more time consuming then it needs to be lol, but its whan works for me..unfortunately its not going to work for me til i get better/stronger...so i want to know what works for you! maybe someone elses method is doable for me in my weakend state...my Dr. said i shouldnt even get out of bed for the next 3 days...but when it comes to my health or my tanks health...im gonna go with my tanks haha! So does anyone have a simple way to change about 40 gallons of water? Something that doesnt involve lugging around a ton of water up from my basement, my back hurts enough already from coughing so i dont really need anything added to it lol.

 

How, I hope you get better soon. If I was local to you, I'd offer to do the water change for you, as long as you stayed away so I didn't get sick too. seriously though, focus on getting better. Pneumonia is not something to mess with. See if someone can at least get the water upstairs for you.

 

haha aw come on...my Dr. said im not contagious!!! i highly doubt i could get my fiance to bring the water up for me...he wont be home til 10 and he went to work at 8...maybe i can get my 70 year old neighbor to help me hahaha! (no seriously this lady is a beast...she broke her hip last year and 2 days later she was out cutting her grass!!!WTH?!?!)

 

You don't have any other friends that could come and help?

 

Not in this area...theres my best friend about 40 min away...shes the closest but she is about 5 months pregnant lol, honestly i wish we bought a house somewhere else...its all old people around here and i swear nobody in pittsburgh even knows what a SW tank is!!

 

I vote your fiance do the work. If he knows what's good for his future health, he'll help you out

 

Here's what I would do:

1) Buy a strong Rubbermaid trash can, a submersible pump capable of pumping water upstairs (probaby a Mag 12), some barbed fittings, a ball valve and enough vinyl hose to get from downstairs to the tank. Hose size should match barbed fittings.

2) Assemble hose and pump by connecting barbed fittings to the pump and ball valve. Connect one end of the hose to the barbed fitting on the pump and the other to the ball valve. The ball valve is to allow you to turn off the flow while you're upstairs without having to run downstairs to unplug the pump.

3) Put it next to your tank, turn off all pumps, siphon tank water into the Rubbermaid trash can until it is close to full.

4) Mark your tank with a piece of tape or something small on the back to note where the water level is.

5) Pump the water back into the tank using your new pump and hose - will be overkill on the hose length, but that's ok. This will be the only time you will do this.

6) Mix up your new salt water in the Rubbermaid trash can and let it mix an appropriate amount of time. Do a quick test with your new pump to make sure it can pump upstairs.

7) When ready, siphon your tank down a nearby drain (or use new pump/hose to do it faster) until the water reaches the mark on the tank.

8) Secure the ball valve end of the hose in the tank somehow. I used to use tie wraps to make sure it didn't flip out. Close the ball valve.

9) Take your pump downstairs and drop it in the Rubbermaid trashcan with the new saltwater.

10) Run back upstairs, hold on to the ball valve and open it into the tank.

11) Let it run until it starts sucking air.

12) Run back downstairs and tilt trashcan to get as much as possible up through the pump..

13) Unplug pump

14) Pour the last little remaining amount of water into a bucket, take upstairs and dump in tank.

 

Prob solved, for once the fiance actually helped...i took alot of eyelash batting (and attempting not to cough on him at the same time bahaha) but i had him bring me up some water. i like your idea also rocket man, i think i need to really make a home depot trip here soon! im feeling a little better today...not as sore and not coughing as much, so i guess the meds and this inhaler are working! Thanks everyone!!

 

Get well soon!