where/what you guys store 'used' aquarium water?

[Crono]

not talking of water change.

water can be expensive especially using home water, count on how much you drain. (water bill)

either a new or old tank, test leak. no leak detected, fill away.
few days later, you look at bottom of the tank... the horror, water form at the rear of the tank.

to reseal the leak (or change to a new tank), must suck out the waters.
unless have plants to water them, suck them out and throw them away...
also no need cycle. (it the same water, still has healthy bacteria, no?)

you use 'something' to store used water?

 

[tlindsey]

healthy bacteria, no?)

Probably no bacteria. If the water removed from aquarium let's say a leaking aquarium store in buckets or sterile totes. I have a Rubbermaid brand Brute garbage can on hand that I used for storing mixing saltwater years ago.

 

[jjohnwm]

...also no need cycle. (it the same water, still has healthy bacteria, no?)

Still has healthy bacteria? No...

The good bacteria that you need and want are not floating around in your tank like noodles in soup or ice cubes in a pitcher; they are sessile and live on surfaces in your tank, especially in the moving aerated water in your filter. You can literally change all the water in your tank, every day, without affecting those bacteria...as long as the new water you put in has been dechlorinated and is at the right temperature. Most of my water changes involve removing almost all the water, leaving enough in which the fish can splash around at the bottom for a few minutes until I refill.

Cycling the tank doesn't even enter this discussion; this is super-basic Biofiltration 101 stuff...yet a disturbing number of aquarists don't seem to "get it".

So, if I am stuck in the situation which you describe...i.e. a sudden need to empty a tank for some type of maintenance or other reason...I just look upon it as a chance for another water change. I'd put the fish into a temporary home, or another aquarium if available, but all the rest of the water would go to water the garden, or top up an outside pond during a dry spell...in other words, to waste.

If you absolutely must save and re-use dirty water, any kind of clean storage bin or plastic garbage can would work. For greater quantities, maybe a couple 55-gallon food-grade plastic barrels? Even a series of 5-gallon plastic covered pails, sometimes available cheaply from restaurants who buy items like pickles, etc. in them. My personal viewpoint is that if water were so expensive locally that I needed to think about saving and re-using aquarium water, I would probably be raising desert reptiles or growing cactus rather than keeping fish.

 

[TwoHedWlf]

I don't store it usually, water is cheap and storage space is relatively expensive. I usually either use it around the garden to water plants or just dump it outside.

 

[Something Fishy Here]

Mine goes on my backyard or to my young pine tree.

 

[fishdance]

Hopefully you don't need to manually carry your water from river or well?

Fish do not need bottled water. I remember the tap water in Jakarta is not safe to drink.

Yes, you can store and re- use much of your water in any suitable sized container. If possible you can improve the reused water with aquatic plants during longer term storage. Supplement with rainwater if your air pollution permits.

Only one hundred years ago (1900 ~ 1920) fish keepers did not have filters and would carefully keep as much of the old water as possible between scrubbing clean their tanks. Sometimes for years. Even now, many of my tanks have nitrates around 80ppm.

 

[jjohnwm]

Yes, you can store and re- use much of your water in any suitable sized container. If possible you can improve the reused water with aquatic plants during longer term storage. Supplement with rainwater if your air pollution permits.

Only one hundred years ago (1900 ~ 1920) fish keepers did not have filters and would carefully keep as much of the old water as possible between scrubbing clean their tanks. Sometimes for years. Even now, many of my tanks have nitrates around 80ppm.

Dang! If that sounds like fun, fill your boots, but...not for me. Keeping aquaria is an entertainment, not a mystical quest or an essential life choice.

I'd advise the OP to seriously think about this before proceeding if that's the only path.

Where's my cactus?

 

[duanes]

Not long ago,
affer a 5.5 earth quake my 180 sprung a fairly large leak, so I had to store fish, filter media and plants in anything I could find.

As stated above, old water does not hold beneficial bacteria in itself, beneficial bacteria live as biofilm on objects like rocks, substrate, logs filter media and plants, so once the tank was fixed, old water was discarded, and replaced.
Old water in itself is really of no benefit.
I usually just use old water with its fish waste nitrate, on the garden.

 

[esoxlucius]

This hobby is meant to be enjoyable. If it got to the stage where I couldn't trust my water supply, or said water supply became excessively expensive or limited, to the point where I had to worry about saving old aquarium water to perhaps use again further down the line, I'd be out of the hobby in a crack. What a pita.

It makes me feel very lucky though that I come from a country where I don't even need to think about any of those things so I feel for the OP in that respect.

And in any case, old aquarium water is not fit for much, only flushing down the drain, or what many of us do, give your plants a good drink!

 

[fishdance]

OP has clearly stated that water is expensive (or perhaps a scarce commodity) where he/she is. Specifically seeking ideas and ways to extend this. It seems to me that written english is not their native language so please take this into consideration.

Clean drinking water is what wars will soon be fought over. It's already started.

Despite what some people may think, mature aquarium water is rife with nitrifying bacteria and beneficial micro-organisms. Common sense dictates it can't possibly be sterile and at very least, is already proven to be fish safe. I only use established aquarium water for water changes on newly hatched fry racks for example.

Agree that fish keeping should be an enjoyable hobby. On my overseas fish travels and adventures, I've seen some of the biggest smiles and proudest faces on some poorer fish keepers forced to use 2L soft drink bottles for tanks. Some amazing polystyrene tanks out there too!