Big water changes: let's talk easy or messy

[Moe_K]

I have the 125 gal tank up in the living room with a 100g capacity sump in the basement.
I saw on Becs tank that for water changes she would take water out of her loop and divert it to a big empty barrel. When full, she stopped the detour. She had another equally sized barrel ready with freshly made saltwater. She then pumped the fresh stuff into her sump. So she knew the volume removed was equal to the fresh stuff added.

I have two 30 gal plastic barrels. I fisll one with RO/DI water, then add a pump and a heater. I add lots of salt to get the specific gravity up to 1.025. This usually takes a day or two to mix and tweak.

I pump about 30 gal into the empty barrel from the sump, followed by about 30 gal of freshly made SW into the sump. Lastly, I pump the full 30 gal of removed water into the slop sink and down the drain. Took me about 30 mins this evening. I know the volume removed is about the same as the new volume added.

There is some dripping and spilling. It's not as neat & clean as Bec's system. Too much moving around of pumps and hoses. In a perfect world I'd plumb these barrels like Bec did. Someday...

But the process is far easier than the 5 or 10 gal buckets I made at a time to dump into my old 55 in the apartment in Southie. I had no sump, so I had to hoist the buckets to the edge of the 55 and dump them. Water always spilled down the side of the tank.

One thing I've found with the 30 gal changes is that I go through salt much faster!!

Please share your big water changes processes and stories.

 

[merk1_99]

so whats the problem

 

[~Flighty~]

I added a 425g tank to the system and don't do water changes. It was a tradeoff, but I am very happy with the stability of salinity and the reduced maintinence. It did allow me to get lazy about checking parameters which bit me bigtime with low magnesium.

 

[Moe_K]

so whats the problem

Nowadays, mostly easy.
A little bit of mess with the dripping hoses and pumps.
Otherwise a dramatic improvement over my old method.

I'm wondering if other folks use similar methods, have better ways, or are still slopping saltwater over the side of the tank from 5 gal buckets.
If one is doing a big change, that's a lot of buckets.

 

[delta]

I love having the 100gal sump same 2-30 gal barrels for water changes about the same system as you have Moe (same someday like Bec's in my head)

It is great my tank never misses a beat I can remove 30 gallons without turning off a thing. Well almost, auto top has to be turned off.

So if I get interupted I can stop what I am doing and return when I have time. IMO a must for reefers with kids.

 

[JayM]

still on the 5 gallon bucket method here, at least for the upstairs tank. 15-20g sits in a tote to aerate and get the SG and temp right for half a day or so. More automated process is under construction.

drain water out, pump new water in, pump into sink...or more recently, into the new 150G tank& 150G stocktank/sump getting filled

 

[MikeG]

I use buckets as well since the display and sump are upstairs and water and supplies in the basement. I mix salt water in a 44 gallon barrel, but I drain old water into 5 gallon buckets and dump as well as pump new water from the barrel in the basement into 5 gallon buckets and carry upstairs. I pump from the buckets into the sump so no pouring buckets into the display.

Someday I will have that basement sump!

 

[B.rian]

i use the 5g bucket method, and the only benefit i can see is that you get some nice muscles hauling those buckets around. i have got pretty good at not spilling, but i still put a rug in front of the tank for when i do.

 

[Chris L]

moe i do the same thing with the 30 gallon buckets. but to save a step i marked of the sump at levels
1. normal level
2. overflow level after i turn the return off
3. where it is after i empty the 30 gallons for the change.

once i did this i no longer needed to use the bucket to collect the waste.
i just got a longer hose and now just empty right to the drain. it saves a couple steps and time.

 

[FinzAquatics]

instead of carrying buckets, why dont you get like a mag 7 and a long 3/4in hose and just pump the water from your vat into your main system? i think thatd be a lot easier on you IMO

 

[Matt L.]

I have a 90gal in a room with a hard wood floor, so avoiding spillage is paramount. As such, I devised a system several years ago that spills no water, but also requires wasting 25% of the water change.

I have a special 30gal barrel. This barrel has a 1" bulkhead in the side at the 30gal level and a Mag 3 that recirculates flow through a loop. The loop comes out the top of the barrel and contains a three way valve before returning to the barrel. When the three way valve is in one position, the flow simply recirculates. There is also a hole to dump in salt. Water is pumped to the barrel, and the barrel also containst a heater. Salt is made in this barrel that sits adjacent to my sump. My sump is under the tank.

When I am ready to start the water change, I simply divert flow from my display tank by gravity to the barrel. The flow is being mixed in the barrel, and overflows over the bulkhead down into a flexibile line to the sump.

When I am ready to end the water change, I simply return flow to returning to the sump natually by gravity. I change the position of the three way valve, and the Mag 3 pumps the water through a flexible tube to a drain.

The good part is that this system doesn't require any disturbance of the display tank which is stressful to fish and corals. The downside is that it requires wasting 25% of the water change volume.

Matt

 

[nichols]

I have a 150 gal rubbermade sump in the basement. The sump is marked normal level, -30 gal and -60 gal. I shut off my auto top off, drop in a small pump with a 1/2" hose connected and pump out ether 30 or 60 gals of water right into the sink drain. Then I put the same pump into a barrel of new salt water and plug the pump into my auto topoff. This way the pump shuts off when the sump is at normal level and I don't have to stand there and watch it.
I have 3 Brute 33 gal barrels. One for RODI water and 2 for mixing salt water.
I use a power-head and a heater in each barrel. I use a small premarked bucket to mesure the salt (about 15 1/2 cups per 30 gal). I fill the barrels with RodI ( float valve and auto shutoff) add salt, powerhead and heater and check the Ca and Alk the next day. I tweak the water as needed before use.
I can do a 60 gal water change in about 1/2 hour. The only time I use 5 gal buckets is if I want to siphon something out of one of my tanks.
I do use a lot of salt, so I buy IO in the 200 gal box. If you look around you can find them for about $35. I'll buy 5 or 6 boxes at a time.

 

[sdexcalibur1]

I WAS makeing water in the basement then pumping it up through the floor and into my tank, BUt it was an old faucet and the back pressure from the rodi, made it leak like crazy, Now I fill a rubbermaid bucket (15G) in the kitchen. Drag it to my tank with a towel under itr so I don't scratch the floors about 30' away, Do my mixing and then pump it into my tank, So for at least 2 days every other week I have a big green bucket in my living room filled with water.

 

[skyedolphan]

mine set up has been realitively easy since the guys drilled me into the basement with the 100 gal sump.have a 30 gallon drum that is part of my auto topoff
the day or 2 before water change I fill a 28 gallon rubbermaid add the salt maxi jet , and heater to get it airated and to temp then I will syphon the first 5 gallons outta my catch basin ( my return comes down into 3 gallon basin that sits is the sump just above the water level this allows any junk from a sandstorm or whatever goes on in the main to settle into the basin rather than the bottom of a sump filled with rock)making it easier to clean out detris then I syphon the rest into a standby 28 gallon rubbermaid add the fresh salt water into the tank takes app.20-30minutes if I am left alone
use to sypon the bad waterdirectly outside but my python isnt working to great and I waste more water than I feel comfortable with so knowit goes into the 28 rubbermaid and when I get a around to it I pump it down the laundry hose line
my next step I would love the have a dedicated pump inline with valves to eliminate changing and moving pumps around it is a tight squeeze where my sumpis and I am tired of wacking my head LOL
I guess once again someone else who wouldlove to hav Becs water change system

maybe after holidays it will be time to have a calzone/pizza party and recrute some help to make it a little easier

 

[ScottM]

I added a 425g tank to the system and don't do water changes. It was a tradeoff, but I am very happy with the stability of salinity and the reduced maintinence. It did allow me to get lazy about checking parameters which bit me bigtime with low magnesium.

I don't see how adding a larger volume of water = you do not have to do water changes or reduced maint.
if anything the larger volume would make it MORE cumbersome to manage and more expensive.....
it's only a matter of time when your only problems won't just be Mag.



Here's a much better way to minimize your water maint. chores
http://www.seavisions.com/dialyseas_aquarium_dialysis_equi.htm

 

[RedTide]

I have a T plumbed into my return line in the cellar. I shut off the water for my float switches, open the waste ball valve, the water pumps directly to waste until the level reaches a fiberglass rod I siliconed to the inside of the sump and close the waste ball valve. This takes maybe a minute. Then I open the ball valve from my makeup water bin and the water slowly refills the sump. About 15 minutes later, I go back down, close the make up ball valve, turn on the water for the float switches, throw some salt in the make up bin and I'm done.

 

[Michael Mota]

The new 125 build.

OK this control box will control an external pump. When I do a water change the idea is that I will pump the new water into the display tank's bottom and the old water will over flow into the sump. Then the float switch will realize that the sump is filling up and will activate the pump and start draining the water to the drain I installed on the wall. Once the water is all pumped out it will shut down automatically. Hence no more carrying water around the house like I used to do and of course spilling it all over the place, lol. once I am done with the water change I will trow the three way switch over to the emergency overflow position. This way if the sump for some reason becomes too full risking a spill or overflow of water the control box will kick the pump on and start sending water to drain. I really do not see this happening but I figured if I am going to build this thing why not add this little feature, just in case
See pic in thread, a few posts down:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=938462&perpage=25&pagenumber=7

 

[jbundas]

There was a TOTM that had a "water change tank" plumbed into the main loop which I thought was a good idea. Effectively, it's just a tank or barrel of typical water change size that water draining from the main display goes through first before making it to the sump. When it's time to change water, flip a valve that bypasses the water change tank and feeds the display drain directly to the sump. Everything is still running normally now, just not passing through the extra tank. Dump the contents of the water change tank which should also contain all the chunky stuff that makes it through the overflow and settles there. Now refill the wc tank with make up water or even just fresh RODI and mix in your salt. You can even let it cook for a day or whatever then flip the valve back so the drain water once again goes through the wc tank containing the new salt water and it'll mix itself into the system. No buckets, no pumping water, piece of cake.

One think I like about it is that instead of having your make up/water change buckets just collecting dust 90% of the time, the wc tank is working as extra system water volume. You can also bypass it at any time to have an emergency isolation or quarantine tank that's instantly ready to go with the same water as the main system.

 

[maurod]

I have a pipe plumbed directly to my sink to drain water out of my tank.
I also use my auto topoff unit to control when I've refilled the tank to the "correct" level.

When I want to do a water change, I unplug my topoff pump from the power strip it is connected to, and replace it with a pump submerged in my 60 barrell of salt water, leaving the power strip off temporarily . I then open the dump valve to the sink and let 10 gallons out. After draining 10 gallons, I turn on the ATO powerstrip which refills the tank to the normal topoff level with saltwater. Once the refill is complete, I swap the saltwater pump for the normal freshwater pump.
I do this every day for 5 or so days, once a month to swap out 50 gallons.
It takes all of about 4 minutes.

Pretty simple, simpler in practice than describing it really.

As a side note, I should mention I mix my water with a maxijet mod and keep a 50Watt heater in there to keep the water at same temp as the tank.

 

[Gina McReeferson]

I have 2 55 gallon drums in the fish room. 1 is RODI and the other is always full of mixed SW. I marked my tank in an inconspicuous location with nominal full level and the appropriate drain level for a water change. I shut the valves on the overflows, siphon the tank water down to the marked drain level, then kick on the pump to fill it back up with the fresh mix to the nominal full mark. No spills, no drips, just 20 or so minutes of my time.

-Dave