30 gal tank water changing tips

[two11devan]

Hi everyone. I attempted my first water change today. It was, well, to say the least, kind of a pain and a little messy. I used 2 5 gal buckets, I syphoned 5 gal out the old fassion way and did my best to pour the 5 gal bucket of new water back into the tank. I know there is a much easier way, like using a power head???
I bought a 45watt 6 inch heater to heat up the water to be put in the tank, I should have listened to that little vioce in the back of my head that said I was gonna need a more powerfull one! It took FOREVER to heat up the bucket, i ended up heating some water to help it along!
I am looking for any suggestions on making this process move along a little more swiftly. I know it can be done quicker! I have heard some people get their water ready the day before so it is all ready to go when you are ready to make the switch....Can I mix up some salt with distilled water and throw a heater in it the day before? Do i need to put an airstone or anything like that if it is only gonna sit for a day? Any help or tips would be greatly appreciated!!!!
Thanks

 

[kribbz]

yeah you can prepare it a day in advance if you want to. also i have never heated the water before i placed it in the tank. i only do a 10% water change ever month and i don't believe that 10% of the water volume is sufficient enough to cause a temperature swing that could do much damage to the fish. this is just my preference though and i could be totally wrong. also as far as putting water back into the tank a small powerhead would probably be a good idea.

 

[two11devan]

Thanks for the reply....i wasn't sure if the temp of the water would make much of a difference either, but it was really cold. I think It was 70degrees...i just wanted to be on the safe side... Any one know if 10% will really make a big temp difference and if the water should be heated????

 

[reefrunner69]

It is actually recommended that you mix the water for 24hrs prior too a waterchange. During the first 24hrs there are alot of chemical reactions taking place in the new salt, these reactions are using up the available oxygen, you want this to happen in the mixing bucket, not the tank I would mix the water with a powerhead.

Thread on making waterchanges easier

 

[ReefRaff]

a small plastic garbage can from Home Depot, works really nice for mixing water. also If you have a Gravel vac, then the maxijet power head fits the 1/2" hose rather nicely.

 

[hawksview]

I have a 55gal tank and do a 5 gal water change every 7 to 10 days.I am lucky enough to have a store in our area where you can fill your own jugs with ro water for about 2 dollars for 5 gal.I mix the salt right in the jug and let it sit for one or two days before using.I then siphon the tank water into a bucket and dump the new water in the tank.Takes about 15 or 20 min.I am a firm beleiver that smaller more frequent water changes are the way to go.