How to change water w/sump

[FlightRisk]

Hi all,
I have a basic question, I'm going to be putting a Refugium at the bottom of my 29gal tank and I was wondering how do I do a water change? Do I turn off the sump and empty the main tank or empty the Refugium. If I emptied the refugium wouldn't it in-turn empty the main tank?

[reefrunner69]

I would do the change in the main tank, if you changed water from your fuge...you are likely to pull out alot of the critters you want in there.

What I usually do is pump about 5 gals of water out of my sump into a bucket.. empty the bucket and pump 5 gals back into the sump.. It doesnt touch the Fuge nor the tank.. When i take 5gals out of my sump its just enough to still cover the pumps and I unplug the heater so everything seems to be great.. that way the water still gets evenly mixed with the tank water..


HTH<
James

[FlightRisk]

Thanks guys, I think I'll change the water from the main tank.

[jamal-188]

I just shut the retun pump off in my sump, drain the water from my tank, then use a ph and a hose to add water back to my tank.