Water change questions....(Formerly titled "Polls"

[BettWalker]

Have we ever had a poll taken on water changes? Would be interesting to me to see how much each of you do and how often. I hate this part of the hobby...please don't start telling me I shouldn't be in fish keeping...bet some of you hate it too.





Edited by fishfreek...I changed the title of this thread to better describe the content that is contained within it. This will aid future visitors and members in getting access to the good info contained within the thread about water changes and time saving procedures.

 

[CaliGal]

Bett,

I, too, dread water changes. Any time I do something drastic like a water change to my tanks, I know there is some risk involved. The less I have my hands in the tanks, the better, is my theory. I continue to use my check list to be sure I do not forget anything.

My R/O water is made in my laundry room, 4 steps down from the rest of the house. I must pump this pre-made water up the stairs and proceed from there. It's a hassle, and I do not look forward to the task or the clean up that follows. (I have cherry hardwood floors that invariably get wet. So, I have to condition the floors after I have finished the tanks.)

I use 45 gallon garbage cans on wheels, and I pump the old water out then fresh back in which certainly helps on the lifting. Our 180g requires a 30 gallon exchange each time.

All that said, I have the greatest feeling once the job is finished. I know I have done a good thing for my aquarium inhabitants. It's an awesome responsibility to me, this hobby. I remain amazed at the privilege to host my aquaria!

Sue

 

[fishfreek]

Please feel free to put up a poll of anytype. All members have the ability to create polls.

To do so just post a "NEW TOPIC" and at the bottom of the screen where you type your post you will see a section for a poll. Give the poll a title. Create some options (be sure to click add) then post your poll.

I would put one up for ya but since I dont know exactly what your looking for.



On a side note I dont really mind water changes. I try to do an approx 4 gal water change on my 20 gal tank and a 10 gal water change on the 80 gal tank bi weekly. I have premixed RO/saltwater all the time so I just fill a 5 gal bucket up. Take my sphyon hose and syphon off what I want then i put the sphyon hose in the saltwater bucket. put the bucket on top of the canopy and spyhon into the tank the new water.

For the 80 gal I syphon out 10 gal from the sump. Then I just add 10 gal saltwater into the sump via 5 gal buckets.

Entire takes me less than 30min of time every other week.

 

[reefrunner69]

I have a little advice to make water changes a little easier. It will actually be a little more work the first time, but after that, it will be quite easy.

1) Determine how much you want to change (Let's say for example, you want to change 15 gallons of water 8O )
2) You need a rubbermaid garbage can (with enough capacity to hold 15g)
3) You need a 5g bucket (the first time)
4) You will need enough nylon tubing to reach where ever it is that you dispose of your water (ie...bathtub, window, door etc....)
5) you need a small water pump/powerhead (the nylon tubing needs to fit snugly (read tight) on the output of the pump/powerhead)
6) OK Fill the garbage can 3 times with RO water from the 5g bucket (=15g, have a line drawn in the bucket so it is filled to the same level each time) mix this water to make your S/W.
7) Mark the outside of the bucket with a dark marker (oh yeah, light colored buckets work best for this, but you can figure a way to make a mark on a dark one too, I'm sure) at the 15g water level, so you can see it from the inside (I did this evey 5 gallons on one of my cans, so I had a graduated bucket, upto 33 g) After this, you can simply fill to the mark, no more need for buckets.
8) After the water has mixed for 24 hours (that powerhead/pump works well for this), turn off all your pumps and allow it to stop draining to your sump.
7) Fill the 5g bucket to the line, 3 times from your tank.
8) allow the water to settle a minute and make a mark on the tank (in an inconspicuous place) to mark the water level. (I use a piece of scotch tape with the top as the mark of the level)
9) use the pump and the tubing to fill the aquarium.

After this point, once the water is mixed, you can simply use the pump and tubing to drain the tank to the marked level, and then fill with the mixed S/W. That is why you need a long piece of tubing, so you can simply run the tubing to wherever it is that you dispose of your water. With this method, I could do Sue's 30g water change in (the time needed to mix the S/W) + 10-15 minutes. Of course I would be using a Mag 12 or Mag 18 as my pump, but still, no more than 20min even with a Mag 7 or 5.

 

[BettWalker]

Thanks for the replys. I'm not sure I can figure out how to set up the poll. Maybe will try...love to try new things.

 

[CaliGal]

Kevin,

Great post regarding water changes! You definitely have it down to a science.

The mark on the tank I had thought of, to indicate how much water to remove each time... The can with the 30g water and salt, I did not. And it is a totally perfect idea.

Now, several questions arise:

1) Is there a limit in time of how long R/O water can sit before using? I am thinking in terms of it possibly getting stagnant at some point. It seems logical to me this could happen.

2) Though I always aerate the R/O prior to adding it to the sump, either as makeup water or as change water, I have never thought to run the powerhead more than minutes to stir up the water or salt. You mention 24 hours... yikes, I have never mixed salt into water for that long, either synthetic or real salt.

Comments, please.

Sue

(And thanks again for taking the time to be so specific in your previous replay. I understand so well when directions are listed in steps!)

 

[reefrunner69]

Kevin,

Great post regarding water changes! You definitely have it down to a science.

The mark on the tank I had thought of, to indicate how much water to remove each time... The can with the 30g water and salt, I did not. And it is a totally perfect idea.

Thanks

1) Is there a limit in time of how long R/O water can sit before using? I am thinking in terms of it possibly getting stagnant at some point. It seems logical to me this could happen.

I have never considered it, much. I suppose it could, to prevent this, I would store it in a dark room and make sure it is covered. You can also add an airstone and aerate it for a few hours every few days. If the water has a stagnet smell, you could add some bleach, aerate and add some dechlorinator. If the container can be sealed tight, I doubt you'd have a problem.

2) Though I always aerate the R/O prior to adding it to the sump, either as makeup water or as change water, I have never thought to run the powerhead more than minutes to stir up the water or salt. You mention 24 hours... yikes, I have never mixed salt into water for that long, either synthetic or real salt.

Comments, please.

There are lot's of chemical reactions taking place for upto 24hrs while the salt is mixing. Since you do not want to subject your fish or inverts to these chemical reactions, you should mix the water for 24hrs prior to adding it to the tank. If I remember correctly, one of the big ones is the reduction of O2 in the water. There is also the possibility of burning, by partially dissolved salt.[/quote]

 

[CaliGal]

Bett, am I ever glad you brought this subject up! Thank you! And this goes to show that even though one has experience, there is always something to learn. Please, everyone.... if you have a question, post it. You may never know who else may be assisted by it.

Kevin, again thank for your detailed explanations. To think of harming my fish and other animal population in my tank by not allowing the salt to be thoroughly dissolved, just never occurred to me. It makes a lot of sense, of course.

Great discussion, everyone!

Sue

 

[BettWalker]

Aaron, thanks for changing the subject title and thanks to everyone who has posted messages.

Think I will stay with the daily small changes...then only have to clean the tank further when it gets too bad. With the small changes, I just dip water out and don't have to use a siphon hose. Also, when I do it this way, it becomes routine and I don't keep putting the job off. I do keep 2 13gal holding cans going with premixed SW. Have PHs & heaters in cans which I leave running constantly.

BTW, I feel this is less stress on my fish also.

 

[EMS503]

Water Changes

Hi.
I do Bi-Weekly 10 gal. water changes in my 75 gal. reef.
I use a Kent Max 60 HI-S RO unit for my makeup water. I add 1 tsp. of
Kent Osmo prep per 5 gals. to help with my Alk. I mix this for a few hours and then add salt to the buckets and mix with power heads for 48 hours.
Then siphone the sump water out and return clean water via the buckets with a siphon hose. All done in about 20 mins.

EMS503

 

[CaliGal]

Bett,

It would never have occurred to me to do a small water change daily. I can see it could easily become habit. I am wondering about the constant flux in the water, one the one hand I could imagine the benefits, but on another, I wonder if the daily change never allows the tank to become static. Food for thought, here.

Any one else do a daily small change? I like the idea of making the job of water changing as small and simple as Bett has. Opinions, please. I could possibly be changing my routine!

Sue

 

[BettWalker]

Sue, One of my SW aquarium books listed this way as an option. I will look it up later today and get back to you.
Bett

 

[BettWalker]

Regarding the small daily water changes...
From Michael S. Paletta's "The New Marine Aquarium"
"After experimenting with just about every water-change scenario, I now
employ the routine of a 5% change every other week. I've seen visible improvements in my tanks with this water-change plan. (Other equally successful aquarists have different schedules: weekly changes of 5%, biweekly of 10% or even a very small daily water change--in the order of 1/2% to 1% of the tank's volume. Old-school hobbyists often practiced large water changes of 25 to 30%, but these tend to be more stressful on the livestock and are not recommended for typical marine aquariums except in emergencies or major rescue efforts.)"

Different strokes for different folks.

 

[CaliGal]

Bett,

Thanks so much for looking this up for me. I am aware of Michael's book. It makes sense, for sure, daily changes! I will have to give this some real thought. I like the idea of small and often... thus part of a routine.

Sue

 

[Tierhog]

I have used the 5% a week method for three years. I dont have state of the art equipment and I am sucessfully keeping carnation corals, hard and soft corals, etc.
I am running a 4 inch live sand dsb to help.

 

[seafan]

I'm a newbie and couldn't afford a sump, and truthfully I don't understand them (I read the article). However I created a plan to change water and tested it on two 20 gallon buckets, and it was fairly painless. I tried describing the process, but It was to complicated so I didn't post it.
If you have any suggestions for those who are sumpless please post it.

 

[electrikat]

I too don't understand the sump situation. I would think that if the power went off that the syphon would cause the whole tank to drain onto the floor.

 

[seafan]

I know it wouldn't, I did some research and some of them have one way valves and auto shutoff.

 

[Jason]

I buy pre made water from the fish store and do my water changes.

every Tuesday 10%...... 10% for me is only 2 gallons.

I just use hoses to siphon the water out and then fresh back in. It takes literally 5 minutes.

 

[swissfish]

I change 10G of my water every two to three weeks in my 80G tank.

I live in San Diego and get filtered ocean water from the Birch Aquarium for free. I usualy vacum the sand and if necessary I clean exess algea from the live rock.