Can you do water changes through your sump? (Not AWC)

[mike550]

Hello! Newbie Q here. I have a 120G and when I do water changes I siphon out 20-30G from my DT. This isn’t a big deal, and luckily I can drain to a nearby sink. But when I go to refill with fresh saltwater, I end up using a small pump to move the water from a barrel to the top of the DT. The pump is a bit undersized in terms of head pressure so its a slow process. The top of the tank is around 6’. I’d rather not be hoisting 5G containers and dumping them in from the top of the tank.

Are you able to refill your DT by refilling through the sump? I’d pump the water into the return pump section and have the return pump fill the tank. Will this work? Is the trick just to balance the flow so I don’t overfill the sump?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Silent]

Should not be a problem as long as you dont add more water than your sump can handle. Go slow so the return pump can pump it to the dt.

 

[redfishbluefish]

I do exactly that...remove water from the DT (siphon), and add new water back into the sump (pumped). I have a slow start return pump take doesn't start for three minutes, so I first start this pump and then slowly get around to starting to pump water into the sump. If the return pump hasn't started by the time the sump is full, (every time, by the way) I pinch off the hose and wait for the return pump to start. My return pump volume is fairly close to the pump for the new water (MAG 9.5), but I still sit there keeping an eye on it. FYI, it's a 25 gallon water change.

 

[stanleo]

I plan on doing this when I finish the fish room. My plan is to have a permanent line from the mixing station to the skimmer chamber of the sump and adjust the flow of the sump return to match the incoming water from the mixing station.

 

[IslandLifeReef]

I do that as well. I remove water from my DT by vacuuming the sand and rock, then add to my sump. Twice a year, I shopvac my sump and add water back to the sump. Works great!

 

[fish farmer]

My WC water always goes in the sump. I siphon 5 gallons out of the DT and slowly replace the water in the sump, my return pump is off, so I turn it on while adding water. I usually don't put all my WC water in the sump at one time, since adding too much water makes my skimmer overflow.

 

[Sisterlimonpot]

Taking old from the main display and adding new into the sump is the better way to do it. It gives the new salt a chance to mix and acclimate with the old in the sump before it is introduced into the display. If there is a temperature difference it wont be so noticeable when pumped up. Along those same lines, it gives the higher level of trace and major elements from the new to dilute before going into the display.

 

[eggplantparrot]

Hello! Newbie Q here. I have a 120G and when I do water changes I siphon out 20-30G from my DT. This isn’t a big deal, and luckily I can drain to a nearby sink. But when I go to refill with fresh saltwater, I end up using a small pump to move the water from a barrel to the top of the DT. The pump is a bit undersized in terms of head pressure so its a slow process. The top of the tank is around 6’. I’d rather not be hoisting 5G containers and dumping them in from the top of the tank.

Are you able to refill your DT by refilling through the sump? I’d pump the water into the return pump section and have the return pump fill the tank. Will this work? Is the trick just to balance the flow so I don’t overfill the sump?

Thanks in advance.

I do this every Sunday. I start a siphon from a 5G bucket on my chair going into the sump and when it fills up a bit I turn on the return and have it pump the water up.

 

[krash7172]

My mix tank is hard plumbed into sump. I put a tee in my return line for draining. 100% of my WC is in the sump. DT water level never drops. Built in tank so I don't ever mess with DT unless there is a problem.

 

[splitting_lanes]

That’s how I do water changes, I pump the new water into the sump and let the return pump get it up into the display tank

 

[Sabellafella]

Hello! Newbie Q here. I have a 120G and when I do water changes I siphon out 20-30G from my DT. This isn’t a big deal, and luckily I can drain to a nearby sink. But when I go to refill with fresh saltwater, I end up using a small pump to move the water from a barrel to the top of the DT. The pump is a bit undersized in terms of head pressure so its a slow process. The top of the tank is around 6’. I’d rather not be hoisting 5G containers and dumping them in from the top of the tank.

Are you able to refill your DT by refilling through the sump? I’d pump the water into the return pump section and have the return pump fill the tank. Will this work? Is the trick just to balance the flow so I don’t overfill the sump?

Thanks in advance.

I mean hey sure you can, my middle chamber of my sump is about a 20% water change for me. So what I do is shut the return, skimmer and heaters off. Drain and refill the sump. Maybe give that a try!

If your siphoning from the display, you could always turn your return back on while filling the sump with fresh salt. You'll have to lower your return speed to somewhat match your utility pump speed, or you'll just have to get creative.