Dumb newbie water change question!

[megisawesome06]

Hey! I'm changing the water in my tank for the first time. Where do I put the newly mixed water? Into the tank or the sump? I don't wanna kill everything! TIA!

 

[megisawesome06]

To clarify, I've drained about 15% water and just need to know where the new stuff goes. [emoji38]

 

[redfishbluefish]

As long as the new water is at the same temperature and salinity, it doesn't matter. I personally take out of the DT and put new water in the sump. Again, matched temp and salinity important.

 

[megisawesome06]

It's been mixed and room temp and everything for 2 days. Salinity is almost exact. Yay! Thank you!

 

[NanaReefer]

I find the less invasive the happier everything stays. I too remove from the DT and replace via the sump. 1x monthly I'll remove from the sump just to clean out any detritus buildup [emoji2]

 

[megisawesome06]

I'll put it in the sump next time.

Another question. I am going to set up a QT. Would it be ok to put the used water in there? Or would it be essentially dirty unusable water? I'm worried about the nitrates etc.

 

[Cyndi & Jim]

No, do not reuse the water. Defeats the purpose to QT

 

[megisawesome06]

Ok. I saw a video on YouTube where the guys said he did that. It seems like a good idea, but yeah...oh well. I'll work it out. I have a while to go anyway. [emoji305][emoji245][emoji224][emoji225][emoji226]

 

[Ebone]

+1 on sump

 

[Paulday]

Well is the qt tank permanent or temp. If your going to setup temp then yes use water from your dt tank and refill the dt tank reason y is for the bacteria. U don't want to have to wait 6 weeks for nitrogen cycle every time. If it's permanent at tank then pull water from dt first time for bacteria seeding and make water for the rest of time

 

[redfishbluefish]

Here's my two cents.....use fresh-made water. You're going to be fighting nitrates anyway, why start out with nitrates when you don't need to. The DT water carries very little bacteria. You'll get your bacteria by first placing the filter media from the HOB filter in your DT....or even run this filter in your sump/DT to seed the filter pad. When it's well seeded, move to the QT/Hospital tank. Use fresh-made saltwater and test for nitrates frequently. You shouldn't have rock or sand in this tank....just some pipes or other plastic things for the fish to hide.