How to do my own saltwater change?

[penguin_free]

Oh I agree completely. Not trying to discourage you from doing the tank maintenance in any way. And the more you know, the better position you're in to know what to ask, and to make sense of the answers.

My guess as to the protein skimmer being offline is that maybe they figured it wasnt needed with a light bio load in the tank, and that if no one was checking on it frequently, it could overfill, overflow, or malfunction and make a mess. That's a nice skimmer, and putting it back in service would be a good learning project. A successful tank doesn't absolutely need a skimmer, but it sure helps a lot. Personally I wouldn't run mine without a skimmer (due to having a heavy population in the tank)

 

[penguin_free]

As far as the water changes themselves, I would go this route:

1- get a brand new rubbermaid bin, and clean it out well with just water - no soap!
2- make sure that ro/di unit is working properly. If it already has a little digital meter connected to the water output line, make sure it reads 000 while water is running through it. If it doesn't, then ask a local fish store about a 'TDS meter'.
3- Once you know you've got a clean water source and mixing container, pick up some reef salt of your choice. For each gallon of fresh water, about 1/2 cup of salt gets you close to the right range. You probably have a hydrometer somewhere already, use that to check the tank, and add salt or water to your mix to get the same specific gravity as the tank water.
4- get the fresh mix close to the same temperature as your tank using a thermometer and an extra heater if needed.
5- if you have an extra pump and aquarium hose around, I'd use that for when you add the new water to the tank. The easiest way is to pump right from the mixing container into the aquarium sump, and let your return pump push it up into the tank.
6- once you have everything set to refill it with, start siphoning water out of the tank, and vacuum the surface of the sand while you pull water out. Don't dump it all out - keep the last bucket or two until you have pumped your fresh mix into the tank, and are sure you had enough mixed. That way if needed, you can top the tank off with a little of the water you just siphoned out.

This sounds like a lot, but it's really not hard at all. Getting the new mix ready is the first step, changing it out is the second... the first time will be a bit of a project because you have a few things to figure out, but after that it becomes easy.

 

[Rick.45cal]

Welcome to Reef2Reef and welcome to a lifelong hobby of learning and exploration. We're here to help you with anything we can. It can seem overwhelming in the beginning but once you start understanding the basics it all falls into place and starts to make sense.

 

[xAndrewx]

Can we get a picture of whats to the left of the black cylinder?
I am guessing that's were the filter socks you refer to is, but maybe there is a skimmer in use in that portion of the sump.

 

[CanadianReefer]

It's definitely ours. It's not in use. The filters are crystal clear.

I'm thinking to just leave it to the professionals. They seem to be doing a good job and they bring already premade saltwater from fish stores. There is never algae anywhere, so maybe it's worth it. It's just that I recently bought corals (they are in the tank, just very small) and the guy said we are going to need more maintenance.

Here's my corals in the tank.

With those types of corals, you shouldn't need a lot of extra maintenance. They are not high demand corals.

PM me if you want a really good tutorial on water changes etc. I have a big tank as well and I don't find the water changes to be too bothersome.

Ask him what kind of maintenance he's doing. $100 isn't that bad if he's bringing saltwater.

Someone has mentioned the 52 weeks of reefjng series at BRS. It's pretty informative.

I'd also YouTube diy water changing station - they are SUPER easy to build and aren't expensive.

 

[CanadianReefer]

Here's a photo of what's in the box.

That's a UV sterilizer.

 

[n21benson]

Some people use RODI, and if you have a professional doing it, I would bet that's what they are using. While there is nothing wrong with using tap water with a dechlorinator (that's what I use), it is usually safer and easier to use RODI as you know you are having "pure" water.

Agree 100%

 

[Reefrookie220]

As a person that does maintenance calls and installations for a living, seems to me that the only reason to not hook up a customer's rodi unit and skimmer is what's keeping me employed lol!

That skimmer is a monster, and that rodi unit is awesome. Looks to me that your using a wet/dry filter with socks in place of the media and there is no room/proper water level to install the skimmer.

Just ask all kinds of questions. Tell him your concerned your equipment isn't being used to it's full potential.

Ask him to show you how to use the ro unit so he doesn't have to lug water in and out.

Tell him your interested in learning the ropes, Show you how to test etc

 

[ricky5415]

Maybe ask a local reefer if he can let u see him doing a water change to his tank. Trust me. There is a lot of different things to learn. From how to clean a dirty tank, how to get/ make good fresh rodi water, how to add salt + how to measure it ( how to use a refractometer), how to get the dirty water out and put in new fresh saltwater....you will learn a pretty good basic reef keeping skill which will be much worth it later down the road. That is the fun part about this hobby. Get down and dirty with it

 

[Xclusive Reef]

To add to what reefrookie said, if you are running a wet dry system I would for sure upgrade it with a proper sump with refugium. Have the tech tell you what you need to get or we can tell you , but it and ask him to install it. Especially if you have corals or are planning for hold spa corals. That's just my opinion.

 

[Wonf]

I think the previous posts/members covered most of it, but I would just like to add one thing.

You might want to look at moving the one power strip from the ground/on top of pump. In case something happens and water gets on it, it could be a potential disaster. Probably want it mounted like the other ones or at least raised above the water. Don't see any electrical chords going up (if there were, you definitely want a drip loop on the chords), so the other one's look OK.

 

[WSC]

You could learn to do it yourself, but do you want to invest the time, energy and resources in tedious tank maintenance? I think you are getting good value to have such a large and beautiful system maintained for a few hundred dollars a year. There is also peace of mind hiring a professional and having them available if something goes wrong.

 

[charlesk]

Go to YouTube and do your research. I learned everything there. BRS is the site to use for knowledge and supplies. Do your homework, it's rewarding caring for your ecosystem.

 

[Miami Reef]

Ok. I learned something interesting. The water man gets the water from the ocean. I heard something about a New York ocean.

I shadowed the maintenance man. He's very nice and showed me everything. The RODI is topping off. I believe just buying the water premade will be much more cheaper, and more time saving than making it myself.

All they did was clean the glass on the inside and change the water. He did inspect the system to see how it's doing and all, but that's really it. I think I can definitely do it myself in the future. The RODI needs new filters, and the UV bulb needs changing.

The reason the protein skimmer isn't connected is because we need a pipe to connect it. He said it's very important to use the skimmer. I asked, and he said he'll bring a pipe to connect it.

 

[Forsaken77]

Ok. I learned something interesting. The water man gets the water from the ocean. I heard something about a New York ocean.

I shadowed the maintenance man. He's very nice and showed me everything. The RODI is topping off. I believe just buying the water premade will be much more cheaper, and more time saving than making it myself.

All they did was clean the glass on the inside and change the water. He did inspect the system to see how it's doing and all, but that's really it. I think I can definitely do it myself in the future. The RODI needs new filters, and the UV bulb needs changing.

The reason the protein skimmer isn't connected is because we need a pipe to connect it. He said it's very important to use the skimmer. I asked, and he said he'll bring a pipe to connect it.

I was going to add that you should write down everything he says and WHY he's doing certain things. You're system may have been ok and didn't need certain things done at that time.

You'll need a test kit. There's a Red Sea Master Test Kit that tests most major things. You're going to need a bunch of things that could get pretty expensive, at least a few hundred off the bat.

For you, I would suggest buying a digital refractometer from Milwaukee. Here's the LINK. That's the version with the hard case, which you should have. It tests the amount of salt your adding to make sure you have the correct amount.

I'll add more, but have 1% battery left

 

[DeL]

new York ocean water ? I live in Jersey and I definitely don't want NY ocean water . what exactly is this ?

 

[scurvy dawg]

Your tank looks great by the way. If they are keeping it that nice, for only $100 every 3-4 months, I think you're getting your money's worth.

I second this. If my tank was that large and looked that good, I would consider $100 every three to four months a pretty good deal. If I were you, I would stay with your current setup and sit back and enjoy a sweet looking tank!