Making water changes easier! What are some tips and tricks?

[Snoopy 67]

Water closet next to the tank holding 85 gallons of RO water.
30 gallon top off & 55 gallons for whatever I need.
I siphon directly to sink with a strainer & hose that shuts off @ 30gallons.
I have another 30gallon container I bring to the tank to mix salt & pump right back into the tank with the mixing pump. The RO is in the closet so it fills the 55 up after I drain my water change & fill the top off container.

 

[wranodj]

Ro/di holding tank (brute can) and mixing container (brute can on dolly). Drain into sink.

 

[austibella]

Well living in Florida my garage gets way to hot to store water.i envy all of you that can do it. I fill a 45 gallon plus also 35 gal can then mix my salt with a big pump then i pump the salt water from garage to a another 45 gal can and 35 gal can into the house wait for it to cool down then i clean my glass blow off all the rocks and coral with a wave pump then i drain out at least 5 gallon out of the sump from the bottom to clean it out a bit.. and drain 75 gallons (,I have it marked on tank) out of the tank with big hoses (the kind I use for my pumps in my waterfall) you can get them at home depot or Lowe's . I run them into the bathroom to go down the drain in the tub. Then I fill the tank back up and the sump with clean water. I am thinking of having a plumber to go from the bathroom tub threw the wall and set up my RO/DI in my guests room and put a water station in there .then i will have fresh ro/di water all the time and salt water all the time . And what the heck Noone is there anyway unless grandkids sleep over. And I don't have a husband anymore to ***** at me!!!!! L.O.L .so i do at least 80 gallons every month. lots of work
I also take apart and clean my carbon reactor phosphate reactor and restock and add IF needed I clean and restock my biochurn .

 

[austibella]

Mixing station is in the laundry room and that's not far from the tank's location. I use a 25' Python water changer to drain about 20g from the tank into the slop sink. When finished draining I attach the Python hose to a pump in a 20g Brute that has the mixed water in it and pump that back into the tank. Start to finish about 30 min.
The work shop tank is located out in back of the house so running the python back there is too far. For this tank I have to use buckets but it's not that bad because it's only a 20g. This one takes about 30 min as well, so to do biweekly WC's in both takes an hour.

Lucky you!! mine takes all day

 

[austibella]

My question is how you heat your water the easiest?

I use a big pump and it heats the water sometimes to hot .then i have to cool it off. Plus living in Florida I have never had to use a heater.

 

[Ferrell]

I have a 6 gallon bucket on wheels that I roll Lynn new salt water. I have a 2 1/2 gallon container that I use for waste water. I have a pump in the sump that is the same as the pump in the 6 gallon turn them both on, pumps water in and out at the same time. I could use another 6 gallon bucket but for me the 2 1/2 gallon container is easier to carry. Plus it’s only two trips

 

[Kris 2020]

I rated mine a 3. After a dozen or so years I feel that I’ve got it down pretty good.
I have my container for the wc water, its stored under my sump. Basement sump. I have 2 identical pumps and 2 vinyl hoses. My laundry sink has marker lines measuring 5, 10, 13.5, 15, and 18 gallons. I put a stopper in the sink, and use one pump/hose combo to draw water out of the sumps second chamber into the laundry sink while the other pump moves water from the wc container to the return pump chamber of the sump. The pumps don’t pump a perfectly even amount of water, so I do unplug my ATO but everything else, return pump included, stays running. I watch the lines on the laundry sink to know when to turn off that pump because that’s the slightly faster one (less head). I change out my floss and socks either while the water is changing itself or while I am mixing salt.

 

[Doctorgori]

I turn off the return pump, let the sump fill up and clean/empty that. I use a pump designed specifically for emptying containers, it has the intake on the bottom.
I simply refill back up to the water mark

 

[Sandyw]

I had seahorses for over 5 years and the key to successfully keeping seahorses is to limit pathogenic bacteria. A big part of limiting dangerous bacteria is maintaining pristine water conditions, not in terms of parameters but in terms of bacterial count. Big water changes and heavy skimming are key ways to do that.

Since I was not getting any younger I designed a 'no carry, no lift' water change system that I love. I moved my sump tank to the basement directly below my display tank in my livingroom. As luck would have it, there happen to be a cold water line there and a drain! I installed my rodi unit on the wall and I make ro water in a very large brute can. Then I add and mix salt with a mag drive 9.5 pump. That pump also has about 7' of 1" flex tube attached to the output. So all I do is syphon out about 5-7 gallons of water from the sump into a 5 gallon bucket with a hole drilled at the bottom. The hole in the bucket directs the water down the drain. Then I use the magdrive to fill the sump back up with the mixed salt water. I can do the whole process in about 5 minutes and it is the best upgrade I ever made in my 20+ years of reefing!

PS. I thought about doing this for at least 10 years before I pulled the trigger. I did not want to drill holes in our livingroom floor. Now that it's done I have never regretted it!

So glad you posted this. I have been trying to convince my husband that this can be done and it would make things so much easier for me. He doesn't want to drill holes through the floor...we are preparing to do a complete remodel on the house this would be the perfect time.

 

[Prices? Location?]

I am running a small 40 gallon but am ordering a big 308 gallon, im open to best suggestions for success on easy water changes.

 

[Paleozoic_reefer]

Step 1: Teach the son how to mix SW.
Step 2: Teach the wife how to use refractometer.
Step 3: Teach the daughter how to test for Ca, Mg, Alk.
Step 4:Teach the dogs how to transport new SW.
Step 5: Coordinate both kids to drain and fill the tank properly with no spills.
Step 6: Wake up from dreaming to the sound of your wife and kids yelling the RODI tank is overflowing again.
Repeat every two months....

 

[jaxteller007]

I do the bucket brigade. It sucks lugging it from the garage to the tank but thats it. When we buy a house next year I'm hoping to get a better set up going.

 

[2BIGTANKS]

I have a 180 gallon system. I only use buckets when vacuuming the sand bed. Otherwise I use a transfer pump and hose. In my garage is the mixing station where I prepare up to 60 gallons of new saltwater. I use the transfer pump and hose to extract the water (and also vacuum the sump) into a utility sink. Next, swap the hose connections and pump the new water from the garage into the tank. Very fast process, clean and no buckets. 30 gallons every week, 60 gallons once a month, sump vacuum every other month.

I do the same, transfer pump is so much more powerful than the pumps meant for an aquarium and they are very inexpensive.

 

[Susan Edwards]

Current: Syphon into a 32 gal brute, Run aquarium tubing from 32 gal brute in kitchen (rodi area) to tank to fill. Switch ends of hose and move pump from kitchen to the old water brute and stick the other end in sink (a pain to take the hose and have to turn it around).

this is not easy to me and one reason I don't do as many water changes as I should. Revamping

Method #1:
Hubby to finish manifold and use a short hose to brute in living room. Have a dedicated pump ready to pump out to the sink. I do this so I know I have enough salt water to refill what I take out. I also could just do less water out and know I do have enough water to add back in.

Method #2:
If I need to vacuum sand, use same short hose to brute. BUT when it comes time to refill, make both ends of hose adaptable with quick connects so I just run the vinyl tubing from kitchen to living room once. I fill, switch ends, and empty

 

[Susan Edwards]

Step 6: Wake up from dreaming to the sound of your wife and kids yelling the RODI tank is overflowing again.
Repeat every two months....

Hubby was tired of me flooding the kitchen. He took a water alarm, put it inside a pvc tube and made a hook so it hooks onto the brute. Then, he redid the battery into a plug so the battery will never run out. Works great and is sooooo loud! Ask me how I know lol's

 

[Cali-Saltwater-1st-Timer]

My half bath is about 5ft away from my tank, I hook up the rodi unit from under the sink, mix the water right there in a 20 gallon brute. Grab a second 20 gallon brute, remove 20 gallons from the tank and add the newly mixed 20 gallons. Not hard at all just a bit laborious.

 

[Tastee]

I now run AWCs from my RODI station so mine is easy. The RODI station itself is automated and fills itself as needed (200 litre reservoir). I need to manually add salt to the SW reservoir but after that mixing and WC is fully automated.

Before I set this up I used a small furniture dolly with two barrels on it - one with premixed SW and one empty (waste). It’s still there any time I want to do a manual WC and clean. The SW barrel has a small pump in it which I initially use to mix the SW and I then roll it over to the tank. The waste has a hole in the lid to pop the hose from the gravel cleaner in - or just tubing if I don’t want to clean the sand. I attach a hose to the pump and pop it in the sump. I then drain water into the empty barrel to fill it. After that I turn on the pump to refill what I just removed. I then just need to empty the waste barrel. Sometimes I would use the waste water to clean sponges etc before refilling. Saves all the lifting.

 

[mucky1957]

I keep my water containers in the front covered porch and bring in a barrel when I need it. Two buckets ( one for old water out and one for new water in and a 1" diameter piece of hose. 20% water change done in under 15mins. I also keep a bucket of ro by the tank out of sight to do top ups. Simplest way is often the best way. Nothing can 'break down' or go 'wrong' when its a manual operation. Cheapest way as well.

 

[ReefRondo]

Fully automated Neptune DOS water changes here. No way back after this change!

 

[tmynice]

Water changes were so brutal on my first tank it actually chased me out of the gabby for a time..... definitely have a plan for this when setting up a big system.

I use an old garden hose attaché to an old power head from my sump to laundry tub for out put. And a 55 gal rain barrel hooked up to my r.o. With auto shut off and power head to mix salt.

I just add the salt, wait for it to dissolve... flip a few switches.... 10 min later. 50 gal watechange done.