Water change basic question

[Gort]

After my Nano-reef disaster a few years ago, I'm on the fence as to whether to give saltwater another shot. I have a new 100-gallon tank sitting ready, but so many questions are running thru my head.

For the Nano, I used to just buy a few buckets of RO/DI water from the aquarium shop, but that won't work in this case. What sort of vessel are you folks using to collect, mix, heat the water for a change?

 

[Delouise]

I have a plastic 55 gal drum for my RO/DI storage ( I make my RO/DI at home) and use a 10 gal Rubbermaid garbage can for mixing and water changes. With the 10 gal for water changes, I don't worry about heating first as it's only a 10% weekly change. Both vessels were bought at the local home depot big box store, although I am sure you can buy online as well.

 

[Gtinnel]

I have two 32 gallon brute trash cans that I have made into a crude diy mixing station, so one for fresh and one for saltwater. I have a peristaltic pump to do a AWC that changes out around 2 gallons a day on my 125 gallon tank. I don't bother heating my water because I'm changing out such a small amount at a time that the tank heater takes care of it.

Before my AWC I still used the 2 brute trash cans, one for old water and the other with heated new salt water, and I just rolled them to the tank to do a water change. The same way you'd use buckets just scaled up.

 

[Peace River]

I recently upgraded my water mixing station to (2) 65g polyethylene tanks after many years of using Brute containers and buckets.

 

[Troyntu]

I have my tank in my bedroom. I have my rodi system under my sink cabinet tapped into the water supply by a valve. I then have a plastic trash can I bring in from garage and fill it up with the rodi system. Plug the heater and the flow head in and add salt. Then I have this long hose with a squeeze thing at the end that I can run to my tank to the bathroom where I a 5gallon bucket that I keep track of how many gallons I take out. After that I have a pump with a hose that I put in the garbage can that I pump back into the tank.

 

[Speaker]

Mixing station. Two 44gal brutes. Cheap heater and powerhead for mixing.

 

[HockeyRooster]

The food safe brute cans are really popular. I found a food grade barrel type container at a local food supply/plastic business. It came sanitized. I cut a hole in it so I could get a pump on it. Works really well. I have it on a dolly and wheel it from the fish room to the DT.

 

[PatW]

I use Brute trash cans both for storing RODI water and for mixing salt water (I use different cans for each). If you have a hard floor, you can put the Brute can on casters and just roll it over to the tank, siphon out the desired amount of water, roll over your salt water Brute, and pump in the new salt water.

You could get an inexpensive aquarium to serve the same purpose. I use an aquarium as my RODI Auto Top Off reservoir.

If you do all this, it is a really good idea to get your own RODI system rather than buying the stuff and hauling it home.

 

[mike550]

@Gort I’ve been at this a year for a 120G. I use a 5 stage RODI and a single 32G Brute. I make 15-20G of RODI each week and then mix into saltwater directly in the same Brute. I leave a heater and small submersible pump at the bottom of the Brute and let it mix. When I’m ready to use it I pump it out into 5G containers and haul them upstairs to my tank. Simple.