What do you use to measure out water?

[jordan10]

I fill would my 5 gallon water jugs with rodi then poor them into the Burt's can.

 

[vetteguy53081]

40 gallon brute and i use 1/2 of it for 20 gallon water change

 

[homer1475]

Old 5 gallon bucket of IORC I marked with a gallon pitcher and a sharpie.

I have a 42G brute, I get 4 10G WC's out of it, with a small bit left over thats below the bulkhead. Works for me.

 

[Jeff Jarry reef]

It doesn't matter as long as your salinity is correct at the end of the day. The End

 

[Paul B]

I use five gallon water cooler containers. I also use them when I collect water because they don't spill in the car.

 

[mike550]

Okay. I‘ve read this string with a bit of amusement and fear. I agree with @Dennis Cartier you either figure out volume of water by weight or volume. Weighing a full brute can prob has its own errors and challenges but you could weigh a gallon or five. Then use the device @NowGlazeIT made and you’ve got a fairly decently calibrated Brute can.

But seriously, when do you need accuracy better than 5% in this hobby? I get the dosing thing and the desire to be precise, but this goes back to how will I ever know the exact volume of the water in my tank? This can all be figured out but seems like a lot of work for potentially zero additional benefit. I just don’t see public aquariums obsessing over this.

 

[Larry L]

Wow, a lot of activity - I guess that's what you get when you post and go to bed.

Thank for all the replies, a few random responses:

I've started with 4 cup measuring cups to verify a larger container like a pitcher or bucket. Mark that with graduations. Then do the same with next size container.

That's how I've done it, I just wonder how much I might end up off by overall if I'm measuring out 16 cups to make a mark on a gallon jug, and e.g. 5 gallons to to make a mark on a bucket. I'm guessing it's pretty close, but was just wondering if folks had other ideas.

Larger volumes - in lab we will zero 5g buckets on a scale and weigh

Doing it by weight is an interesting idea, I had not thought of that.

So you could calculate 25 gallon by height of display (l x d x w)/231 = gallons.

I thought of doing something similar with e.g. an empty 10 gallon tank - measure l x w, calculate how deep to fill it to make e.g. 5 gallons, dump into a bucket and make a line.

Practically speaking though. Make up a full trashcan of SW.

I'm talking about measuring out some volume of water in general, and don't necessarily know how many gallons my trash cans hold in the first place.

You update your brute trash can or buy a expensive tank built with volume display.
I chose the DiY approach.

But how do you know where to make the volume marks on your DIY sight glass?

I just change some water. The corals or fish don't know if you done a 10% or 13% water change.

Agree, but I'm not trying to figure out how many gallons is some percent of my display, I just was asking about accurate ways to measure out a certain number of gallons.

5 gallon wc in a 5 gallon bucket

I have about a dozen different "5 gallon" buckets that I got from different places, and they don't all hold the same amount if I fill them to the rim.

The OP is looking for a way to measure his total tank volume.

Nope.

It doesn't matter as long as your salinity is correct at the end of the day.

Right, for salt mixing it's always easier to start out with less than you think and adjust as needed. But that wasn't the question.

 

[Quietman]

Also...there's is such a thing as diminishing returns. Hyper accurate volume measurements on water changes just isn't required and won't show any return on your effort. You drain about 10% - you have a 120 gallon tank, drain down about 3" (standard tank size) or fill 2 1/2 5 gallon buckets. Fill back up to the weir.

If you're making up saltwater - add in 1 cup for every 2 gallons and then check salinity. There is no way I'd use saltwater I mix without checking.

I've just never had to work with accurate gallons in practice.

 

[Archibald J McLauchlin]

I use paint mixing buckets for water changes.

 

[Jeff Jarry reef]

Wow, a lot of activity - I guess that's what you get when you post and go to bed.

Thank for all the replies, a few random responses:



That's how I've done it, I just wonder how much I might end up off by overall if I'm measuring out 16 cups to make a mark on a gallon jug, and e.g. 5 gallons to to make a mark on a bucket. I'm guessing it's pretty close, but was just wondering if folks had other ideas.



Doing it by weight is an interesting idea, I had not thought of that.



I thought of doing something similar with e.g. an empty 10 gallon tank - measure l x w, calculate how deep to fill it to make e.g. 5 gallons, dump into a bucket and make a line.



I'm talking about measuring out some volume of water in general, and don't necessarily know how many gallons my trash cans hold in the first place.



But how do you know where to make the volume marks on your DIY sight glass?



Agree, but I'm not trying to figure out how many gallons is some percent of my display, I just was asking about accurate ways to measure out a certain number of gallons.



I have about a dozen different "5 gallon" buckets that I got from different places, and they don't all hold the same amount if I fill them to the rim.



Nope.



Right, for salt mixing it's always easier to start out with less than you think and adjust as needed. But that wasn't the question.

Just a little humor

 

[lapin]

Funny thread.
I have 1 brute that I marked levels every 5 gallons. Cant remeber why I did it. But I do know how I did it.
I started with a beer making bucket with pre-marked measurements (its a 6 gallon bucket) Filled to 5 and put in the brute marked . Repeat until done.

 

[jurgenph]

Lead? Seriously you have lead in your water?

i assumed that you were joking about the weight difference of a gallon of water with a few TDS more.

so i responded in a similar fashion.

if the humor was lost... i apologize.


J.

 

[NowGlazeIT]

But how do you know where to make the volume marks on your DIY sight glass?

The clear tubing is plastic. I used a 5 gallon bucket. I didn’t weigh it or use a painters bucket(both great ideas). Instead I drained water from the main display into a 5 gallon bucket. I made a mark on the side of the fish tank, then I dumped the bucket into the brute can and made a mark there. I repeated this all the way to 20 gallons. It’s not exact but it’s within 1/4 gallon I’m sure. When I mix my salt I add salt per instructions at 5gallons and my salinity checks out every time

 

[ectoaesthetics]

You update your brute trash can or buy a expensive tank built with volume display.
I chose the DiY approach.

Wow what a simple effective design!!! Love this and will most likely modify my own in the future!!

 

[NowGlazeIT]

Wow what a simple effective design!!! Love this and will most likely modify my own in the future!!

Hey thanks for the feedback. I honestly thought of it on the spot when I was building my water station. Half way into building the station I said to myself “wait a second, how the heck is this gonna fly if I can’t see the water level”?

 

[W1ngz]

A water change doesn't need to be 25.000 gallons, or any insanely specific volume of water. If you want 25-ish gallons, fill 5 5-gallon buckets and then dump them in a brute to mix. It doesn't matter if you end up with 24, or 26 gallons, as long as you're putting back what you took out. You're going to refill the system up to your fill line on the return or ATO level and no higher anyway.

As far as weight changing with TDS, it's ridiculous. If you want to know how ridiculous, then measure your tap water with your refractometer. That mysterious "1.026 salinity" number isn't salinity at all, it actually the specific gravity, which is the relative weight of what you're measuring compared to pure water. The difference between pure and sea water by weight is only 2.6% (the .026), so your TDS is going to be down in the 4th decimal place or lower which is entirely insignificant.

 

[pdxmonkeyboy]

Not insignificant!! What if he wants to dose chemiclean and he doesn't know the EXACATE water volume? Down to at least 2 decimal places?

And use a lab grade scale to measeasure chemicals....

This is why when I finally get my 600 set up I'm going to fill it one cup at a time.. so I know exactly how much water is in there.

Total volume will be around 750 gallons, so that is only.. let me get the calculator
.. 12,000 cups.

Perhaps I should weigh the tank empty then weigh it when it's full of water??