What does everyone do with their fish with large water change

Kentech5 · Mar 30, 2017

Reefiness said:
Same way I get every siphon started pinky.

By taking over the world? Seems like a lot of work for a siphon.

Reefiness · Mar 30, 2017

Kentech5 said:
By taking over the world? Seems like a lot of work for a siphon.

Well it beats sucking.

Kentech5 · Mar 30, 2017

Very true. I think Im going to steal your idea but I really am wondering how you get the siphon going? Will it self start if you shake it?

Reefiness · Mar 30, 2017

But if i dont feel like sucking, and im feeling extra lazy, i close the down (out) line, open the side (in) line, turn on the pump until the line is flushed, then turn off the pump, and flip the valves... And like magic the siphon starts

Kentech5 · Mar 30, 2017

Reefiness said:
But if i dont feel like sucking, and im feeling extra lazy, i close the down (out) line, open the side (in) line, turn on the pump until the line is flushed, then turn off the pump, and flip the valves... And like magic the siphon starts

Cool. I think Ill try something like that. I should have most of the spare parts lying around.

Reefiness · Mar 30, 2017

Yeah its really simple. I think i had the straight pvc, just had to buy all the connections and the 3/4" vinyl for the out line. The in line uses 1/2 or 5/8.. What ever the mag7 wanted. I think it was like $30 most of which came from the vinyl price.

jlear3 · Mar 30, 2017

I always felt weird doing a WC being that the water is about 5° cooler on average and is new. You'd think the fish would hate it but mine swim right up stream while I pump it in lol

Kershaw · Mar 30, 2017

jlear3 said:
I always felt weird doing a WC being that the water is about 5° cooler on average and is new. You'd think the fish would hate it but mine swim right up stream while I pump it in lol

I have dropped a tank from 77 to 63 doing a water change. No coral or fish loss, I DO NOT recommend it. But a few degrees is ok there are storms in oceans and fish swim deep where the temp drops allot. Coral are ussaly more affected by temp in my experiance

pettoe90 · Mar 30, 2017

Cole Schultz said:
25-30% Since that's about what my brute trash can will hold from my RODI

I miss having a basement

Cole Schultz · Mar 30, 2017

pettoe90 said:
I miss having a basement

Tell me about it! We just moved back home from Dallas after a number of years and there were definitely not many basements down there!

kalare · Mar 30, 2017

Great advice here!

Don't mean to be rude, however the question you asked (there are NO bad questions!) leads me to believe you're quite new at this. I'd really really recommend picking up a marine aquarium book to read about the basics. While some of the tech and methodologies might be outdated, depending on the book, it's really great to have a better understanding of all the biological systems going on in the aquarium. The internet can be a dangerous place if you rely on it as your sole source of info.

Wishing you the best of luck in your future "fishy" adventures!

4FordFamily · Mar 30, 2017

I leave them in, but I match PH, salinity, and temp of new water to the tank water so as not to shock anyone.

jeff williams · Mar 30, 2017

4FordFamily said:
I leave them in, but I match PH, salinity, and temp of new water to the tank water so as not to shock anyone.

Temp and salinity I understand but what is your method for ph

Jizu Puentes · Mar 31, 2017

Cole Schultz said:
Thanks everyone. It's a pretty standard 48" wide 75G tank and I plan on doing 25-30% water changes. At that amount of water my upper pieces of rock are out of water. Like I said, I'm new so I was looking for some advice. About 8 years ago, I had an unsuccessful run at getting this tank started. My youth and inexperience are now replaced by research, planning, and paperwork. Just making sure all my T's are crossed.

The standard practice is a 10% water change weekly or biweekly. Small frequent water changes are better than large ones because the parameters are less likely to be affected if the new water is off a bit. Small frequent water changes also replenish trace elements where as doing large infrequent ones would lead to drops then quick raises.

Pumping the water out should be fine just watch any curious fish. You won't be siphoning gravel by the way like you would in a freshwater tank. A lot of people just stir parts of the sandbed periodically or leave it alone. Having a good clean up crew of hermits and sanddwelling snails will keep your sand pretty clean. I suggest finding one of the threads on starting a reef tank just to cover the basics. Welcome!

imustbenuts · Mar 31, 2017

I don't stress over it at all. I don't even worry about temp. I do 10% a week. The fish are totally fine even when doing large water changes.

Cole Schultz · Mar 31, 2017

Jizu Puentes said:
The standard practice is a 10% water change weekly or biweekly. Small frequent water changes are better than large ones because the parameters are less likely to be affected if the new water is off a bit. Small frequent water changes also replenish trace elements where as doing large infrequent ones would lead to drops then quick raises.

Pumping the water out should be fine just watch any curious fish. You won't be siphoning gravel by the way like you would in a freshwater tank. A lot of people just stir parts of the sandbed periodically or leave it alone. Having a good clean up crew of hermits and sanddwelling snails will keep your sand pretty clean. I suggest finding one of the threads on starting a reef tank just to cover the basics. Welcome!

Very good points thanks!