Water Change equipment
Printed From: Utah Reefs
Category: Specialized Discussion
Forum Name: Equipment
Forum Description: This is the place to ask question about reef equipment.
URL: http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=77327
Printed Date: April 28 2025 at 3:46pm
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Topic: Water Change equipment
Posted By: dbboy17
Subject: Water Change equipment
Date Posted: August 29 2015 at 4:10pm
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I have currently been using tubs I bought from Walmart to do my water changes and trying to think if there is a better and faster way to do water changes so it isn't much of a pain to do them and a quicker process. I was thinking of buying 30 or 50 gallon water barrels to do the water changes and also wondering what pump or pumps to get to mix the tanks and also to pump the water back into the tank. I'm curious to know what equipment most of you use and how long it usually takes for you to make the exchange. Where is the best place to buy water barrels?
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Replies:
Posted By: Marcoss
Date Posted: August 29 2015 at 4:20pm
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I'm unable to have my RODI anywhere near my tank so I use two 44 gallon Brute cans on casters. I have a lid on one with a hole in the lid that I fill up the day before with 44 gallons of water. I then wheel it next to the tank and add salt. I have a Sicce 4.0 in it to mix the water and to pump the water into the tank. I use the empty 44 Brute to hold the water I siphon out of the tank. Once I've siphoned the water out I use the same hose and the Sicce pump to fill the display tank back up with new saltwater. Once that's done I use the Sicce pump to drain the dirty water down a sink. I then rinse everything and put it away. There are easier ways and more convenient but I am unable to have water closer to the tank, that's running at least. This whole process only takes me about 30 minutes and I can do it all on my own without needing assistance. ------------- RedSea Max S400 - 90G Rimless Frag Tanks x2 - 185 Lookdown Bin |
Posted By: dbboy17
Date Posted: August 29 2015 at 4:28pm
| My tank set up is the same that I don't have a sink or water source near by. Where did you get your Brute cans? How often are you doing the water changes? |
Posted By: Marcoss
Date Posted: August 29 2015 at 4:32pm
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Right now I'm doing changes once a week since the tank is new. I do water changes often to control nitrates and also I dose less at the moment. I got my cans at Home Depot. The cans are not super expensive but the casters are. I think each set up was like $70 bucks. ------------- RedSea Max S400 - 90G Rimless Frag Tanks x2 - 185 Lookdown Bin |
Posted By: Adam Blundell
Date Posted: August 29 2015 at 4:52pm
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I use four 55 gal plastic barrels. I use a pump (mag 9) in each of them to mix, and also to pump water in and out of the tank. Adam ------------- Come to a meeting, they�re fun! |
Posted By: dbboy17
Date Posted: August 29 2015 at 7:42pm
| Adam, how often are you doing the water change? Do you keep the barrels near your tank or have to pump them some distance? How long does it take you to do a water change? |
Posted By: Adam Blundell
Date Posted: August 29 2015 at 10:26pm
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I set them up right beside the tank. Fill them the night before to mix all night. It takes me several hours the next day to pump the water in and out. Around quarterly water changes. Adam ------------- Come to a meeting, they�re fun! |
Posted By: tileman
Date Posted: August 29 2015 at 10:55pm
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I also have a 30 g barrel located in a room right behind my tank. I also have a spectrapure RODI Max unit for all of my makeup water and top off water. In my barrel is a mag 9 on a looped circuit for mixing saltwater and then I turn 2 ball valves and it pumps the new saltwater directly into my sump. I also have a ball valve on my return water that is hooked directly to a wall drain. So I can do a waterchange in a matter of 10 minutes. I do a 30g w/c every saturday. ------------- 335G Reef TOTM. http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2015/2/aquarium ReefKeepers TOTM Feb. 2012 http://reefkeeping.com/joomla/index....k-of-the-month & |
Posted By: dbboy17
Date Posted: September 08 2015 at 3:19pm
| For people that have picked up water barrels to do water changes. What modifications have you made to the barrels to use them? Most of the water barrels that I see that you can pick up cheap only have a small cap opening at the top. Certainly not big enough to fit a pump down. Do most of you cut a hole at the top and leave an opening? Just trying to get ideas before I start making any cuts to some barrels I picked up. |
Posted By: Adam Blundell
Date Posted: September 08 2015 at 6:33pm
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Yep, used a sawsall and just cut a huge hole in the top. Some plumb them with pipes, or put spickets on them and all that as well. But just cut a big opening. Adam ------------- Come to a meeting, they�re fun! |
Posted By: dmw913
Date Posted: September 10 2015 at 9:13pm
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I gambled on using a Neptune DOS unit for the AWC feature and I love that thing right now more than my husband! I have two small lines for the input and output. I'm lucky the output dirty water can drain to my potty given fortuitous tank placement and the new water sits in a covered tub in the bath as well. I mix water once per week, set it and forget it. The DOS unit changes a certain amount of water every day at the same time. ***Disclaimer*** I have a nano tank so the volume isn't huge but the process is sweet and may be worth consideration. There are also some interesting videos for saltwater mixing stations on YouTube for your consideration. Best of luck! Denise
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Posted By: Marcoss
Date Posted: September 10 2015 at 9:30pm
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Denise Do you still have to go in and suck water out manually when you clean rocks and detritus? How do you export that? I like your idea. Marcos ------------- RedSea Max S400 - 90G Rimless Frag Tanks x2 - 185 Lookdown Bin |
Posted By: dbboy17
Date Posted: September 11 2015 at 8:08am
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I would like to see pictures of that set up. I don't have the luxury of a water source or a drain pipe near my tank to really make water changes that easy. I also have another question regarding cleaning up live rock. Looking for options, is it better to just blow water over the live rock to clean them or can you take them out and scrub them off with a brush. Would scrubbing them cause any problems?
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Posted By: Lyscer
Date Posted: September 11 2015 at 8:40am
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You may be past this point but here is a picture of the jug I use for all of my water change needs. I only had a small space so I used a 15gal water barrel. I cut a hole in the top, dropped my pump in and installed a float valve that hooks up to my ro/di unit. and installed a buklhead in the bottom. I then sealed the hole by siliconing in a piece of thick plexiglass. I slide my bucket under the ball valve and fill it up and then carry it to where I am doing my water change. I just use a 10 gallon tank for my water changes so I temporarily setup the 10 gallon tank where ever I am doing the water change. This has been nice for me because it takes up minimal space and I always have 15 gallons of ro on hand. I came up with this after letting too many buckets overflow by forgetting that I was filling them with RO :).
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Posted By: dmw913
Date Posted: September 11 2015 at 12:12pm
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Woot! I'm so happy to share my setup. I'll post pics this evening when I get home. The short answer for detritus: I have a weird long chopstick thing from a wok someone gave me that I use to stir the sand every other day (have done so since setup - I recognize not all do this step but it works for me) and I use a turkey baster at that same time to blow off the rocks. I have my MP10 on higher at this point and let all that gunk go into the overflow, into the floss (or for larger tank -filter sock) and the floss goes into the garbage (or change sock) about 1/2 hour later. Done and done! Part 2 this evening! Denise |
Posted By: dmw913
Date Posted: September 12 2015 at 1:19pm
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As promised, albeit late, my AWC setup: First pic: DOS unit sitting behind my Nuvo Fusion 20 tank. I'm lucky to have a shelf right behind tank but the DOS comes with mounting screws to place on wall if you need them. Lines going into tank and lines going out.  Small, clear water line is input line. Both input and output lines go down wall and around corner to potty area that is directly behind tank (separated by wall). However, given the discussion about not being close to drain, etc. I would just put two of the containers behind wall - one for new water and one for waste. I simply cut hole in top of container to run line through it. It's a pet food container so it's food safe. About $20 on Amazon. I started out with a regular 6.5 gallon water container but the opening was too small to get down into to clean so I opted for something with a much larger lid. Now I can rinse and wipe out any scum or precipitate when mixing new water. Waste water line is tucked under potty seat and drains directly into bowl.  Finally, a quick shot to show the input/output lines into the tank. Waste water line is placed in baffle area prior to return pump. New water is pumped directly into return area. While physical proximity is close, the lines are at the ends of their respective circulation routes so I'm not removing newly changed water. The other black line is my ATO line (Tunze osmolator nano) which is a 2.5 g. in the tank stand. Note the 4th thing that could look like a tube is actually just the power cord from the return pump.  Please feel free to ask any more questions you may have! Best, Denise
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Posted By: dbboy17
Date Posted: September 16 2015 at 6:43am
| Thanks for the pictures. That is an interesting set up you have. My tank isn't anywhere near a drain or an empty room. I think my kids would get to that water by the potty before it got to the tank. |
Posted By: Fatman
Date Posted: September 17 2015 at 10:31am
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I'm pretty interested in setting up a 1% daily water change system using peristaltic pumps run by my controller. Just need to find the pumps at the right price! There was a great article in the Advanced Aquarist about doing this. Fat |