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Chad wrote: Aint that the truth! :mad: I hate mine too.

I do 10% every week (~3 gallons). Takes me a few minutes to take water out, and replace it. I love my water changing system.

-Richer

I am adding an extra T and ball valvue in my closed loop for water changes. then it can go right from my tank out the window. i will keep the habit of 20% a month that i do now with my 55 on my 140 (175 total gal).

When you say 'system' do you mean its automated?
If so let see pics.

If I had to only change 3 gal I would do it ever week also :mrgreen: 20 gal is a little more involved. I am looking into a set up now that will allow me to have 50 gal of premade water on hand at any given time.

Steve

I have a rather large bioload in the 230g, so I try to waterchange 40-50g every two weeks. The water is mixed and heated in a large rubbermaid. Then the water is siphoned out of the tank with a python hose into the shower. New water is then pumped back from the rubbermaid. Pretty painless. :mrgreen:

It is true that 3 gallons is harmless, but I dare say, if I had to do more, it wouldn't take much longer than a few minutes :razz: . All I do is disconnect my topoff pump from the autotopoff system, throw a powerhead with a piece of hose attached to it into the sump, and plug it in. After ~3gallons has been pumped out, I throw the same powerhead into the premixed water, and plug it into my autotopoff. In a couple of minutes, whatever I pumped out of the tank has been replaced, and all I need to do is disconnect that pump and reconnect my topoff pump. Quick and painless... unless you forget to plug in that topoff pump... which I did once. Mags sure are noisy when they're sucking in air :eek:

-Richer

ya thats pretty much what I do, mix 20 gal in a container next to the tank, then useing a spare pump I pump 20 gal out of the sump into an identical container then switch the pump to the new water and refill the sump. what I want to do is make a 50 gal rundown set up so I just pump the bad water outside to my hearts content, then rundown new water to the system. no buckets inside this way :mrgreen:

Steve

Deb, I am curious, with the python hose, how do you know how much water you've taken out of the tank? Or I guess what I mean is, how do you know when to stop? After enough times you just know where the level should be if you want to replace the same amount from the rubbermaid?

thanks

Mark your sump before and after that way if you don't have identical containters it won't matter. IMO, it's handy to have two of the same size though.

If you can get away with it and have a big enough sump it's nice to change water without shutting off the return pump and have the system going while you do it.