How to do a reef tank water change

[tprowse0804]

Thanks for all the feedback. Am I rushing this first water change? The tank has been setup for 3 weeks. My main reason for doing a waterchange is the diatoms on the sand and daily glass cleaning to control green algae.
Should I wait on the water change? Am I disrupting the natural cycling? Am I rushing this water change?

[Parker]

I have a couple to rubbermaids plumbed together with a pump and hooked up to my RO/DI. Dump salt in and let it mix for awhile.



Hook the hose up to this fitting to pump water out of the tank:


Then I reverse the hose and hook it to the plumbing on the water change station to pump water back to the tank.

A bit on the slow side but it works our well and I don't have to carry water.

[H22_TURBO]

what kind of hose fitting is that parker? hard to tell from the pic.

[Parker]

Originally Posted by H22_TURBO

what kind of hose fitting is that parker? hard to tell from the pic.

I found it at Rona on the southside, it was in the plumbing section in the bins with all of the spigots. It's 100% poly / nylon you open and close it with a flat head screw driver. 1/2 NPT on one side threaded for a standard hose on the other.

[fishytime]

Your not using regular garden hose are ya Robb?

[Parker]

Yup, I did see it mentioned once that I should probably use one suitable for potable water like those for RV's, but haven't picked one up yet.

[Myka]

I vacuum the sand on every waterchange. Sucking out all the detritus from everywhere is very important imo otherwise the detritus will break down into phosphate and nitrate causing algae issues. When I was out of town from Jan-July I had a maintenance company do waterchanges and all he did was remove old water, add new water. Now my tank is covered in cyano, and I am having to do a lot of work to get it back in top shape. Imo, sucking the water out and adding new water isn't sufficient.

Here's my method:

1. As soon as I'm done the last water change I fill the water change tub back up with fresh RO/DI water, add salt, add supplements (calcium, potassium, and magnesium) to get them at the right numbers. I use a 20 gallon Rubbermaid tub and a Mag 3 to mix.

2. In 24 hours the water is ready in case of emergency.

3. Unplug return pump, powerheads, and ATO. Leave skimmer running, but take cup off (it will overflow when I refill sump).

4. Siphon the detritus out of the overflow, then use a pump to siphon the detritus out of the sump. This goes into a bucket.

5. Use gravel vacuum to clean all of the sand. Pinch hose every once in awhile to let sand settle out of the tube instead of getting sucked out into the bucket. It is inevitable to suck some sand out. It is usually a full 5 gallon bucket to clean the overflow, the sump, and the sand.

6. Let detritus settle in the bucket, pour off the water into the drain keeping sandy detritus. You can either scoop the detritus out into the garbage (you don't want the bits of sand in your drains) or do what I do which is; refill bucket halfway with tap water, let it settle, and pour it off again. Then refill bucket and pour it all onto the garden plants. You can skip this step.

7. Once the sand has all been cleaned, I setup a drain hose to a floor drain and drain out the rest of the volume. I change 10 gallons every week or 15 gallons every 2 weeks...whichever happens.

8. Hook drain hose to Mag 3 pump that's in the tub of new saltwater. Pump new saltwater into the sump. When the sump is almost full I turn the retun pump back on. The return pump is faster than the Mag 3 so when the sump is empty I unplug it, and let the Mag 3 catch up again. Once it's full the return stays on, and I plug the ATO and powerheads back in. I put the skimmer cup back on.

Voila. 10 minutes.

FWIW, I use vinyl hose.

[fishytime]

Originally Posted by Parker

Yup, I did see it mentioned once that I should probably use one suitable for potable water like those for RV's, but haven't picked one up yet.

ya......you know that funny taste you get when you take a drink from the garden hose?........probably not the best thing to transport water to your tank.....

[syncro]

Originally Posted by tprowse0804

Am I rushing this first water change? The tank has been setup for 3 weeks. Am I disrupting the natural cycling? Am I rushing this water change?

Water changes are fine.

Soft cycling is where you attempt to keep the life on your live rock alive with frequent water changes:
http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/inde...owtopic=180442

You might be able to speed up your cycle by starting water changes after the ammonia spike (which you are probably past now):
http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/inde...owtopic=202427
http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/inde...c=206500&st=40

Diatoms and algae are likely due to excess nutrients in your system. Three ways to remove excess nutrients: biological filter, skimmer, water changes. Hope that helps.

[tprowse0804]

Originally Posted by syncro

Water changes are fine.

Soft cycling is where you attempt to keep the life on your live rock alive with frequent water changes:
http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/inde...owtopic=180442

You might be able to speed up your cycle by starting water changes after the ammonia spike (which you are probably past now):
http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/inde...owtopic=202427
http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/inde...c=206500&st=40

Diatoms and algae are likely due to excess nutrients in your system. Three ways to remove excess nutrients: biological filter, skimmer, water changes. Hope that helps.

Very much. Thank you.