Mixing Saltwater and getting it back into your tank....

[asylumdown]

back in the day when I was only using tap water for my tank I would haul out a 20 gallon garbage bin and put it right in front of the tank. Then I'd use one of those Python aquarium vac things with an attachment that would hook up to the bathroom sink to fill it. I'd mix the salt with a huge pasta spoon while it was filling.

I'd only wait until the salt was completely visibly dissolved before using a bucket to hand-ball the water in.

Obviously this was a time consuming and messy process, and if you can use RO water, it's better (Calgary's tap water reads around 140TDS on my meter pretty much constantly, though I hear Vancouver's is much better). If you've got the space for something a little more permanent where you can set up a bin that can hold several water changes worth and transport the water using pumps, you'll be far more likely to still have your tank in a year I think.

On my current set-up I have a dedicated sump chamber for water changes. I can isolate 2/3 of my sump from the flow of the tank using valves, and then drain the 50 gallon chamber where all my reactors are using a permanently installed pump with an outlet at a drain built in to my cabinet. I have another pump in my R/O reservoir in the basement that refills the water change chamber with fresh water, and while it's filling I mix in the appropriate amount of salt. I've got a koralia in that chamber that helps mix it, but at most I wait until the salt is visibly dissolved and I don't see anymore of that distortion of light you get when fluids of different densities mix. Some people like to wait much longer before using their freshly mixed salt, but I've been using mine immediately after mixing now from day one and I've never seen any deleterious effects from it.

[Werbo]

It is great question as month after month of water changes can become boring and you want to streamline the process as best you can.

Any powerhead or pump will work and a hose (ie. new garden hose) dedicated to water changes. Obviously the bigger the faster.

I do 40G water changes using a 44G Brute can and old Hagen 802 powerhead to mix the water and pump old water to the bathtub and then new water from the Brute into the tank. Takes about 34-40 minutes.

Currently looking for a large CHEAP submersible pump (eg. Mag 12 or 18, Eheim 1262) to make the process faster.

[Coralgurl]

My water/mixing is done in the basement. I use 2 30 gl brute cans, (one for fresh water top up, one for salt). I keep both filled at all times, when salt is needed, mix up a batch, I have a power head and heater going. I then pump into 5 gl jugs and carry upstairs. When I find a pump that can push the mixed water up, I'll switch over.

Find the most effective, efficient way to get your mixed water to the tank from the beginning! Makes water changes much easier and will keep you motivated to keep them up!

As you are new, remember to top up with fresh water only as the salt does not evaporate.

[asylumdown]

Originally Posted by Coralgurl

My water/mixing is done in the basement. I use 2 30 gl brute cans, (one for fresh water top up, one for salt). I keep both filled at all times, when salt is needed, mix up a batch, I have a power head and heater going. I then pump into 5 gl jugs and carry upstairs. When I find a pump that can push the mixed water up, I'll switch over.

Find the most effective, efficient way to get your mixed water to the tank from the beginning! Makes water changes much easier and will keep you motivated to keep them up!

As you are new, remember to top up with fresh water only as the salt does not evaporate.

How far would the pump need to send the water? I'm using 2 Aqueon Quiet flow 8000s to pump my water from my basement, but the barrel of water is directly under the tank in the utility room. One is hooked up to the Auto-top off system, and one is for water changes. I switched because the eheim pump I was originally using for my auto-top off couldn't push against that much head pressure if my reservoir was less than half full. The Aqueon (which was hella expensive!) has enough power to keep pumping even when the reservoir is essentially empty. I'd say I have between 10-12 feet of head pressure when you take in to account to tubing doesn't go straight up.

[e46er]

I have a 55 gal drum with a 1200 gph power head to mix up salt I throw a heater in day before a WC. I have a T off my closed loop pump so I open a valve and it pumps water out of tank then and use a mag 9.5 to pump water from my mixing barrel to the tank.

40 gal change takes around 30 min but I don't need to stand and watch it

[Simmy]

Thank you for all the Replies and suggestions...I should note that I have a RSM250 so I don't have a sump underneath my tank. If I don't use RO water (live in GVRD) is it advisable to use a water conditioner still or should the water be fine if its sits for a day circulating in a bucket/container (with or without salt) before being added to the tank?

[asylumdown]

Originally Posted by Simmy

Thank you for all the Replies and suggestions...I should note that I have a RSM250 so I don't have a sump underneath my tank. If I don't use RO water (live in GVRD) is it advisable to use a water conditioner still or should the water be fine if its sits for a day circulating in a bucket/container (with or without salt) before being added to the tank?

I think that depends on what your area adds to the water. I'm pretty sure you can check. If it's just straight chlorine then it will all have off-gassed after 24 hours so long as the container you keep it in is open to the air and being agitated. If they add chloramines then you definitely need a water conditioner, if you can't find out for sure what they always do, then a water conditioner is a good idea just to be safe.

I would probably just use it either way. There's very little harm to using it. It converts chlorine gas (what they add to kill things) into chloride ions, which are in such abundance in your aquarium that I bet an analytical chemistry lab would have a hard time measuring the increase. When it's exposed to chloramine, it breaks off the chloride ion, and irreversibly binds to the ammonia in a non-toxic form that is still available to your nitrifying bacteria. Unless you've got copper in your tap water that Prime could reduce to an even more toxic ionic form (a huge problem that would require an RO unit anyway), I think adding a water conditioner can only reduce the risk associated with using tap water. Seachem even claims that it does something to reduce the levels/effect of nitrate in water, and since Canadian regulations allow up to 10ppm Nitrate reported as N in tap water, which is about 44 or 43ppm of actual Nitrate, to me that would make it worth using it. The amount of nitrate will vary over the course of the year, but the allowable limit for it is still many times higher than you want in your tank if you'd rather grow corals than algae.

[asylumdown]

Originally Posted by e46er

I have a 55 gal drum with a 1200 gph power head to mix up salt I throw a heater in day before a WC. I have a T off my closed loop pump so I open a valve and it pumps water out of tank then and use a mag 9.5 to pump water from my mixing barrel to the tank.

40 gal change takes around 30 min but I don't need to stand and watch it

You guys who heat the water the day before are way better at pre-planning your water changes than I am lol. I usually don't know I'm going to be doing one until about 8 second before I start.

[gregzz4]

You didn't mention how much water you're going to be mixing for your waterchanges (WCs)

I use a maxi-jet (MJ) 600 and 900, and a 100w heater in my 20g mixing tank. I prefer to have the new saltwater (NSW) the same temp as the DT before adding it
How much water I'm making dictates whether or not I run both powerheads or just one. One is on the bottom and the other half way up

I fill the NSW tank with RO water, turn on the pump and heater, and add the salt a few cups at a time and mix with a stick to disolve it
I think it was Myka who mentioned once about adding salt to cool water to avoid precipitation. I found this to be true and my new saltwater (NSW) doesn't get cloudy anymore as it did when I added the salt to warmed up water

I let it sit overnight before using it. The powerhead's agitation helps with pH as it's oxygenating the water
The next day, before using it, I test the specific gravity (SG) of the NSW, but don't bother testing the pH

I don't need to use a hose to add my NSW as I have my mixing tank higher than my sump. I installed a bulkhead in the bottom of the 20g and, when ready to add, I just open a valve and fill away
Makes water changes a breeze so I never dread them and they get done regularly

You don't need a heater. Up to you
A MJ can have a hose attached so after you use it for mixing, you could use it to pump the NSW
You can make it as simple or as complicated as you like. Just keep in mind as Coralgurl stated, make it as easy as possible so you don't put it off

[Spyd]

I have a dedicated water-change tank / sump tank on my system. The tank sits up over my main sump and is tee'd off my main pump. There is a single drain line that goes down to the skimmer section of my main sump.

For water changes, I simply turn off the valves on the return line and drain. I have one other plumbing line that I drilled near the bottom of the tank. It connects to a vinyl hose that I place into my floor drain in the basement. I simply open that valve and my water change tank drains entirely to the floor drain, minus about 1/8" of water that I use a Sham Wow to remove the rest. lol.

I then close the drain valve and place my RO/DI line in the tank and fill it. I have a float valve to stop the water when it fills the tank. I also have a perfect measurement of salt. 17 even cups and that water is 1.025 on the dot every time. I add a powerhead when adding the salt. Stir it up and then add a heater. After 1 day, I remove the powerhead and heater, turn the return line and drain line valves open and water change is done.

Physical labour is about 10 minutes of my time. No buckets needed whatsoever and I have 45G of water changed out for my entire system.

Below, you can see the water change tank at the top right of the photo. Return line and drain line are on the right of the tank. You can just see the floor drain line at the bottom of the tank. It goes down towards the skimmer area and you can see where the hose is attached.