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

[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 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.

[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.

[gregzz4]

A drawback to using conditioners is some can skew NH3 test results

We're in Vancouver so no chloramines and, as Adam stated, you can just let the chlorine off-gas with a powerhead

[Simmy]

Originally Posted by 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.

You can pump your old water to your bathtub with the Hagen 802? What is the head rate for that pump? How far is it from your tank to tub? And how thick is the tube/hose you use? Is it vinyl tubing...1/2 inch inside diameter? Ideally that is what I'd like to do....the bathroom is about 20 25ft from the tank.

[Simmy]

Originally Posted by gregzz4

A drawback to using conditioners is some can skew NH3 test results

We're in Vancouver so, as Adam stated, you can just let the chlorine off-gas with a powerhead

Thanks for the detailed write up of your process! I understand that conditioners can also cause the skimmer to over bubble too. When I first got the water/liverock into the system it was conditioned with Prime and the skimmer would bubble like nuts even at the lowest air setting so I had to leave it off. after about a week or so I turned it back on and I could adjust the skimmer bubbles better to collect in the cup.

I love all the ideas I'm getting here! Apreesh the help!

[Coral Hoarder]

i mix salt with a mesuring cup int a 5 galon bucket add declorinator test and away we go

[Cal_stir]

I keep a 30 gal batch going at all times, I use a 600gph pond pump that pumps the water to a manifold where I valve it back into the tank for mixing and valve it directly to my sump for filling, I also use a heater and mix for 24 hrs before using, I do WC twice a week.

[Werbo]

Originally Posted by Simmy

You can pump your old water to your bathtub with the Hagen 802? What is the head rate for that pump? How far is it from your tank to tub? And how thick is the tube/hose you use? Is it vinyl tubing...1/2 inch inside diameter? Ideally that is what I'd like to do....the bathroom is about 20 25ft from the tank.

Just a standard green vinyl garden hose. Fits the Hagen nozzle perfect. Bathroom is about 20 feet. Takes 30-40 minutes total including clean-up

[asylumdown]

Originally Posted by Werbo

Just a standard green vinyl garden hose. Fits the Hagen nozzle perfect. Bathroom is about 20 feet. Takes 30-40 minutes total including clean-up

Yah if it's mostly horizontal/downsloped I don't think this pump would have any issues whatsoever. 20 feet uphill might be a different story