A Water Change A Day...
- Thread starter mcarroll
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OP
OP
mcarroll
10K Club member
Well 150 gallons establishes a pretty firm lower limit for how "quick and easy" it can be. :wink: Probably using some continuous water change system would probably be the only "better" way in terms of your time, but I'm guessing and "better" is relative.
How exactly do you currently manage your water changes on a system that large? (~3000 gallons?)
I'd imagine you're not manually moving any water....hopefully!
Dunno if it's something that could be photographed, but a description of the water change system you use would be cool to hear.Thanks!
-Matt
jcdeng
Valuable Member
I think this is a great idea. with daily waterchanges I think your parameters will be super stable even without dosing anything and if you are siphoning the sand bed while u r at it you can get rid of uneaten stuff and fish poo too. I think if you keep on with it pretty soon u will realize your skimmer isn't skimming anything, just acting as an air pump.
eliramos
Valuable Member
Im starting tomorrow and im going to check parameters daily and take notes on it too I think of everyone on this thread did it we could document the effects on different sized systems and see how efficient it really is especially on the larger set ups
Connie
Valuable Member
I would try it on my 180, but it would be challenging. My RO/DI isn't connected directly. I have to put it in buckets small enough to carry; then I have to carry it out to the road to pour it out. I'm on a septic tank and can't just pour it down the drain.
Coraloliseffect
Active Member
Neat idea following.
Side note.
Connie. See your in al. Am on septic too so nothing down the drain. But so as not to waste any thing I Have st Augustine which is salt tolerant. So use water change water to kill some of the weeds.
Side note.
Connie. See your in al. Am on septic too so nothing down the drain. But so as not to waste any thing I Have st Augustine which is salt tolerant. So use water change water to kill some of the weeds.
OP
OP
mcarroll
10K Club member
Well 10 gallons would get you to around 5%...that would be two trips to the curb. Work. Lol.
Why not stick to one bucket (2-3%) for the ease and see how it goes? Check out that link I posted for eliramos too. 2-3% would be worth it IMO.
-Matt
OP
OP
mcarroll
10K Club member
Day and water change #4
My excellent "Water Change A Day" setup:
I start the pump, add 20 oz. of salt, then drain five gallons from the display tank into another bucket.
Salt mix is done by then, so I dump all five gallons of new water in my sump.
Done!
My excellent "Water Change A Day" setup:
I start the pump, add 20 oz. of salt, then drain five gallons from the display tank into another bucket.
Salt mix is done by then, so I dump all five gallons of new water in my sump.
Done!
OP
OP
mcarroll
10K Club member
That's a lot of work. I'll sit back and watch you do it
We'll see...the idea is that it's less work and time per water change, but obviously I'm doing it more frequently!
Stay tuned!
-Matt
JVI90gREEF
Well-Known Member
You're diligence is going to pay huge dividends and you're going to notice a significant difference in the health of your reef! About 2 months ago I started changing 5gal every other day instead of 15gal every Saturday on my 90gal. I've noticed a ton of coral growth (my tank is all Z/P's). I have new polyps budding weekly! So much so, that I haven't fed my corals with Fuel, Rods, and Reef Roids in over a month! Just to see how much my corals would take to replenishing trace elements every other day. I'll take the $ I'm not spending on coral food and put it toward a new bucket of Red Sea Coral Pro.
JVI90gREEF
Well-Known Member
Great topic by the way! Keep it up!!!
Eienna
5000 Club Member
Day and water change #5
Speed of measurement is my #1 favorite feature of my refractometer.
Is anyone out there using an uncalibrated swing-arm hydrometer? Just curious.
-Matt
You have to calibrate those?! I'm in trouble....
I've been using the instant ocean swing-arm as it comes out of the box. Need to save up for a proper refractometer.
Last edited:
larangcon
Valuable Member
Great idea...not sure if I can do it every day, but I will try to do every other or 3rd day. It will sure make water changing alot easier, I know there are times when I skipped water changing due to how much time it comsumed and basically too much work.
Eienna
5000 Club Member
I know. It'll be in my next set of purchases. Any you recommend?
OP
OP
mcarroll
10K Club member
Get someone with a refractometer to calibrate it for you. Your LFS would probably do it.
Once calibrated, accuracy isn't too bad...if you have the patience to get a good reading.
Reef Crystals for about 5 years I think.
FWIW, I've heard the refractometers they sell us are really made for beer/wine making. Just in case you have trouble finding one at a LFS...you may have a beer or wine making store around.
I wouldn't pay much more than $60 (though if you look you will find some for a lot more than that)...the ones that are a lot cheaper than that seem to be really cheaply made by comparison, weighing almost nothing. Since it'll be used in saltwater, I'd suggest springing for around $50-$60 in hopes of getting better materials that will corrode more slowly. Also, keeping it clean and not letting saltwater dry on it after use will help a lot.
Definitely post back!
-Matt
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