The Question:
Is Doing an Auto water change as effective as a traditional drain first then refill change? It would seem to me that a concurrent WC would not remove as much NO3 and PO4 as a traditional change. Any thoughts on this?
Some Background: I'm in the midst of a new tank build, so of course I'm trying to think ahead as far as my wallet will let me. The DT and sump will be on the first floor. I have an RODI line and a good bit of space under the tank area in the basement. I bought a 30 gal brute with the intention of mixing saltwater and then putting a simple submersible pump in there and running a 3/8 or 1/2 tube through the floor into the sump for water change refills. I have a DIY siphon tube with a water flow meter and banjo fitting I use to drain my other tanks with a garden hose outside the house now. My plan was to shut off the return, drain the tank down 30ish gallons via my siphon tube and hose, then turn on the pump in the basement brute, and Bob's your uncle, the water change is done. Until I realized that a 9ft head height isn't going to be so easy to overcome. It seems as though everyone recommends a PanWorld or similar external pump. I was hoping to use PMUP through my Apex, but I'm pretty nervous about whether it would make up. I ran the 1/4 tube through the floor that cam ewith it (14ft), and it will not reach the bottom of the brute. This is because I have a roughly 5ft horizontal run from where it enters the stand from the hole in the floor. After pouting a bit, I started thinking about peristaltic pumps and their ability to push relatively high heights at slow flow. And then, of course, AWC's. Now I'm looking to find a relatively simple and budget friendly pump set to use (The Stenner pumps everyone raves about are pushing $700). I already have a DOS and DDR mounted in the basement under the tank, so adding a second one wouldn't be difficult, or something altoghether different.
Is Doing an Auto water change as effective as a traditional drain first then refill change? It would seem to me that a concurrent WC would not remove as much NO3 and PO4 as a traditional change. Any thoughts on this?
Some Background: I'm in the midst of a new tank build, so of course I'm trying to think ahead as far as my wallet will let me. The DT and sump will be on the first floor. I have an RODI line and a good bit of space under the tank area in the basement. I bought a 30 gal brute with the intention of mixing saltwater and then putting a simple submersible pump in there and running a 3/8 or 1/2 tube through the floor into the sump for water change refills. I have a DIY siphon tube with a water flow meter and banjo fitting I use to drain my other tanks with a garden hose outside the house now. My plan was to shut off the return, drain the tank down 30ish gallons via my siphon tube and hose, then turn on the pump in the basement brute, and Bob's your uncle, the water change is done. Until I realized that a 9ft head height isn't going to be so easy to overcome. It seems as though everyone recommends a PanWorld or similar external pump. I was hoping to use PMUP through my Apex, but I'm pretty nervous about whether it would make up. I ran the 1/4 tube through the floor that cam ewith it (14ft), and it will not reach the bottom of the brute. This is because I have a roughly 5ft horizontal run from where it enters the stand from the hole in the floor. After pouting a bit, I started thinking about peristaltic pumps and their ability to push relatively high heights at slow flow. And then, of course, AWC's. Now I'm looking to find a relatively simple and budget friendly pump set to use (The Stenner pumps everyone raves about are pushing $700). I already have a DOS and DDR mounted in the basement under the tank, so adding a second one wouldn't be difficult, or something altoghether different.
