How do YOU do water changes?

[ScubaSkeets]

Just wondering what everyones procedure in doing water changes
My mixing station/drain is about 20 feet from my DT. I recently changed my procedure to an easier one, but it had been as follows:
1. Place empty Brute can next to DT
2. Turn off aquarium pumps, etc. Wait until water finishes draining into sump. Place a mark at the water level on the DT
3. Vacuum/siphon old water into can.
4. Place a pump into can that has new water and lug out a vinyl hose to DT.
5. Plug in pump and replenish water into DT
6. Move the pump to old water can and move vinyl hose to drain. Plug in pump and empty old water into drain.
7. Rinse cans

What's your procedure?

 

[thrillreefer]

Hauling 5 gal buckets from basement to 1st floor. I don’t shut off my return pump until partway through (voice-activated smart plug) to keep display water level as high as possible. Then use a small pump to refill into filter sock in sump to avoid splashing, while I turn the return pump back on.

 

[GlassMunky]

1: turn off return pump.
2: hook up one side of 100ft hose to deep sink and the other side to the display tank.
3: drain into sink
4: move hose from sink to water mixing station (in garage)
5: turn on mixing station pump (blue-line capable of pumping up 20 ft and across the entire house)

Done

 

[DanyL]

Not a popular way of doing WC and many would probably say it isn’t effective, or that I loose percentages, but that’s how I’ve been doing it for 16 years now, both on my main and frag systems:

1. Add 10-30 liters of NSW to sump by placing a jerrycan on a stool and siphoning.
2. Place a 10 liter bucket on a stool and start siphoning from display, cleaning detritus, sand or whatever.
3. Emptying bucket and repeat (2) until amount of added water in (1) is removed.
4. Back to (1) until full WC amount was replaced.

No equipment is stopped during the WC except the skimmer and the roller mat, nor do I use any additional pumps for the WC - all is done by siphoning.

 

[HudsonReefer2.0]

Mix it in a brute trash can to salinity and temp. Roll can to system. Open doors Turn off all sump components. Siphon out sump volume and pump back in fresh made water from can. Flip switches on. Close door. Looks smiles and gives the reassuring job well done nod

 

[GlassMunky]

Mix it in a brute trash can to salinity and temp. Roll can to system. Open doors Turn off all sump components. Siphon out sump volume and pump back in fresh made water from can. Flip switches on. Close door. Looks smiles and gives the reassuring job well done nod

How do you siphon out of the sump with the sump on the ground essentially?

 

[ScubaSkeets]

I should have added if the procedures are different if/when you vacuum the sand bed?

 

[HudsonReefer2.0]

How do you siphon out of the sump with the sump on the ground essentially?

Maxi jet pump w hose

 

[DanyL]

How do you siphon out of the sump with the sump on the ground essentially?

When I clean my sump I place a bucket on the ground and start siphoning from the upper end of the sump, than once siphon is running I can bring it down to the bottom.

Flow will be slow, but it’s sufficient enough to remove accumulated detritus.

 

[waqas_01]

Prep 2.5 gallons of new saltwater with a mixing pump - no heater per manufacturer instructions. The water is usually close to room temp anyways because its in a storage brute.

Siphon out 2.5 gallons from display with everything still running. Then pour the new saltwater into the display.

Not having to power off equipment has made it way more convenient to do water changes. I used to do 5 gallon water changes, but 2.5 gallons allows everything to keep running.

This is on a 70 ish gallon system.

 

[Garf]

Jug in the top using a DIY dripper, fixed pump in sump, so out the bottom, daily 1.5%

 

[vlangel]

My sump is in the basement underneath my living room display tank. I have a water line mark on my sump (which sits on a desk) so I can syphon water from the sump right into a floor drain next to it without turning off the return pump. Then I just add premade salt water to the sump back up to the water line that I have marked. I do about 5 gallons once a month in my 75 ish gallon system.

 

[Reefer Matt]

It’s easier for me to show people rather than typing it all on here sometimes.

 

[bakbay]

Here is my procedure:
1. Pull a stool next to the tank
2. Watch to see if I have PE on acros
3. Check out those stupidly slow-growing chalices
4. Contemplating to remove that piece of frag that got knocked over
5. Watch fish chasing each other
6. Done - put stool back.

For the last 3+ years, I haven’t done a WC. The previous tank before that, 7 years. I actually don’t know how to perform a WC tbh

 

[TehBrainz]

Old procedure:
1. Mix ~40g NSW in brute trash can in garage
2. Double check Alk, temp, and salinity with DT
3. Turn off return pump
4. Hook up python to sink in next room to tank.
5. Drain to marked spots on tank (originally measured out by removing 5 gallons at a time)
6. Swap python sink hookup to longer line connected to pump in bottom of NSW brute can.
7. Turn on pump via voice command while at the DT.
8. Water pumped from garage to DT until at top of overflows.
9. Turn on return pump and turn off NSW pump when my sump level is back at nominal.
10. Coil up hose and refill NSW with RODI water from second brute can.

Process could be as fast as ~45 mins if I was totally focused. Usually closer to 75 mins.

New procedure:
1. Mix ~40g NSW in brute trash can in garage
2. Double check Alk and salinity with DT
3. GHL Maxi 2.2 runs three WCs throughout the night, every day.
4. Monitor chemistry levels and NSW brute can and replenish as necessary.

I'll need to vacuum the bed at some point I'm sure, but the new process has been running about a month pretty flawlessly. It's been really nice not having to run tubing through the house

 

[Doctorgori]

mix Instant Ocean, 1 50 lb bag in a 44 g Brute yield 34 ppt approx … I use 2 of those Magnum polishing filters to mix…
I don’t wait 24 hrs but mix until clear
…I turn off pumps & skimmers
I use one of those Sicce “ zero level “ return pumps to completely drain the sumps of my tank and backfill just the sumps with newly mixed fresh saltwater