Water Change: What's the average time it takes you? Tips and tricks...

[sp1187]

Soooo... it should take less than 30 mins... however, it takes me a lot long because I get distracted........

I see something shiny.

 

[sp1187]

30 mins. or less.
siphon 30g from the sump.
add new 30g.
160g total in the system between DT & sump.
changes done anywhere from bi-monthly to every 3-6 months.

 

[S2G]

Like pizza delivery 30m or less. I have a 1k gph pump. Pump it out pump it in done. 30g

 

[Vette67]

I have a 35 gallon HDPE water container that I use for water changes. I do that about once a month. My total system water volume is somewhere just shy of 400 gallons. So that is about 10% a month. I use the water change to siphon detritus out of my BB 75 and my sump. Because of that, I'm not really interested in automatic water changes. Those won't suck the crap out of the system. The majority of my time is spent moving rocks and siphoning detritus.

 

[James Emory]

Aquarium Water Change (revhtree's definition) - Making your aquarium water better by removing some nasty stuff from your water and replenishing it with some good stuff. Your corals and fish will really like it.

Now that we know it helps by removing bad stuff and adding good stuff let's talk about how long it takes you and any tips and tricks you might have!

1. What is the average time it takes you to complete a water change in your reef aquarium? (exclude the salt mixing time)

2. How many gallons of water do you change normally and how many gallons is your total aquarium volume?

3. What are some tips and tricks you have learned over the years to make changing out your water easier and faster?


From @saltyhog: "My home made method for attaching the clear tubing that sends new salt water to the tank."

After doing this a zilion times it becomes easy. I know exactly how much salt to add to the new water so all that is left is to siphon out 9 gallons and put new in.

 

[svogun]

auto water change roughly 3 gallons per day. 200 gallon DT

 

[Kcaspo]

Have a 10 gallon once a week I change 1 gallon takes longer to wait for the salt to mix then to change it

 

[salty150]

Isn't it "less stressful" for your fish to do your water change in your sump...?

 

[blstravler]

1. What is the average time it takes you to complete a water change in your reef aquarium? (exclude the salt mixing time)

1 hour via AWC that runs on a daily schedule

2. How many gallons of water do you change normally and how many gallons is your total aquarium volume?

1 gal a day - maybe 90gal total volume.

3. What are some tips and tricks you have learned over the years to make changing out your water easier and faster?

I used to change 5 gallons weekly and it was a total PITA. Investing in 2 VERSA pumps to do AWC - was the best thing I ever did.

 

[Just_Pete]

• 40g cube
• siphon out 4g from DT
• pump in 4g new water
• once a week
• 5-8 minutes

 

[Greybeard]

Used to do DOS based auto water changes, until the refill pump got clogged... salinity down to 1.014 before I noticed. Could have been a disaster... went back to manual water changes.

I've got two 10g rubbermaid trash cans, specific for water changes. Mix station is a 60g plastic drum with a 1200gph mixing/refill pump, plumbed to the RO/DI system for refilling. A length of 1" silicone siphon hose. Bare bottom system, all the detritus collects in the lee of a rock island.

Process is like this... Enable Apex WC mode. Siphon out detritus and fill both 10g buckets... probably 8 gallons each, leaving enough room to not spill the buckets. Wife usually helps me carry them to the back yard, where we use the salt water to keep a gravel area free of weeds.

Walk around to sump area, connect the silicone hose to my refill pump, drop it in the sump, and turn it on (wired to a switch). Switch Apex back out of WC mode. Watch for water level to even out at ATO float, and turn the refill pump back off. Hang the hose up, set the 10g buckets back in the closet, and I'm done.

16g weekly change on 150g system, takes maybe 10 minutes.

 

[Mark Novack]

I remove and replace about 90 gallons in 20 minutes for a simple water change. If it sand cleaning and blowing out then it longer but the mass emptying and refilling is still fast. I pump it out from the tank and fill it via the sump, setting my main pump on highest rate to keep up with my refill pump.

 

[((FORDTECH))]

Isn't it "less stressful" for your fish to do your water change in your sump...?

Yes 100%

 

[Joe Grubbs]

Automatic 25g/14days - 250g system volume.

 

[Ryan Wolf]

Average time is about 15-20 minutes. I have a mag 24 pump in a 32 gallon brute trash can where saltwater is ready to go in fish room. I pump that through the wall to the tank in the living room and turn a valve in the sump to send old water from tank through the wall into a sink using the return pump. The pumps are equal in power so I get an even in and out at the same time. I have a 200 gallon mixed reef. I do this every other week.

 

[AwildcatsZ]

I change 10 gallons every Friday on my Reefer 250. Takes me about 30 minutes to actually change the water, but I mix my water the night before which takes a little longer.

Here is a link to the @ReefNewsNetwork TikTok of my routine!

 

[mike550]

The actual water change (draining and refilling) takes less than 30 min to change 15G on a 120G. But the process is tedious. First, I either use a Python or a small pump to take water out of the tank and drain directly into a nearby sink. To refill the tank, I end up carrying 5G jugs upstairs, pour it into a 10G Brute to then pump into tank. Then I have to take down all of the random things and also clean them.

I looked at pumping directly from my mixing station but that's about 100' run and I'd need 25+ of head to keep decent flow. Then of course there's the whole question of how to deal with saltwater in 100' of hose.

 

[hart24601]

30 min or less because of AWC for a good number of years now.

 

[richarddeweerd]

It is less than 30 minutes, 60 minutes if I count picking up the water at my LFS, 2 hours if I count the coffee drinking at my LFS too

I change about 60 liters on a 500 liter system

 

[hllb]

About 10 minutes on my 32g. I’d like a bigger tank but man that maintenance is nice!