Can you suggest a better water change method?

Tomoko Schum

Tomoko Schum

New member
Hi yfall,

I hope to improve the way I do water changes. Your suggestion is greatly appreciated.

I transport my water from the kitchen (where RODI unit is installed) to my tanks on a little red wagon. It works reasonably well, but I can transport only about 17 gallons at a time due to the limit on the size of the storage container that the little wagon can hold. I would like to increase the amount of water that I can move.

What do you do to transport water from place to place?

I know some of you use a large plastic garbage can to store and move water. How stable is it for moving water? I have to make a few turns to get to my tanks from the kitchen. I hate to spill a large amount of water accidentally.

Do any of you use a powerful bilge pump with a long hose?

Do you have a really good method to move water from one end of the house to the other?

TIA,

Tomoko
 
I use a brute trash can on a dolly made for it. The dolly and can were about $60 from Home Depot. It's pretty stable - I have to move from the tile floors in the laundry room to carpet and I've not had any spills (although I'm very careful :).

I'm also interested in how others do it. I'm thinking of leaving an extra pump in my sump and running a garden hose from it to the sink for changes.
 
Most of the time I use a mag 9 with a hose to drain the tanks then I use the same pump hose to pump water back from my Trashcan. Sometimes if I'm not in a hurry I just drain the water to buckets and carry them outside. Its not that far to walk and it only takes 8 buckets or so. I figure its good exercise haha. A Brute trash can with the dolly under it is pretty stable. I can move my 44 gallon around pretty easy. Of course if its full its Very heavy though. I thought you only did 10% water changes? With a 120 thats only 12 gallons. Really more like 8 lol cause with the rock, coral, sand ect your water volume is no where near the tanks rated size. With you changing 17 gallons thats probably more like a 20-25%% water change.
 
A very heavy container to push is a problem for me. I want to do things on my own since everything takes too long at my house if I relied on a help from someone else.

I use 2 gallons for my 15 gallon tank and the rest for the 120 every two weeks lately. I also need to do water changes for my fry tank and grow out tanks. These little guys dirty up their tanks pretty quickly. Babies without diapers :(

Tomoko
 
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I am using a Mag Drive 4 right now to pump water from the container into the sump with just a few feet of hose. It can do the job pretty quickly since there is practically no head pressure. I don't know if it can push water from the far end of my kitchen to the sump (through the dining room and the foyer) fast with same pump. My brother in Japan uses a good size sump/submersible pump (AC) to send a large amount of water from his kitchen to his big Discus tank in his den fast.
 
I use a Mag 9 with 40' of 5/8s hose. Works pretty good. I don't really know how fast it is cause I've never measured it. But it does the job. I also have a Mag 7 I've used for the same job with NP. Its a little slower but its not bad.. A mag 4 would probably be to small.
 
2 55g barrels and a hand-truck.
One full of NSW I get from a local marine institute (for free), one for the water I pull out of the tank.

If I strap the top of the 55g to the hand truck with a truck tie-down strap, I can move it all myself. It is all about leverage. Luckily I only have one small step to deal with.

The day before the change I bring the NSW into the house and put a heater in the barrel to prep it.

I can change out 55g in about 20 min.
I just put a new hose on the pump that goes to my carbon and drain the sump, then drain the main tank down to the level of the highest coral.
 
I agree with the trash can method. I slide mine across the floor and can get 30 gallons to slide fairly easy, Tomoko, it is pretty easy with the dolly, if it's what I'm thinking of it has four wheels and as long as you have a lid on the can there should be minimal spills. I was looking the other day at a creeper I have, there are six wheels on it, and you can get one from Wally World for less than 20 bucks. They roll very easy and as long as you keep it inside the wheels won't scratch your hardwood floors. Then there is the sump pump, which attaches to a regular garden hose, and those will move water fast. JMO
Chris
 
Thank you all for the ideas. Now I have a couple of questions.

Chris -
What is a creeper? Is it easy to negotiate around a bend? I also have to negotiate three different surfaces - vinyl in the kitchen, carpet in the family room and hardwood floor in the hall and the front room. I just saw a folding handle platform cart online. I wonder if one of these work well.

8Ball - How do you start and stop the pump at the far end of the 40 feet of hose before you overfill your sump/tank? Do I need one of those nifty remote switches that you use for lifting your canopy to stop my pump in time?

Tomoko
 
A creeper is what you use to change oil or slide under your car, with the 6 wheels it allows you to turn pretty easy, my dad stole one of mine to move heavy music equipment, speakers and such. If you go to the auto section of wal-mart, they should be where the tire repair and stuff like that usually are. Good luck. And would you not be able to put a shut off on the end of the hose so you could temp. close off the water supply? Just a thought. Just check to see what your PSI is on you hose :D
 
Well my case is a little different. I drain the water outside to a gravel pad. Then I pump the water back into the sumps from the trash can. The trash can sits just a few feet from the sump. So both times I'm pretty much standing beside the pump. In your case it wouldn't be hard to do though.. Just simply put a shut off at the end of the hose once the tank is filled to the level you want turn it off.. It won't hurt the pump and pumps like we use put out very little pressure.
 
I've got furniture dollies that I put a 37 gallon tub on. I filter water into one tub and have mixed salt in the other. With hard floors, moving that much water around is very easy. If you have carpet, though, it'd be difficult to pull/push. We've got all hard floors, except in the bedrooms.
 
Thanks, guys :)

Pushing something that weighs a lot more than me over carpet does not excite me.

I was looking at an oil-less submersible pump with 2000 gph rating online. I read one reivew that was complaining about low flow at the end of a 50 feet garden hose, though. I hear that Lowes sell submersible pumps for draining fish ponds. I wonder if one of those do okay....

Tomoko
 
Yes Tomoko, It's a sump pump. They have different ratings on GPH, my parents use one to drain their pool cover. just drop it in the water and plug it up. Like 8Ball and I were saying, you can attach a water hose cause they are 3/4 inch fittings on the output, and get a 1/4 turn shut-off for the male side at your tank. GL
Chris
 
Well if you use a mag 9 or 7 like me you will need an adapter.. Hose threads are a little different then the standard 3/4NPT. Some pumps will work with out an adapter.. But a mags output has some plastic past the threads the keep it from working with a standard hose. If you look in the sprinkler section at somewhere like lowes they sell adapters to go from 1/2 or 3/4NPT to a standard hose pipe thread. This is what I use. A mag seven has 1/2 a 8 has 3/4.
 
My "Python" Hose fits a Mag 9 pretty well and I pump about 40' with it, it does slow it down but I don't mind its better than carrying buckets. Also, as far as how to shut off I usually ask my wife to go unplug the pump for me but if you are alone just put some sort of valve on the end of the hose as mentioned before.
 
QUOTE:: 8Ball - How do you start and stop the pump at the far end of the 40 feet of hose before you overfill your sump/tank? Do I need one of those nifty remote switches that you use for lifting your canopy to stop my pump in time

get a clapper!
 
Isn't a clapper sound activated? My household is too noisy for that. My dog will start a pump that I just shut off :rolleye1:. My cat already shuts off my power strip by walking on it, turning off all my pumps, a heater and a skimmer :eek2:.
 
get a clapper! That's funny but also a good idea. I like the 1/4 turn shut-off valve so you can stop the flow. You don't have to worry about burning up the motor either cause it's on the output instead of intake. I haven't heard about the clapper in a while.
Chris
 
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