Water change equipment

Daddyrawg

Member
What is the most effective and dry method to remove water from your DT
for a water change? I was thinking of having a pump and tube solely for this purpose. Maybe drop the pump halfway into tank hold the tube and turn on the pump? Sound reasonable method? Not sure I wanna use the python syphon stuff
 
I have tubing off a ball valve on my manifold that I can divert a good amount of water from my return to a bucket. Usually I will add new water to the DT to make sure I don't run out of water in the return compartment


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I've actually used a wet/dry vac in the past... (Rigid brand for me)
Remove all filters.. Turn it on.. ..stick tube in water....suck....It will stop itself when the tank is full (ball inside seals inlet causing drastic noise change/loss of suction)... Dump tank..
Works great for getting down in your sump too if its low on the floor where you can't easily start a siphon..

Before that I've always just used tubing (like 1/2" ID or so) and sucked on the end to start a siphon and voila.. Either run the outlet into a 5G bucket or down the drain if close,etc...

But I have seen the python stuff and it really works great too.. My only complaint was that you are wasting good water while its running..

A pump will work just fine too.. BUT you can clog/ruin it if you are sucking sand/cyano/algae,etc... and they typically aren't self priming so you need to put the tank in the water and can't just use an external pump with a tube on the inlet (unless you put it into the tank or get a self priming pump and they are typically large/bulky)
The pump to me would be my last choice..

I'm a super fan of the wet/dry vacs now.. They work fantastic..
You can even add a valve to the tank and have it draining out all the time for endless water change capability.. or just to make it easier to drain..
 
What is the most effective and dry method to remove water from your DT
for a water change? SNIP---->
Apex DOS for constant water changes 24/7/365.
Never lift a hose, or carry a bucket!

When I did do manual WC's I used an old canister filter. I would fill it with cheap poly batting, then use it to vacuum the detrits. I would run the return back into the tank until I was done cleaning, also using the return to blow off the rocks, then put the return into a bucket to drain off what I wanted to take out for a WC.
 
I use a Buckethead when I clean the sump and just a siphon from the DT when I don't.

I have considered using a peristalic pump to do continuous water changes with the equipment and storage located in my garage, but since I only do 10 gallons every week or two I don't think it is worth the effort. Just more things that can fail.
 
I've actually used a wet/dry vac in the past... (Rigid brand for me)
Remove all filters.. Turn it on.. ..stick tube in water....suck....It will stop itself when the tank is full (ball inside seals inlet causing drastic noise change/loss of suction)... Dump tank..
Works great for getting down in your sump too if its low on the floor where you can't easily start a siphon..

Before that I've always just used tubing (like 1/2" ID or so) and sucked on the end to start a siphon and voila.. Either run the outlet into a 5G bucket or down the drain if close,etc...

But I have seen the python stuff and it really works great too.. My only complaint was that you are wasting good water while its running..

A pump will work just fine too.. BUT you can clog/ruin it if you are sucking sand/cyano/algae,etc... and they typically aren't self priming so you need to put the tank in the water and can't just use an external pump with a tube on the inlet (unless you put it into the tank or get a self priming pump and they are typically large/bulky)
The pump to me would be my last choice..

I'm a super fan of the wet/dry vacs now.. They work fantastic..
You can even add a valve to the tank and have it draining out all the time for endless water change capability.. or just to make it easier to drain..

I'm a huge fan of the wet/dry vac as well but I only do it once or twice a year normally during summer so I can clean the vac afterwards.

normally I just suck on the hose (1/2 inch from home depot) to make a siphon but you can get one of those fancy ones with the little squeeze thing on it that makes the siphon for you.
 
I have 2 32 Gallon Brute trash cans. 1 for 25 gallons of fresh saltwater, the other empty and marked for 25 gallons for DT water. I pump water out of my DT and Sump until the desired 25 gallons is out. Then take my pump, stuck it into the newly made saltwater, and pump it back in. Easy as 1 2 3. I use a 25 ft python hose to attach to the pump. Hope this helps


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