Water Change just got easier.

pewter_jean

pewter_jean

New member
Well doing the water change on my 180 just got half as easy. I don't know if you all have been doing this already. If so, WHY DIDN'T YOU ALL TELL ME ABOUT THIS BEFORE, If not, then I invented the water in the tank pump. And I want the rights :rollface:
After all this time all syphining the water from the tank, then I had to syphin the new saltwater from the the brut trash can into smaller jugs, (because the syphin would not work going up to the top of the tank,) and from the jugs into the tank, It was taking me about 2 to 3 hours for my water change.
Then a couple weeks ago I was thinking about the maxijet in the brut can that is circulating the water. Can I attach a hose to the output and have that maxijet pump the water from the brut up into the tank. It works beautifully. It only took me about 4 minutes to pump 40 gals up into my tank. Yippi. That is great. Tonight the waterchange only took 45 minutes.
Now if I could find a way to get the water out of the tank that fast.
I thought about putting the maxijet in the tank and just letting that suck the water out, but then I can't so around and get that junk off the rocks and sand bed that needs to come out. Well I am half way there.
And if you all knew this already, Shame on you for not sharing.
waterchange-equipmenttogether.jpg

waterchange-watercontainer.jpg
 
That's exactly what I do. Necessity is the mother of invention - the distance I move the water is far enough that I found it impossible to start a siphon by sucking on the hose, so I had to figure out an alternative.
 
BTW, I notice that you are using one of those wheeled thingies under your Brute can. I saw those at Lowes and was going to get them for my water storage/mixing cans, but the weight maximum given on their label was too low to handle the weight of 40 gallons of water. (I don't remember exactly what it said - maybe 200 lbs?) How long have you been using it, and does it seem to hold up OK?
 
The Brute Dolly by Rubbermaid has "Continuous load rating up to 350 lb."

So, if it's the 32 gallon, you're looking at only approx. 256 lbs. assuming you have it filled to the very top.

I have 2 of them and I like them, however, they are expensive in my opinion...They're like $30 each, not to mention the cost of the container itself. Either way, they are very sturdy and handy...
 
Hm, thanks Reggae. I have the 44-gallon cans, but they're never filled with more than 40 gallons and that should be OK if it's 350 lbs max. I'll have to look at them again.
 
Got a sump? Tie some paper towels (Bounty) in a little sack with a rubberband around one end of your flexible tubing and start a siphon with the sack end in your sump.

Now you can vaccuum to your hearts content as much as you want. The water returns to the sump and the junk stays in the paper towel bag.

For true water changes, just make the new water a couple of degrees cooler than the tank. I have an overflow on my sump, but this can work with the over flow from your tank:
Connect the overflow to the floor drain, a hose to your toilet, or another brute. Now when you pump the water in, it sinks to the bottom, your overflow will drain in precisely the volume that you pump in, and skim off the nasty stuff.

Anthony Calfo advertises this method, and I use it for my fishies, and it works well.
 
I used to use the maxijet 1200 for the last couple years but now I use a mag3. When you empty the mix container and refil with new saltwater, the maxi(or whatever pump you use) will mix the salt real well. If you hook up an airpump to the little nozzle attachment it will aerate the mix too. So that way you have it mixing and aerating for the whole week before you use it for the next water change.
 
Well this is want we should have done a long time ago. Post the little helpful tricks of the hobby to make things alot easier on ourselves. So does anyone have any other tricks they would like to share?
 
To get the water out of the tank faster put a T on your return like with 2 ball valves on each side of the T's out put. You can get a garden hose fitting, or barb fitting to attach to one side of the tee after the ball valve. When ready to do a water change shut your pump off. turn the ball valve off going to the tank and open the side going to the garden hose. But the garden hose in the sink, toilet, out the window what ever and turn the pump back on.

You might have to do smaller water changes but you can do them more often, and really fast. If you wanted to do a lager water change you could start adding the water to the tank and most of the old water would go down the over flow allowing you to change more water, again quickly.
 
I've been doing water changes like this for a few years. I used to have my 135 planted comunity tank in the basement about 8 feet from the outside door. I had a 40 gallon trashcan on wheels and I'd siphon water out of the tank into the can, wheel it outside and dump it in the flowers. Then I would fill the trashcan up with the hose, and dechlorinator throw a tube and pump in the can and let it refill as I watched TV or cleaned up. I don't know any other tricks I do right now or I'd share.

Adam
 
"Now if I could find a way to get the water out of the tank that fast. "

Do the same in reverse. Attach a maxi jet to a 20-30ft piece of tube (a water hose works). Submerge the maxi jet in your tank and run the tube to the closet toilet or sink. I recommend a ball valve on the exit end so you can power on the mj but control the flow with the valve.
 
I read the thread, wow! I wish that would have had a sticky or a link from the home page, so the newer people could have seen it.
You know how many times I had to tell people I could do something on a Saturday night because that was my only night off, so the only time I had to do water changes and stuff, and it would take all night. A lot of time lost. Well not next summer. I will have all these little tricks, I will have time to play.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

T
TM Trigger Systems Platinum V2 Controller
Replies
0
Views
96
tmann51
T
W
ATO multiple water jugs
Replies
4
Views
529
WMCWINGS186
W
T
I'm confused...
Replies
12
Views
368
wvned
wvned
Reignfire
Stray current
2
Replies
31
Views
767
griss
griss
J
My dream of a fleece roller
Replies
2
Views
360
SantaMonica
S
Back
Top