Water Changes-water testing-and QT

J

jamest0o0

New member
WATER CHANGES/RODI:
Okay so if I'm setting up a saltwater tank I want to make it as maintenance free as possible. I plan to have an auto top off for evaporation, but want to make sure I can handle the water changes efficiently before I jump into this. I know when changing water it needs to match the tanks temp/salinity/PH. What would be the easiest way to have water on-hand ready to change out. I don't know if I'll be able to hook up my RO/DI unit I have at my apartment. It is attached to the pipes in my sink at my parent's house. I used to have it run into a big garbage can with a heater and powerheads that I would add salt to so I would always have a big reservoir of water to change with for quicker water changes. I don't think I'll be able to do all that here so I was just curious what you guys do to make it as fast and easy as possible. Also are there any new RO/DI units that waste less water? Mine used to take forever and cost so much on the water bill. I might consider buying a new one.

WATER TESTING:
What is the best way to test for everything needed? I'm willing to buy any equipment that will make this faster and more accurate.

QT:
quick question, I was wondering if anyone plumbed a QT to their display with a UV attachment in between the pipes to prevent transfer of diseases/parasites. Was just wondering if this would work.

thanks
 
I think you want your QT completely separate from your DT. Some people won't even use the same nets and other tools between tanks. I do but I also rinse them and let them air dry completely before being used again.
 
Oh no I don't even have that tank anymore forgot to change that, I'm always on my phone, hard to pay attention to everything on there.
 
How big is the new tank?

How much water will you need at any given time?

I was going to suggest something like this for water storage. If you got a small powerhead and heater that would fit inside you could even use it to mix and store saltwater in.
http://www.amazon.com/Reliance-Products-Aqua-Tainer-Gallon-Container/dp/B001QC31G6/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1453413604&sr=8-8&keywords=5+gallon+water+jug[/url]
 
I didn't get a tank yet, still deciding, but probably in the 30-40g range. I want to make sure I can handle water changes before I start buying stuff. I checked out the link though, I guess I could make something like that work. I'm just wondering is there an efficient high quality RO/DI unit you guys could recommend? I hate all the water my old one wasted. I can't remember how often and what % of water should be changed on a regular basis?

I think I have a PH and temp probe somewhere, I guess the rest of the testing is done with the usual test kits and salinity with a refractometer? Am I missing anything else?
 
I have dual membranes on my rodi unit which helps with waste water but you need to make sure your water pressure is at least 65psi
 
I'd probably have to make the water at my parents house and drive it over to my house. Might be annoying after awhile, but I could probably make it work.
 
As far as the Ro/DI unit, I am pretty sure you can get the adapter for the actual faucet for the sink (if you have the facets that still have the removable aerator because I know my house was built with ones that don't come off... not happy about that one). This would at least allow you to not have to drive back and forth for water and avoid tapping into your apartment plumbing.

If you have a washer and dryer in your apartment you might be able to even come up with something there and use the drain the washer goes into for the waste and the cold water with a splitter...

Carting water around would get old quickly, just thoughts.
 
jamest0o0 said:
WATER CHANGES/RODI:
Okay so if I'm setting up a saltwater tank I want to make it as maintenance free as possible. I plan to have an auto top off for evaporation, but want to make sure I can handle the water changes efficiently before I jump into this. I know when changing water it needs to match the tanks temp/salinity/PH. What would be the easiest way to have water on-hand ready to change out. I don't know if I'll be able to hook up my RO/DI unit I have at my apartment. It is attached to the pipes in my sink at my parent's house. I used to have it run into a big garbage can with a heater and powerheads that I would add salt to so I would always have a big reservoir of water to change with for quicker water changes. I don't think I'll be able to do all that here so I was just curious what you guys do to make it as fast and easy as possible. Also are there any new RO/DI units that waste less water? Mine used to take forever and cost so much on the water bill. I might consider buying a new one.
Click to expand...

i just installed my RO system under the sink in my condominium with no issues whatsoever. filtered water isn't a new concept and anyone working in a store that sells the various fittings would certainly steer you in the right direction.
as for stockpiling massive quantities of water, if anything changes i would guess this would be it. my RO unit makes a legitimate 75 gallons a day meaning more or less in an hour i have 5 gallons of filtered water. if salt is to be added i have a powerhead in the pail within 10 minutes and it's dissolved by the time the pail is full. this is all for a 120 gallon tank so unless you're dealing with a lot more water than this i'd say it's about as fast and easy as can be.
edit: sorry i missed the info regarding water parameters. i'd say a couple of submersible heaters for your water changes will improve your situation as well. not to mention a couple of pails of water isn't as cumbersome as a giant vat of water just for convenience sake. certainly better than monday night runs to mom and dads for water all the time.
 
I believe American reef Did a video on you tube with Mike Paleta(incorrect spelling) concerning a high powered uv sterilizer on the return side of his QT to his DT sump, It makes sense but risky I would think
 
The system I have set up for water changes on my 225g is pretty maintenance free. I have a 100 gallon barrel with a float from the RO unit. I turn the valve on to fill it up (the float is to keep it from overflowing when I'm not around or not paying attention). I then mix the salt in. I have a 1/4" fitting on the bottom of the barrel with a line going to a dosing pump. I set the dosing pump to pump in 2 gallons of water from the barrel every day, and have another doser that pumps 2 gallons out of my tank and send it down the drain. This way I end up changing 60 gallons of water per month. Of course ever 1.5 months or so I have to fill the barrel back up and mix some more water. The RO unit is hooked to a float on the sump to keep it topped off from evaporation as well.
 
And I would say no to hooking the DT and QT together. For one, UV sterilizers canhelp kill some stages of some parasites sometimes. It definitely isn't 100%. Also, the idea of a QT tank is to be able to dose copper and other meds that you cant in your DT. UV won't remove this.
 
thanks for the great information guys, definitely going to bookmark this thread. I recently found out I am moving out of my apartment into my own house in a few months, so i'm probably going to end up putting off my tank plans until then. At least once that happens I will be able to set up a nice long-term tank.
 
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