Water Changes in Large Salt Tanks?

_Jessica_

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jan 22, 2010
538
4
0
36
MA
Don't have a salt tank, but in the far off future I would like to do it (groupers are pretty sexy!).

I was just thinking about this...how do you guys do water changes on large (100g+) tanks? Do you set out a bunch of buckets, mix the salt, and pour? That seems really time consuming! It would be difficult as well to move a 20g+ container of water around. At work we have a big water tank thing that mixes and stores the water, and we just use the hose to fill..but that would look unsightly in a house.

Sorry for the stupid question, just one of the strange thoughts that entered my mind.
 

EastBay

Gambusia
MFK Member
Jun 10, 2010
346
1
16
SF East Bay
When I had my 100g SW tank setup, I did the bucket thing. PITA, but gotta do whacha gotta do! :) And I only used 1 5g bucket and did it 4, 5 times, or however many I was doing that day.

Maybe that's why I was lax on my water changes. ;)
 

BlackShark11k

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Jul 8, 2009
3,565
8
36
somewhere
You really don't have to as many WCs with salt IMO depending on your setup... I only do two month and then only about 10-15%... some reef keepers manage incredible setups with water changes twice a year!
 

RedDwarf

Gambusia
MFK Member
Sep 19, 2009
981
0
16
Where the Sun is Warm
The way most people how have larger saltwater tanks chance water is to have some 55gal drums where you would pre-mix the saltwater so when you want to do your water change you just run a hose from the storage container to your tank. Groupers make lots of poo so you really can't get away from not changing water unless you setup a nitrate scrubber. Some people who have sensitive freshwater fish also do this if their source water isn't ideal for their fish.
 

'vspec'

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jul 15, 2010
283
0
0
Melbourne
2 options exist that help.

Build a water change trolley station
or use a TV cabnet base (with casters) Can be built as well.

Both aid in moving large water volumes. Dedicated Pumps or powerheads make life easy as well.
 

BlackShark11k

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Jul 8, 2009
3,565
8
36
somewhere
[QUOTE='vspec';432763;9]
Both aid in moving large water volumes. Dedicated Pumps or powerheads make life easy as well.[/QUOTE]

Very true, I don't know where I'd be with my water changing pond pump :D
 

OmniTranz

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
I don't have a large SW setup (largest is 40g), but I do have some large FW setups and I used the 55gal drum method as described above.

If I plan it right, I fill tap in the drum the day before with a heater and airstone, mix a touch of salt and let it run over night, then use it the next day. But if I forget (or am lazy), then I'll still put the tap and salt in the drum along with some dechlorinator and instead of a heater and airstone, I'll just throw my sump pump in there w/o a hose and let it go crazy mixing up the water until I'm ready to use it. Then, just hook the hose up to the pump, and refill the tanks!

The nice thing about this approach is that you can hide everything you need for cleaning IN the drum while you're not using it (i.e. hoses, scrub brushes, nets, towels, etc), then just put it in a corner of the garage or basement out of the way.
 

Myteemouse

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Sep 8, 2008
1,261
0
0
48
Tacoma wa.
I have a 125 and I do 20% twice a month..
I have a big garbage can that holds my RO/DI water (a must with a reef tank) with a float valve to stop at 33 gallon (20% of total system)
I mix the salt with a power head and put in a heater..(the day before water change.)
I siphon out 33 gallons and pump back in 33 gallons with a 800GPH pump and a long hose form the laundry room.
takes me about 20 mins.
 

TheCanuck

Piranha
MFK Member
Nov 9, 2009
3,056
60
81
32
DALLAS TEXAS
i do 150 gallon water changes. I drain water out of tank through window. Then i bring in 3, 55gallon trashcans that i got from home depo. I put salt in trashcans and begin filling water from tap. I dechlorinate, and mix a little while filling. I wait 5 mins hook up a pump and pump water from the 55g cans to tank. I fill it and done.

EASY AS PIE!!

coral life salt mixes instantly for me. So there is no wait and i use tap water
 

Pazzoman

Piranha
MFK Member
Apr 5, 2009
2,991
32
81
New York
.....150 Gallon Water Change... Easy as pie:WHOA:

I have a 72 gallon and i do probably a 15-20% water change every month....lol

I say this because I only have a snow flake eel, valentine puffer and a hawk fish. Soon im probably going to do %20 water changes every 2 weeks.

I do the bucket idea. I use a tube from the main tank into a home deep bucket (5 gallons) 3 times and dump that out. Then I refill the bucket three times with 2 cups of salt each and with RO water. Then dump the buckets back into the tank.
:D
 
zoomed.com
hikariusa.com
aqaimports.com
Store