Question about Sumps and Water Changes

[davdev]

One of the many advantages people say sumps have is the ability to do water changes without affecting the water level in the actual tank. I understand that, but at the same time I think a sump is a terrible place to do a water change if using like something like a python because untreated water is going to directly hit your filter media. Wouldn't the chlorine/chloromine kill the bacteria? Am I looking at this wrong? Is there a way to treat the water as it is being filled by the python?

I am a newbie to all this, so sorry if this a stupid question.

 

[Pharaoh]

Regardless of where the water is changed, you will still need to treat the water to remove the chlorine and chloramine. If you do not, you risk killing off the beneficial bacteria in the tank/filters.

You can add water conditioner, like Prime, to your water before you fill the tank back up.

 

[cichlid2006]

I stop my pumps so the sump fills to its desired volume and the tank drains to its. I then drain about 50-75% of the main tank.
Add prime when the tank ready to fill then fill with a hose pipe. New water never gets a chance to hit the sump without being dechlorinated first.
There is no need to mess around with your sump unless it needs cleaned, certainly not on a normal water change as everything can be done in the main tank.

 

[scriving]

a little bit of a derail sorry but my filter pad in my sump is getting worn pretty bad to the point were i can see through it is their enough BB in my bio balls to change the filter pad with no ill effects?

 

[Camshaft Ramrod]

Is there a reason why you would prefer to take the water out of the top?

 

[groovylime]

I stop my pumps so the sump fills to its desired volume and the tank drains to its. I then drain about 50-75% of the main tank.
Add prime when the tank ready to fill then fill with a hose pipe. New water never gets a chance to hit the sump without being dechlorinated first.
There is no need to mess around with your sump unless it needs cleaned, certainly not on a normal water change as everything can be done in the main tank.

^^^ same here.

 

[xrayjeeper83]

I shut off my pump and stop my overflow, then just suction the water out from the top. I do it that way so I can vacuum the substrate and then just leave it there till 50% of the water is out and then just fill it back up to a predetermined spot.

 

[cichlid2006]

a little bit of a derail sorry but my filter pad in my sump is getting worn pretty bad to the point were i can see through it is their enough BB in my bio balls to change the filter pad with no ill effects?

The effect of changing 1 filter pad when you have bio balls will be negligible. I have recently ripped almost all my sponge out to replace it with a finer, thicker sponge plus a micron pad and everything was fine. I only have about a dozen bio balls floating in the sump.

 

[scriving]

The effect of changing 1 filter pad when you have bio balls will be negligible. I have recently ripped almost all my sponge out to replace it with a finer, thicker sponge plus a micron pad and everything was fine. I only have about a dozen bio balls floating in the sump.

Ok thanks bro put my mind at ease

 

[watercrawl]

I shut off my pump and stop my overflow, then just suction the water out from the top. I do it that way so I can vacuum the substrate and then just leave it there till 50% of the water is out and then just fill it back up to a predetermined spot.

+1 Same here.

I actually cannot fathom doing a water change from/in the sump. My sump holds 10 gallons of water at a typical level and is on a 75 gallon tank. Even if I completely drained the sump, that would only be 13+/-% water change. I typically do 25 to 35% water changes which can only be done from the main tank. I'd have to have 22.5 gallons of water in my sump to do a 30% water change and that would mean a sump using a roughly 40+ gallon tank assuming your water level stays roughly half based on your baffle's and wet/dry chamber.

Edit: Then, shoot, there are three baffles that go all the way to the bottom in my sump, so I would have to suck each of those dry and one of the chambers has all of the bio-media in it and that would have to be removed. No way...doing a water change in a typical sump or wet/dry is not feasible...right?