Question about Sumps and Water Changes

[siebertn]

As stated above you must always treat your "new" water no matter where you add it. Chlorine will cause madness in your tank especially if you have a smaller tank with less water volume.

 

[davdev]

Thanks all. I know I need to treat the water no matter where I put it. I have been reading on sumps and a few of the advantges listed for them was doing water changes out of them so as to not disturb the fish. This didn't seem like a good idea to me, so I wanted feedback. Seems like most agree it's not a good idea and do the changes out of the tank.

As an aside, if using a hose to refill, when do you add the treatment, after putting in the new water or before? Either way, I would make sure the sump is off so the water doesn't cycle to it until after it has been treated.

 

[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.

Read my post above again, I think this is the safest way as you get into a routine. This way the prime is already in the tank so you don't need to remember while you are doing or after doing the refill when you have other things on your mind such as water level, tidying up, etc.

As an aside, if using a hose to refill, when do you add the treatment, after putting in the new water or before? Either way, I would make sure the sump is off so the water doesn't cycle to it until after it has been treated.

 

[lungfishlover]

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.

how do you maintain the water temp in your tank? the water from the hose pipe down here in the south is damn cold so i cant imagine what temp it is in bonnie scotland

 

[jvin85]

I have a python, i simply run the water until it feels warm enough that it won't hurt the fish.

 

[Piscine]

I have a plastic container I keep full of water. Whenever it is time for a water change, I turn off my pump, drain 1/4 - 1/2 of my main tank, then pump the new water into the tank. When I hear water crest over the grates, I resume the main pump and get my sump water level where I want it.

Even if the water in the yellow reservoir is very cold or very hot, I pump it at a rate that barely affects the temp in the main tank.

 

[cichlid2006]

how do you maintain the water temp in your tank? the water from the hose pipe down here in the south is damn cold so i cant imagine what temp it is in bonnie scotland

TBH it is not something I have ever had problems with. Yeah it is cold out the tap but my tank only drops to about 22 degrees C from about 24 degrees C on a 50% w/c. I don't have to do anything to the water unless it is a particularly cold day then I pre mix warmer water into a bucket to take the chill off. The lowest it has dropped to, that I can remember in almost 20 years, is around 19 degrees C.
If anything I have problems keeping the temp in my tank down since starting the sump. I think my two eheim pumps create a lot of heat, I also have two 300w heaters to get it back up to temp quickly. Both heaters are set at 22 degrees C and my tank maintains 25-26.

It probably helps that I don't blast the water in as well, not a trickle but not full blast either. Really it isn't something I have thought about, the only thing I have changed over the years is the use of dechlorinator due to chloramine being introduced.