Do water changes get easier?

[Juuls]

Second water change (ever) and this time I felt a bit more organised, water prepared on time, new bucket old bucket, tests kits for checks, thermometers at in the bucket and tank etc.

But I find myself watching the tank for two hours or so afterwards in case everything drops dead because I did everything wrong.

 

I hope soon I will manage to convince myself I can do this without killing everything.

 

It doesn't help that the corals appear to freak out each time the water is changed.

[crouton]

If you screw something up you'll notice really quickly. I once did a water change with fresh water. Nothing bad happened in the long run, but i had a scary 24 hours.

[ajmckay]

Haha! Yeah I know the feeling. About the best thing you can do is just be organized. Try to think it through and establish a routine. Last things before actually doing the water change is to verify temp and salinity match.

 

A lot of people find it's easiest to have a "mixing station". For example I use a 20 gallon trash can with a spigot installed on the bottom to mix saltwater in larger batches. I keep a pump and heater in it so it's pretty much always ready and with a lid on you don't evap much at all.

 

One thing I like to do is do all my water changes in the sump because it doesn't disturb the display tank or cause a sand storm. If you don't have a sump and need to do it in the display you could use that to more carefully pump the water into the tank from your bucket. If you don't like your water level getting low you could even use the pump and fill at the same time you're taking water out. Maybe do it on the other side of the tank so you're not siphoning out the new water.

[ReefSafeSolutions]

The worst is when you forget to turn your pumps off...and then you hear that AWFUL dry sucking noise. The following scramble to unplug everything is always amusing...after the fact!

[pntbll687]

The worst is when you forget to turn your pumps off...and then you hear that AWFUL dry sucking noise. The following scramble to unplug everything is always amusing...after the fact!

^^^ this is sooooooo true

 

But after time it does get easier because you know what your doing.

[Pinner Reef]

They'll get easier. You'll memorize test instructions, have a cup marked with the proper amount of salt per bucket, learn the quickest way to scrape various algae. I've gotten to the point where a 10% change only takes about 10 min after prep which I do in between other chores

[NorthGaHillbilly]

Once I got my mixing station set up, its a breeze, less than 5 min if Im not worried about getting ditritus up.

 

I will say tho, if your coral are reacting then something isnt going 100% correct. Temp, SG and alk need to me matched before you change it out, or those are the three I test atleast

[Bill Nye]

As you get your routine down it will be like second nature. My biggest recommendation would be to get a grey brute or something similar that can hold 30+ gallons for your water change bin. That way you can just make a ton of water so its not such a chore every time. Plus when I fill my brute I can just leave it going without having to check on it every 5 minutes. I used to make 5 gallons at a time when I was living in an apartment and it made water changes brutal.

[smeagol108]

I only make five gallons at a time. But it's only a six Gallon tank. Haha. That last me two-three changes/one week or so. Pre mixing and keeping that at temp and sg makes it easiest as others have said.

[gulfsurfer101]

The worst is when you forget to turn your pumps off...and then you hear that AWFUL dry sucking noise. The following scramble to unplug everything is always amusing...after the fact!

This is why I have all my pumps on one strip except my jeabo rw8 that sits about mid tank that provides constant flow!

 

Here's some helpful tips. Figure out how much water you need to change weekly then figure exactly how much salt you'll need to get the proper salinity at. That's now routine. Mix your water and let it get to the proper temperature. Now you're ready to drain out the same amount of water so use an identical bucket that your newly mixed water is in. Use a spare pump to get the majority of your water in your tank. Flip back on your power strip with all your pumps once you've emptied the bucket info your tank. Congratulations, your are finished.

[Juuls]

Once I got my mixing station set up, its a breeze, less than 5 min if Im not worried about getting ditritus up.

 

I will say tho, if your coral are reacting then something isnt going 100% correct. Temp, SG and alk need to me matched before you change it out, or those are the three I test atleast

 

 

Oh I shall have to try and make the corals happy I do know I have a dump the bucket of water in theory which is probably not too good for them.

 

I like ajmckay's and gulfsurfer101's idea to use a pump to put water back in.

 

Also really reassured by the fact if it will be obvious, that will probably reduce my watch duty from 2 hours to 1 hour after a water change. On the positive side everything looks great after yesterday's clean up

[CronicReefer]

 

 

Oh I shall have to try and make the corals happy I do know I have a dump the bucket of water in theory which is probably not too good for them.

 

I like ajmckay's and gulfsurfer101's idea to use a pump to put water back in.

 

Also really reassured by the fact if it will be obvious, that will probably reduce my watch duty from 2 hours to 1 hour after a water change. On the positive side everything looks great after yesterday's clean up

Just make sure you put your hand in front of the stream to increase the surface area the water comes in contact with so you aren't creating a strong current. I'd get a cheap pump though, turns water changes into ez mode when you don't have to use a bucket.