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** StevieT's How to Change Water Guide **


StevieT

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  • 3 weeks later...
Reefermadne55
On 4/23/2008 at 11:17 AM, StevieT said:

I usually try and do this as slowly as possible, 

 

Is there a such thing as to slow like a 4 hour long trickle siphon out of a 1/8 in tube

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16 hours ago, Reefermadne55 said:

Is there a such thing as to slow like a 4 hour long trickle siphon out of a 1/8 in tube

 

If you're taking all of the old water out at once and then starting a trickle into the tank, and therefore corals are exposed or your water can't circulate through filtration/heating, then it's too long.

 

If you're setting up a trickle out of the tank at the same time as a trickle into the tank, you can take as long as you want. However, you'd be changing out some of the new water as well - your water change will be much less effective.

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17 hours ago, Reefermadne55 said:

Is there a such thing as to slow like a 4 hour long trickle siphon out of a 1/8 in tube

 

I have no idea what the quoted reply from 2008 was referring to, but I hope @Mariaface picked up on it.

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30 minutes ago, StevieT said:

 

I have no idea what the quoted reply from 2008 was referring to, but I hope @Mariaface picked up on it.

 

It may just be you saying you avoided splashing too much when adding water back in? Not quite sure. :P Too lazy to check 

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5 minutes ago, Mariaface said:

Too lazy to check 

 

Same here/busy.  If that is the case I dumped the water back in all at once, and tried not to splash.  But I was in no way slow about it.

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  • 4 months later...
  • 3 months later...
  • 3 months later...
On 4/23/2008 at 10:17 AM, StevieT said:

Step Ten: Scraping algae and Coralline

Every two to three weeks I need to clean my glass of hard green algae and coralline. I use a razor blade to remove this stuck on algae for pristine viewing.

 

IMG_3921.jpg

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Step Eleven: Remove water

 

Using a simple siphon to remove water from the tank, suspended detritus, and coralline/hard algae. You will need a second 5 gallon bucket to do this

 

IMG_3963.jpg

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Step Twelve: Add freshly mixed salt water back in

 

I usually try and do this as slowly as possible, avoiding directly hitting corals with the blast of water.

 

IMG_3927.jpg

 

add water back to your previous water level so SG and surface skimming are the same

 

Step Thirteen: Finishing up

If you have a protein skimmer it is a good time to empty and clean out your cup. Remove any salt creep from lighting covers and tank glass. I wipe down the outside of the tank and stand with Windex for a nice sparkle shine!

 

Clean out your sponges, change out filter floss. Check equipment for wear. If you have two sponges, it is a good idea to clean the one that was in your tank, put the extra on in, then let the one your rinsed to dry out. This prevents nitrate buildup.

 

Your water will take a few hours to clear up but when it does it will look better than ever.

 

IMG_3962-1.jpg

 

 

 

:happydance:

 

 

Is vacuuming the sand necessary?

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11 minutes ago, BJG said:

Is vacuuming the sand necessary?

Nope and it's not all that possible because of how fine saltwater aquarium sand is.

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9 minutes ago, StevieT said:

Nope and it's not all that possible because of how fine saltwater aquarium sand is.

 

9 minutes ago, StevieT said:

Nope and it's not all that possible because of how fine saltwater aquarium sand is.

 I figured just double checking, thanks

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18 hours ago, BJG said:

 

 I figured just double checking, thanks

To clean detritus on the top use a turkey baster, blow it on the top and siphon out as much shit that flies up.  Good flow should take care of most of the, and disrupting a sand bed (deeper down) that has been in place for a while can actually cause a tank crash.

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 19/03/2018 at 5:15 PM, BJG said:

Is vacuuming the sand necessary?

The vast majority do it. It keeps detritus low, prevents nutrient build up. Prevents major issues with algae outbreak.

 

Have you ever seen how disgusting sand gets with or without vacuuming?

 

It's a lot worse when not vacuumed.

 

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Great post/thread.  I think the most important thing to remember about this is to make sure you do your water changes regularly; weather its every week or every other week; gotta do them!

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  • 4 months later...
  • 1 month later...
  • 3 months later...

Wow, just finished reading through 14 pages of posts on this thread.  Great stuff!  Learned a lot!  Waiting for my Red Sea Max Nano to arrive in the mail.  Thanks for the info.  😊

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  • 4 weeks later...
  • 3 months later...
Yossarian88

Ok, I have not seen the following question, which is about a 75 gal tank with a 30-gal refugium (3 chambers; skimmer, then rocks/ caulerpa, then return pump).

 

When doing a water change, is there any downside to pumping out of a sump/refugium as opposed to taking water out of the display tank? Detritus is heavier down there. Might doing so make it more difficult to increase pod growth and export from down below? Or is it better to do plan B, pump from skimmer/ return pump chamber only?

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 3 years later...

I haven't did water changes for 4 months and my tank is clear as heck... and fish are healthy... though the greatest challenge for me is corals.

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