Frequent Small Water Changes

[less than bread]

I’m toying with the idea of doing smaller water changes every other day with the help of an extra ATO set up.

 

I feel like bigger weekly water changes sort of throw off my system a bit and I want to keep my levels as consistent as possible. Also, doing the whole water change process is kind of a job.

 

I have a 20 gallon AIO and my thought process is this: Have a pre-mixed, pre-heated 5 gallon jug with extra ATO pump. Set the extra ATO sensor at the level in the return chamber where the water settles when the pump is off.

 

Turn off RODI ATO, Return, Heater

Manually siphon out chambers until empty

Turn on the water change ATO

Turn off water change ATO when filled

Turn on RODI ATO, Return, Heater

 

Doing this should only take a few minutes and I like it because it doesn’t disturb the display in any way. I get to leave the powerheads on and the fish don’t know the difference.

 

A big question though is keeping pre-mixed, pre-heated saltwater. Is it enough to just stick a small powerhead in the jug to keep the water moving?

[debbeach13]

Interesting. It sounds like it should work. Following to see how it goes.

[Tired]

Seems reasonable. And, yes- you just need a pump in the jug. I wouldn't bother pre-heating it- even if it's completely frigid, a small water change won't change the temperature enough to be a concern. Reef life encounters minor temp shifts all the time via stray waves.

 

That said, you could probably also do this by scooping a pitcher full of water out of the tank and pouring a pitcher full in, maybe into the AIO compartments. Probably less trouble. 

 

Make sure you actually need to be doing that many water changes, too. If you don't need to replace minerals or remove nutrients, don't change the water.

[mcarroll]

On 4/13/2023 at 10:55 AM, less than bread said:

A big question though is keeping pre-mixed, pre-heated saltwater. Is it enough to just stick a small powerhead in the jug to keep the water moving?

All unnecessary.

 

It takes no more than 5 minutes to mix small quantities of salt water.  And as Tired said, small water changes won't have a significant impact on temp.  Small temp swings are tolerated really well anyway....fish seem to actually like them in most cases.  Maybe corals too.  IMO it reminds them of storms, which probably stir up lots of food among other benefits. 

 

Also, nothing is going to "fall out of solution" just because the water isn't moving.  In fact, although it seems contrary, the opposite is true.  If you heat the water and leave a pump in it for circulation, both devices will encourage precipitation of carbonates (along with ca and mg) from the water.   Regardless, mixing on demand may be a better option than premixing-and-storing anyway.

 

FYI, I did a water change a day for a bunch of days on my system a few years back....might be an interesting read.

 

Related: Here are the two videos of how I mixed saltwater for 100+ days in a row – one vid with powerhead; one vid mixing manually.  (In a playlist...notice the playlist control in the upper-right of the vid.):

 

BTW, most of the ways we've been shown to mix saltwater SUCK (air stones, pump on the bottom, pump and heater on the bottom, etc).  You'll like these methods better. 😉