1st Water Change - Proper Procedure

[neosoulman]

Im about to do my first offical water change for my 80 gal tank. I was hoping to get some opinions on what the best way to go about this is.
I'm assuming that I should remove 20% of the water first, do I remove that from the sump or from the tank?
Do I need to shut down the skimmer and all the pumps first?
Once I have the 20% water out of the tank, do I add the new salt water back into the sump or tank?
What about the water temp of the new water? I've got it at room temp, my tank has been at a stable 80/82 degrees.
Any other helpful tips would be appreciated.

 

[scotts]

Well not knowing your tank it is kind of hard to answer those questions. Cause, how big is your sump, if you take out 16 gallons will it lower the water level below the level of your pumps.......
But basically take out the water where it is easiest to remove and add it where it is easiest to put it back in. Although thinking about it in the ideal world I think taking the water from the sump and adding it to the sump is the best thing. Don't worry about the temp, it will all even out quickly. If you have a LS substrate do NOT vacuum it. If you have a CC substrate this would be a good time to vacuum it.
Did I confuse you enough?
Scott

 

[birdy]

The first step is to make you saltwater 24hrs in advance, run a powerhead and a heater in it so that the temp and salinity match your tank.
This is what I usually do:
1. Shut off pumps (usually skimmer also, or it will overflow more than likely).
2. siphon water from the tank, sucking up detritus as necessary (if you see a buildup on top of the sand or on the rock work). For the first wc take out 25%, after that 10% per week is plenty.
3. Put new water in the sump.
4. turn pump back on.

 

[neosoulman]

Im not exactly sure how much my sump holds, but lets say it holds 5 gallons. If im doing a 20% water change (16 gallons), I would need to shut everything off, completely empty my sump, then turn the the pumps back on to get water back into the sump in order to remove the other 11 gallons right?
Once I do that - I guess ill need to add 5 gallons back into the sump, and 11 gallons directly into the tank, since my sump would overflow at that point.
Kinda confused...I want to avoid any stress to my fish and also prevent any wateroverflow into my living room!