Big water changes
- Thread starter 380reef
- Start date
offshore80
Member
That's a good question. Before you set up a big system you really need to think out stuff like that.
I backed my 300 gallon system up to the garage wall. And bored 2-1/2 inch holes through the wall and ran hoses to the garage where I have my fish room. I have a 40 gallon tank that I can isolate & bypass when needed. Then I syphon out the old water and refill with new mix. Then return it to inline.
I also can use it as a quarantine tank if need be. I keep my Chiller, denitrator, fuge & r/o systems in the garage also. I dump all the waste water in the sink. Works well.
I backed my 300 gallon system up to the garage wall. And bored 2-1/2 inch holes through the wall and ran hoses to the garage where I have my fish room. I have a 40 gallon tank that I can isolate & bypass when needed. Then I syphon out the old water and refill with new mix. Then return it to inline.
I also can use it as a quarantine tank if need be. I keep my Chiller, denitrator, fuge & r/o systems in the garage also. I dump all the waste water in the sink. Works well.
offshore80
Member
Here is more of my fish room. I have cabnets with back up pumps and mixing pumps. Along with a frige to keep all the stinky fish food.
jer4916
Active Member
Hey Guys,
I have a 125 gallon tank with a 35 gallon refigum, anyways when i do a water change i just empty the refigum...add my water/salt in a buckets...mix it...throw it in the refigum...let it sit over night with a couple power heads inside,and my heater....then come morning i just toss the switch and my pump does a water change... bada bing bada boom!
works quite well for me. But currently my refigum just has bio balls in it. my calerpa and miracle mud go in, in a week, so then i wont be able to do water changes as easy. But non the less with an ecosystem set up (mud/calerpa) almost no water changes are required. im going to do them, but people have been known to let them run for YEARS without doing water changes. So that might be an option for you.
But note: i do plan on doing water changes...why?..because i believe in them. but you can always add some type of plant into your system that will use the nitrates as food and thats an easy way to remove them without having to do tons of water changes.
~chris
the reason fyi ecosystems dont NEED water changes is because the mud has trace elements him them that last for years, so hence you dont need a water change on that part because its constantly feeding them into the tank (water changes normally add more trace elements) secondly the calerpa or plant life will eat your nitrates/nitrites) ....so it really becomes a small ecosystem that supports itself.
I have a 125 gallon tank with a 35 gallon refigum, anyways when i do a water change i just empty the refigum...add my water/salt in a buckets...mix it...throw it in the refigum...let it sit over night with a couple power heads inside,and my heater....then come morning i just toss the switch and my pump does a water change... bada bing bada boom!
works quite well for me. But currently my refigum just has bio balls in it. my calerpa and miracle mud go in, in a week, so then i wont be able to do water changes as easy. But non the less with an ecosystem set up (mud/calerpa) almost no water changes are required. im going to do them, but people have been known to let them run for YEARS without doing water changes. So that might be an option for you.
But note: i do plan on doing water changes...why?..because i believe in them. but you can always add some type of plant into your system that will use the nitrates as food and thats an easy way to remove them without having to do tons of water changes.
~chris
the reason fyi ecosystems dont NEED water changes is because the mud has trace elements him them that last for years, so hence you dont need a water change on that part because its constantly feeding them into the tank (water changes normally add more trace elements) secondly the calerpa or plant life will eat your nitrates/nitrites) ....so it really becomes a small ecosystem that supports itself.
ophiura
Active Member
Yup. Not doing water changes, regardless of whether you have a refugium or not is, IMO, a bad idea. People are focused on what they can test for, but there are many many many things that accumulate (or are depleted) through time that we don't have a thought to test for - nor understand the implications. IMO, it is like not cleaning an animals cage. If can survive, but it may lead to disease. It still gets air, but it sure may smell a whole lot.
I've been looking more deeply into the Ecosystem thing. Seems to have a fantastic marketing strategy, IMO. Its all a "miracle." Don't ask questions, and that makes me real uneasy like. Works on freshwater, saltwater, reef tanks...they sell an additive that makes "miraculous" claims (cures HLLE) and yet I can't find a mention of what it contains except NOT to use the FO one in a reef tank. :notsure: I agree it is best to do water changes with ecosystem filters just like you would with the poor man's equivalent refugium. That's a wise choice. :yes: There are very few couple of hundred gallon (being generous) self sustaining marine ecosystems that get no outside input in nature. Ecosystem filters work great, no doubt about it, which is why people came up with a way to turn a rubbermade container into basically the same thing, LOL
Success motivates knock offs
Which is why I seriously considered trying to make a knock off skimmer out of some rubbermaid containers and a few fittings....
I've been looking more deeply into the Ecosystem thing. Seems to have a fantastic marketing strategy, IMO. Its all a "miracle." Don't ask questions, and that makes me real uneasy like. Works on freshwater, saltwater, reef tanks...they sell an additive that makes "miraculous" claims (cures HLLE) and yet I can't find a mention of what it contains except NOT to use the FO one in a reef tank. :notsure: I agree it is best to do water changes with ecosystem filters just like you would with the poor man's equivalent refugium. That's a wise choice. :yes: There are very few couple of hundred gallon (being generous) self sustaining marine ecosystems that get no outside input in nature. Ecosystem filters work great, no doubt about it, which is why people came up with a way to turn a rubbermade container into basically the same thing, LOL
Success motivates knock offs
jer4916
Active Member
I actully sat on the phone with one of there reps for about an hour talking about the product and what it does. I also talked to a few friends of mine who use the product. The stuff does what it says it does, its amazing. But reguardless i do believe in water changes...they may not be once a month, or once a week, but they will happen. and they wont be massive ones...20 gallons here...20 gallons there...etc... just to keep certin things in check...i will be running a reef system, so i wont have a TON of fish, but i'll have a good amount of small fish...so hopefully i wont have massive amounts of waste in my system...but reguardless i do suggest the ecosystem method for everyone....even right now my tank is running without a skimmer and my water is crystal clear, and my levels are perfect.....so i honestly dont believe personally i'll ever run a skimmer again on a large tank.....small tank yes..its an absolute must...but with the ecosystem....neva!
~chris
~chris