EZ Water Change System

[alan1]

I've kept fish for upwards of 25 years now. During this time, I've come to the conclusion that water changes are a pain in the....yeah.....

Sooo....I have been given the go ahead by the boss/wife to get a larger tank again (55 gal), and I want to set it up in a manner which will make it as easy as possible to maintain. I've included a pic of the type of set up I am envisioning for making water changes easier. Here is what I have so far:
1. The day before the water change, I fill up (via a side opening in the stand) the water change tank with salt and water, and turn on the agitator. The water change tank can't be too tall, unfortunately, as I think I'll have to be able to stick my hand down into it in order to check salinity/specific gravity to ensure the mix is correct. (I am currently purchasing 1 gal deionized water jugs from the grocery store for my 10 gal tank. It costs all of a couple bucks a week, but for a 55, maybe that isn't the way to go)
2. The day of the water change, I turn on the "water change" pump in the sump which empties the water down to the level I figure out matches the amount of water I want to bring in from the water change tank. I am seriously thinking of tying in the excess water tube into the drain from our water heater which empties into our planter box in the yard. Query.....Will saltwater kill our lawn? LOL!
3. I then turn on the pump in the water change tank which moves the water over to the sump. However...I don't want to emty ALL of the water out, correct? Isn't it bad for pumps to run dry even if it is for a short time?
What do you guys think? I'm completely open to all forms of input and opinions. This is just a "rough draft" and I'm sure it will (I hope!) look quite a bit different as a final project.

 

[harris28]

Running a pump dry will cause cavitation which is not good. Over time the pump will fail. You should always try to keep water above the pump. HAHA yea it will kill your grass.lol

 

[snakeblitz33]

Yes, saltwater will kill your grass, and don't dump it by any brick, or else it will seep into it and cause erosion over time.
The plan that you have is pretty good. You can make it easier on yourself by installing an RO Unit and having your sump and your water changing container on two float valves and make sure to have ball valves on the water change line.
Also, instead of permanently installing your container underneath your tank, you should consider a plastic rubbermaid bin so that you can pull it out, take it off, and clean it up after every change.
On the large commercial systems that I take care of, I have 100 gallon rubbermaid sumps for water changes. with the float valve system. It works really well.
Good luck!

 

[alan1]

Thanks for the replies guys. :] Darn it tho. It stinks to hear that I can't drain the sump to the yard. LOL... Hmmm.....Looks like I'll need another alternative for draining.
Attached to this post is a pic of my 2nd draft. Instead of using a pump to move water to the sump, I thought I'd just position a 10 gal tank above the sump, and use a syphon with a squeeze ball set-up to start the sypon, or drill the 10 gal in the bottom. Are 10 gal tanks tempered on the bottom? I sure didn't think about cleaning out the water change container after each change. Is this really necessary? If so, my design is kind of in trouble, as it would be kind of a pain to clean a 10 gal tank under a stand.
Installing a RO system would be GREAT, since I've been purchasing distilled water in one gallon jugs at the store as needed. I can already tell that a 55 gal tank would require me to purchase a lot of jugs; probably not the best solution. Unfortunately, the tank will be in a bedroom/computer room which isn't plumbed. How much would it cost to set up something like that? I shouldn't even ask tho, as there is no way the "boss" would let me have plumbing installed into that room. (A direct drain to the sewer would solve my problem of getting rid of water during changes tho)

What do you guys think? Any suggestions on my second "draft"?
Alan

 

[nordy]

It looks like a workable system that once set up will work for you. I see the critical step as making the mix in 10 gallon resevoir exactly right in salinity and of course temperature. If you mark some accurate volume measurements on that tank then you can put precise amounts of salt in, turn on the agitator and heater, and in a day or two have make up that you can just syphon into the sump. As you mention, make sure that you have access to the 10 gallon tank when needed to check salinity/ph/temp etc. I think though that if you have to bring your ro water up to the DT without the extra plumbing mentioned in your first draft, then it may be a lot of work just for weekly/biweekly water changes on a 55 gal tank.
I have a simple system for my 55: I use measured 5 gal. buckets, prepping water a day or two before a water change, draining into another measured 5 gal bucket twice, then schlepping the 2 buckets upstairs and pumping it into the tank. If you only do this once a week or every 2 weeks, then it's really not such a big deal I have found. Using buckets with graduated measurements makes the whole process a lot easier.

 

[ameno]

some food for thought, I'm setting up an auto water change system, it will basically change out 1% of the water per day, to set it up I'm using two brute trash cans, stacked. the one on top will have DI water made up and the one on bottom will have the saltwater ready to go in the tank. I will use a dualhead reeffiller pump set up on a timer to come on several times a day until it pump out the 1%.

 

[wattsupdoc]

Ameno, one of the things I've been kicking around on ia an AWC, with aqua lifters. I'll send you a PM with my thoughts thus far.