first water change with a sump

[jstdv8]

Ok, so I hooked up my sump/fuge about a week ago and everything is going good. Went to do a water change today and realized I never thought about the best way to do this.
Do i take water out of the sump? out of the DT?
Or can i simply put all of the new water into the sump and then drain out the same amount as i put in? I suppose thats not the ebst because I didnt change as much fresh water as i would normaly?
I do have a drain on the overflow side coming in to the sump. I don't know if this will help with this part or not.
Thanks

 

[jrod4u]

I actually still just do my water changes out of my DT. I have a 120g and I do half and half. Half of old water out, half of new in, half of old out, new in. Might be a personal thing, but that way I know everything will keep running and my water level will not change nor will I have a huge fluctuation in temp or parameters. Might take a little bit more time, but it's worth it.

 

[eric b 125]

all of my water changes are gravity fed siphon. i turn off my return pump, siphon out water from the DT to a bucket on the floor. then i put the freshly mixed water bucket on a chair and siphon the new water into the sump. after about 1/2 of the water has been drained from the bucket, i turn the return pump back on and finish the water change.

 

[florida joe]

what size tank ?

 

[jstdv8]

its a 90 gallon.
I can siphon water out of the DT, but my tank sits up about 7' to the top so gettinga siphon back into the DT would be tough. I could do it into the sump though. If I do a siphon into the sump should I put the new water in the first chamber where the skimmer is so it gets a chance to mix a bit before going into the DT or doesnt that really matter?

 

[jstdv8]

my bad, you were siphoning into the sump

 

[ali19]

Good idea to put it in the first part of the sump before the filter/skimmer should mix up good. Me personally do the whole change rather than ding half then half cos you may end up taking out some of that new water out you just put in. Why do that?

 

[ibew41]

Originally Posted by Jstdv8
http:///forum/post/3205590
its a 90 gallon.
I can siphon water out of the DT, but my tank sits up about 7' to the top so gettinga siphon back into the DT would be tough. I could do it into the sump though. If I do a siphon into the sump should I put the new water in the first chamber where the skimmer is so it gets a chance to mix a bit before going into the DT or doesnt that really matter?
get a used mag pump to bring the water up to your tank it will save your back

 

[casper1875]

I mix my saltwater a few days before I do my water change, and make sure my temp and salinity are the same as my DT.
I shut off my return pump.
I use a mag pump with a hose to siphon out of the DT into a 32 gallon trash can and take out 30 gallons of water.
Then I take my mag pump and put it into my fresh saltwater. I fill my sump and then start my return pump.
This works really nice for me. When I had my 75 I use to siphon out a 5 gallon bucket at a time and dump it. Took longer to do the change on the 75 then it does for the 180.

 

[florida joe]

get a used mag pump to bring the water up to your tank it will save your back

I like taking water from my DT because it allows me to vacuum the substrate and LR at the same time

 

[browniebuck]

I just did my first water change on my 125 (also my first experience with a sump)...I mixed my water yesterday and let it run with a pump and a heater to get it well mixed and up to temperature. I used a gravel vac (normally for FW systems) as a siphon to get water out of my DT (I used the vac to get any areas that needed vacuumed...but there were few). I used two 19 gallon rubbermaid tubs, one with the new water and the other was catching the old water. I had them side by side in order to match the amounts coming out and going in. Once I had siphoned the same amount of water out, I took the pump out of my sump and placed it into the new tub and pumped the new water into the DT until the pump could no longer pump the water (level too low)...then I poured the remainder of the water into a 5 gallon bucket and poured it SLOWLY into the DT. Once all of the water was back in...I started everything back up and watched to make sure that things worked as they were supposed to (afraid that I would make a mistake)...everything is going fine now, fishies are happy and so am I!!!