yucky water changes

[alane67]

Everytime I do a water change I get water all over my new carpet. It has a glass middle 'bar' that prevents me from getting in there good.
I am still cycling a 75 G and curing rock.
Ok...the silly part. Can I buy a brand new small wet dry vac to suck out the old if I keep it clean?
I hate getting water on my carpet! HELP ME!!!
alane67

 

[nigerbang]

I attach a power-head to a hose and pump the water out...No mess...Makes adding new water 10x easier also..

 

[alane67]

What brand of powerhead do you use.
Thank you,
alane

 

[nigerbang]

MJ's..it really doesnt matter...just buy another PH put the little filter on and slide a vinyl hose over the end of that and submerse it..

 

[alane67]

one like for under gravels....ok, yes I am a newbie to salt
Alane

 

[lsu]

I just put an old towel on the floor, has worked so far

 

[monalisa]

Originally Posted by LSU
I just put an old towel on the floor, has worked so far
That's just what I do. I have a whole stack of "old" fish towels used strictly for saltwater maintenance.
Lisa

 

[nigerbang]

Originally Posted by alane67
one like for under gravels....ok, yes I am a newbie to salt
Alane
yeah....I have a MJ power head and a 6' piece of vinyl tubing..I can do a water change in a matter of about 20 minutes..I took someone on heres advice and have 2 trashcans that are used for nothing else but water..I have a mark on the inside of each that measures 20 gallons..Pump out the water to said line then pump in good water...

 

[becky913]

Originally Posted by NigerBang
yeah....I have a MJ power head and a 6' piece of vinyl tubing..I can do a water change in a matter of about 20 minutes..I took someone on heres advice and have 2 trashcans that are used for nothing else but water..I have a mark on the inside of each that measures 20 gallons..Pump out the water to said line then pump in good water...

Do you keep a power head running all the time in your garbage can water? I am wanting to do this. How long will it last in the garage?

 

[nigerbang]

I only do changes every 2 weeks...So I start mixing the water 2 days before I do the change..Which I know will end up bitting me in the rear...If something bad comes up I wont have any water on hand to do it with...

 

[team2jndd]

I just siphon into a premeasured bucket. This way I know exactly how much I took out (and how much to put in) and I can control exactly when I stop without worrying about cutting the electricity. Just make sure you get a long enough hose and you wont spill or get a mouth full of water.

 

[f14peter]

I have about a 5-foot hose with a ball valve in it and another couple of feet on the other side of the valve. The short hose goes into the drain bucket, I get a good siphon going and drain (like team2jndd) into a marked bucket. To stop the flow, I merely close the ball valve, empty the bucket, then re-opening the ball valve starts the flow again as the siphon isn't lost.
To fill, I have to tote the water in 5g buckets so like others I use a spare PH to pump the water up from the bucket into the tank. Once the tank is nearly full, I'll often just slowly pour the water in right out of the bucket.
I've gotten so I usually don't spill any water during changes, unless my labrador decides he wants to help!