Water Change

[rhysiboy]

hi it may not be hardware tbh but ive heard people say that in nano reefs you do not pour freshwater into the tank. someone told me this but didnt care to explain how the hell im supposed to get the water in the tank safely. could you please help out?

 

[PaulasPets]

When you do a waterchange you mix up some new saltwater, possibly a day earlier. Make sure its at the same temp and sallinity as your tank. You can now do your waterchange...

Paula

 

[robbhp]

by fresh water do you mean fresh water IE to top up tank or fresh salt water ?

rob

 

[Jordon]

just donyt make the same mistake i made. which is changing tyhe water and cleaning the filter the same day. what a week or to because it could destroy your eco-system in your tank.

 

[Eelzor]

hi it may not be hardware tbh but ive heard people say that in nano reefs you do not pour freshwater into the tank. someone told me this but didnt care to explain how the hell im supposed to get the water in the tank safely. could you please help out?

It really depends on how much treated freshwater is going into the nano. A Nano marine tank is a small body of water and pouring a large amount of freshwater into a saltwater tank can have salinity shock on fish and inverts. However if your pouring only a tiny amount for a top off, there's nothing wrong with that. Although do it slowly and try not to pour it right on top of a fish or something.

 

[rhysiboy]

okey dokey. ive also heared something about the ?drip method? anyoine no what that is. and if i do a water change what would i do in that case?

 

[Eelzor]

The drip method is a way of acclimatising new fish. It is mainly used for creatures that are particularly sensitive to change in salinity (i.e. starfish), however it is the safest way to introduce a fish/invert without shock. What I do is have a pipe with a small adjustment tap allowing water to fall down out of the tank into the bag at about 1 drop per second after the bag is 50% tank water and 50% bag water, your set to introduce the fish.

As for water changing, ensure that the pre-mixed saltwater is the same salinity as the water in your tank, then pour the water in slowly. I would say that maximum volume of water to change in the tank at a time would be 10% - to avoid temperature shock too.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

okey dokey. ive also heared something about the ?drip method? anyoine no what that is. and if i do a water change what would i do in that case?

drip method would be you literally put it in one drop at a time or by a very slow trickle.

i find just getting a jug and pouring it very slowly in, into the path of a powerhead so it all gets mixed up really quickly is fine

 

[Chac]

If it is a Nano & we are talking about Topping up the evaporated water then I would suggest either using an Auto Top Uo or (the low tech Method) of a 2ltr Bottle & a peice of PVC Pipe & drip the water in over the course of a day

IMO topping up your Nano this way (ie very slowly) will be less stress on your livestock rather than pouring 2 ltrs in 5 mins & you simply create the syphon & lock the hose down using a PVC clamp (or tie in a knot)so that it is just dripping 1 -2 per second & leave it at that

If you mean Water Changes then Eelzor has mentioned this but there shouldnt be any 'Temperature Shock' as if you bring the 'newly mixed & aerated Saltwater' upto the same temp as the 'Tank water'

 

[rhysiboy]

okay so for top ups ill just use a sports bottle thing to do top ups and do it like 2 things every hour (only small bottles) im just getting as much info about every little thing so it will go right as id hate to crash as there is only one chritmas a year.

 

[Eelzor]

If you mean Water Changes then Eelzor has mentioned this but there shouldnt be any 'Temperature Shock' as if you bring the 'newly mixed & aerated Saltwater' upto the same temp as the 'Tank water'

I forgot to mention to bring the newly changed water to tank temperature before it is added, as on very cold days you'll find that stored saltwater (pre-mixed) in drums can be very cold compared to the tropical tank water. Colder water should never be added straight in - found the result of that the hard way.

 

[rhysiboy]

okay thanks man ill just have to buy a small heater . oh and also is it ok to use the heater out of my fresh water after its been boiled, scrubbed and totaly cleaned? coz then id use that for pre mixed water and buy a new for the tank.

 

[Chac]

Yeah