Water change prep

[m8298]

I'm curious on how most of you make up your new water for water changes. I currently make up my water in old Instant ocean buckets, I match the salinity and temp, and I mix it the night before. I've never tried to match other tank parameters such as PH, Alk, and Calcium. But I am curious about how some of you do.

I'd like to hear about what parameters you match.
How you go about matching them (additives, measurements, etc.)
The vessel you store it in.
How much time in advance do you prepare it.

These questions stem from a link that I read, that V posted in another thread. I was someone's tank journal, and this person was using a Rubbermaid stock tank to hold his change water. He was matching his tanks PH, Alk, Calcium, Salinity, Temp, and Magnesium. When he did his changes, he would drain out the appropriate amount of water, and exchange it with the water already made up in this tank. He was even doing top-off in his new water. I found this intriguing, does anyone else do something similar?

And by the way, thanks for another killer link, V...

[V]

yeah no sweat bud!

i dont know what link cause im a six pack short of a case, but i'll take the compliment anyways!:D always a sucker for extra loven..lol

im assuming is a sump change over only practise or something simular?. there are so many ways to do change-overs its not funny!
some drain slowly whilst adding make-up water as kalk, corecting here and there! others do their 10-20% a month in one hit with the same parmeters. to be honest, its not a question of how you do it, but rather what equiptment u own! cause it makes the world of difference in this regard.

your daily meal ticket is always Temp, PH, and SG. thats a no-brainer! as for whether you add your buffers manually, add your kalk, flick your snail off the auto top-off, check your CO2 bubbler on the Ca reactor, mix a broth of grandpa's 'finest its all down to how you set it up and how much automation you set in place!

[V]

for me im down grading in the light that one day soon, i'll get of my backside and buy another block of land so we can move. just a brief background reality check, ive got the family thing going on, and another one on the way, so im tipping in the next few months the misses will be breaking my balls for this to kick into high gear! anyways, on with the show............. me im lazy, i have a wicked LFS, thats as cheap as a $2 hooker for things like RO and NSW, so i get that by the barrell, i add it to the holding tank filled with junk bits of coral rubble and left over ceramic noodles, add my secret V_man juices and 7 herbs and spices and im matching my levels, i then pump the wicked gear to the brink of no return & im back to watching TV! simple as Forest Gump!, as for the next set-up, well thats a story that will make vanilla ice seem cool again!:o

[m8298]

I don't remember which thread it was in, but this is the link I was referring to:
http://sio.midco.net/cdshelton/website/index.htm

I love seeing how other people do stuff like this.

[m8298]

Hey congrats on having another one on the way... How many will that make?

I have three girls, 8, 5, and 2. Which should explain why my setup is not as extravagant as I would like, TIME and $. Both are in short supply these days.

[V]

ahh, yes, old mate sps obssessed, not a bad read, a few pitfalls, all & all he turned it into a great tank thats got the goods! i enjoyed the read many a time. the hands on element that came with it did it for me! the whole setup cost a pretty penny, getting his hands dirty with the DIY stuff made it seem managable.

i'll post up 2 more orsome build-ups if u wish.

[V]

Hey congrats on having another one on the way... How many will that make?

I have three girls, 8, 5, and 2. Which should explain why my setup is not as extravagant as I would like, TIME and $. Both are in short supply these days.


yeah, i hear ya! spendings aren't what they used to be with spendings card hostage negotations with the other half.
this new one will be the 2nd for me, first was a boy, second hopefully a girl!
for the gear, i dont mind buying pre-loved items if you know whats quality. keep an eye out for some gear on the trading post pages or the LFS selling points to save a quid here and there! and try to work the tank to the gear, not the other way round.

[m8298]

Always ready for the good stuff like that, post away, mate.

[m8298]

yeah, i hear ya! spendings aren't what they used to be with spendings card hostage negotations with the other half.
this new one will be the 2nd for me, first was a boy, second hopefully a girl!
for the gear, i dont mind buying pre-loved items if you know whats quality. keep an eye out for some gear on the trading post pages or the LFS selling points to save a quid here and there! and try to work the tank to the gear, not the other way round.


Yup, pre-loved items are definately cool with me, combine that with my love for the DIY stuff, and I make do pretty well. The DIY stuff is addictive, and it's not even about the $, it's the whole idea that "hmmm, not only could I build that, I can make it better."

[m8298]

So, you use NSW in your change water? Your not afraid of adding the unwanted?

[V]

as long as you dont defect to the dark side, and dont tell rob lol

louey's thread (http://reefs.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=70766&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=200&sid=caf3fbc0f4972b68eec433badf1ec779)


florida MD (http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5253)

2 things, i hope the links hold, and you might need to be a member to view, which after all this time, i guess i still am!

[V]

So, you use NSW in your change water? Your not afraid of adding the unwanted?

depends on the source, depends if they hook a UV in the works. and third, those very few lucky people that collect natrally do so with common sence mostly, so collecting off the local pier doesn't happen if you catch my drift!
but each to there own!

[CarmieJo]

Hey V,

Congratulations on then new frag!

[gwen_o_lyn]

When's the frag due?

[V]

thanks guys, late march-early april its due. i shall call my frag >fungia! lol

[gwen_o_lyn]

lol, I dare you to call him/her that! I think Zoanthid is a pretty name... or more serious, I like Marina or Shelly for an ocean themed name, as long as it's a girl. :)

Or how about Galaxia- Sounds spacey for all your adventures to Mars, but yet oceany too. :)

[Stevej72]

Not Marina, to many "docking" and "sub" jokes
But Xenia is nice

[CarmieJo]

V's other half might have something to say about us naming their baby. But maybe we should start a poll anyhow! :D

And, we've hijacked John's thread.

[Stevej72]

Sorry John, Back on topic
I match the temp, mix, buffer, dump

[CarmieJo]

I match SpG, pH and temp.

[m8298]

V's other half might have something to say about us naming their baby. But maybe we should start a poll anyhow! :D

And, we've hijacked John's thread.

Not to worry about hijacking the thread. The topic got better. I think the poll might be a good idea. If we leave the naming to V, his other half may get irritated and decide to try reproduction by budding next time. lol

I like Xenia, or how bout Cappanella? I dunno V's last name to check how it sounds...

[CarmieJo]

If we leave the naming to V, his other half may get irritated and decide to try reproduction by budding next time. lol

There are a lot of bio firms out there that would like to have that technology!

[V]

i dont know if i like that idea! however breif, i would miss out on the 2min of fun if that happened! :roll:

ive already picked a girls name, if its a boy im cactus cause ive got nothing new in mind! although some marine names that u guys posted did sound alright for the girls!

john, how'd those links play out, anything useful?

[m8298]

i dont know if i like that idea! however breif, i would miss out on the 2min of fun if that happened! :roll:


So, it took you two times? :rotfl:

Of course the links are useful, mate. Your links always are.

[V]

30seconds on a hot plate seems like forever, yet 2 mins with a hot woman seems to last at least 18years! :D
glad you found the links handy, any questions>>>>>>um >>>ask blubber..lol