Water Change With Sump

[fishlette]

was just sitting here pondering my first water change. the tank is 4ft and the sump is a 2ft. if i empty water out of the tank and it stops draining i would then have to turn the return pump off eventually right? is this the best way to do it?

 

[Ter]

I stop all water movement before i syphon... I find it makes my job easyer with less water flow...
Ter

 

[andywg]

Depends on how big your final chamber is in your sump.

I tend to drain from the big tank which causes the sump level to drop. Once it drops to just above the pump inlet I start filling back up again straight into the sump.

On a big change I will kill the pump and both drain and fill from the sump.

 

[SkiFletch]

Depends on how big your final chamber is in your sump.

I tend to drain from the big tank which causes the sump level to drop. Once it drops to just above the pump inlet I start filling back up again straight into the sump.

On a big change I will kill the pump and both drain and fill from the sump.

Agreed, I just start vaccuming until I hear my pump airlock from the last chamber going dry then shut it off and keep going. Once I've pulled the right volume out I fill the sump and pump it back up. Makes adding lots of water easy cause I dont have to lift it 5 feet off the ground to get it in the tank