Water Changes

[TrainRek77]

I have a bucket on wheels and a little pump with a hose on the end. I just fill the bucket up, roll it to the tank, put the pump in the bucket, the hose in the tank, plug it in and walk away.

 

[M4R13Y]

These are really great ideas

I was thinking siphon off the water when I vacuum the tank and when I wanna fill it up use a plastic jerri can with a submersible pump inside to fill it up

 

[Aquascaper]

As you've just said you could do what I did for my old reef tank....

Get a small powerhead/submersible with a length of hose, place bucket on floor or a chair, turn on powerhead/submersible and away you go (added bonus of being able to direct the new water to 'blow' any debris off tank decor as you fill it)

Only thing you have to consider is the pumping head, ie. how high the powerhead/submersible will pump water vertically, so it will reach the top of the tank from the bucket).

I also had a system set up for removing the water, a pump and float switch, so all it took was the flick of a switch and it would empty 20% of the tank before turning off. Made water changes easy as all I had to do was prepare the new water and place the return pump into the container

 

[M4R13Y]

As you've just said you could do what I did for my old reef tank....

Get a small powerhead/submersible with a length of hose, place bucket on floor or a chair, turn on powerhead/submersible and away you go (added bonus of being able to direct the new water to 'blow' any debris off tank decor as you fill it)

Only thing you have to consider is the pumping head, ie. how high the powerhead/submersible will pump water vertically, so it will reach the top of the tank from the bucket).

I also had a system set up for removing the water, a pump and float switch, so all it took was the flick of a switch and it would empty 20% of the tank before turning off. Made water changes easy as all I had to do was prepare the new water and place the return pump into the container

Great idea !!! I'm going to put a submersible pump in a 25 l plastic jerri can and do it that way

 

[M4R13Y]

If I can't find a pump small enough I will use a hand operated bilge pump

Anyone know where you can find a really small bilge pump

 

[brian1]

wow, not cheap http/www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_sacat=0&_kw=small+bilge

 

[fluttermoth]

Please don't think I'm being facetious, but why don't you just have smaller amount in your bucket, so it's easier and lighter to lift, and you can pour it out in a more controlled fashion.

If you were talking bigger tanks, then I'd definitely recommend hoses or pythons, but it's not worth it for tanks of less than 100l or so, IMO.

 

[M4R13Y]

wow, not cheap http/www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_sacat=0&_kw=small+bilge

Don't worry have found a different make that is manually operated for a tenner