WarDog's Tank Thread : Episodic Trial And Error

[WarDog]

Wow. Day 44 of keeping my first reef tank and the learning curve is still huge! The livestock are all good, but I am making new discoveries every day in regard to my setup and hardware.

I say this because today, I preformed my first water change.

I figured mixing fresh s/w in a 20 gal tank on my dining room table next to the tank was a good idea. No, it wasn't.
I figured using a 75W heater to bring the water up to temp was a good idea. No, it wasn't.
I figured using a Rio600 to mix the salt was a good idea. No, it wasn't.
I figured using the same Rio600 with some 5/8 hose to drain the tank to the kitchen sink 18 feet away... was a good idea. No, it really wasn't.

Needless to say, I'm going to build a brute container water mixing bin, with hard plumbing, a much stronger pump, larger heaters and a wheeled caddy. Stay tuned as this needs to be built before my next w/c.

In the end I changed around 18 gals in my 80 gal system. Not bad. I was able to take a few pictures, when I had free hands.

Looks like a short distance and an easy task, yes? Ummmmm, nope.



Draining the tank to the tape mark, a calculated 18 gals.



Needed something to suck debris out of the sump. Had to sacrifice my favourite chop stick. Worked like a charm.



Crap built up in the sump. Might need a few CuC down there in the future.





Thanks for looking.