Water change ideas

[DKoKoMan]

I know some people have fancy fish rooms with drain valves and top up valves. This is so sweet because a water change is with ease. However this is not the case for the majority. I’m with you! I lug 5 gallon Pails for dirty saltwater and rift in to the toilet. I then use a small pump to fill the sump with the fresh saltwater. It’s a pain sometimes, but with my 150g I am only changing 30g biweekly.

[Dash]

And I only do a change once a month
(Although, every time husband will still say: what, again so soon? He is not a pet guy and yet I’ve filled the house with animals galore. He is quite tolerant I have to admit. And useful when I need pipes glued and lights hung)

[gregzz4]

I no longer deal with buckets. It cost a fair amount but my back is happy not hauling 7-8 buckets both ways. Below I talk about hose. I used 1/2" as it's softer so easier to work with than 3/4", but flows much slower. It's a trade-off I'm OK with.

You may not be able to use 'all' of my method/hardware, but maybe this will give you some ideas.

I have an Eheim Compact 3000 pump with Female Unions; the inlet is threaded and the outlet is connected with a short length of hose, a barb fitting and clamps.
I have 1/2" clear poly hose long enough to reach from the back of the house (RO Station/draining toilet) to my fish room.
This hose has Male Unions on both ends. This makes all the other parts a 'universal fit' and allows me to only need lay out and coil up the hose once during use.
My RO drum drain hose connects to the pump, then the hose goes to either my holding drum or my mixing tank, using a Female Union on a 'U' pipe.
My mixing tank has a bulkhead and valve on the bottom. When it's time it gravity feeds the sump.
I use a Quiet One 4000 with 1" hose for draining directly from the sump. 25 gallons takes mere minutes. It pumps into a drum with marks for my WC amount.
Then I put the Compact 3000 in the drum and, with another (dedicated) 'U' pipe on the toilet and held in place for safety by the seat and lid, well, you get it.
After I've pumped all the old SW out of the drum, I pump 2-3 gallons of RO to rinse the drum, pump and hose. Then I coil up the hose, letting it drain down the toilet as I go.
1 flush of the toilet and all is done.

I've been doing it this way for, I think, over a year and the hose is still clean and soft.

[Dash]

See, this is the type of thing that makes my bucket feel very inadequate...
I’d love to whip up something similar though