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I was wondering what techniques & equipment those of you with the bigger tanks (75g+) use to clean your tanks and do water change-outs? I'm Especially curious about those with Tropheus who are doing up to 50% water changes, twice a week.
For my 90 gallon tank I currently use a 32 gallon Brute brand trash-can with matching, inter-locking dolly on bottom that I got at Lowes. I drilled out a hole about 2 inches from the bottom and installed a brass pet-**** valve (classic spigot) with a plastic sealing nut on the inside. I used bathroom silicone sealer to create a watertight seal around the seams.
I then got 6 feet of 3/8th clear tubing to hook into my vacuum tube, and got a female water-hose adapter that fits the 3/8ths tubing. I also bought a threaded male adapter for my kitchen sink faucet that will accept female water-hose threads.
The last thing I bought was a 115 volt water pump, that pumps 5 gallons a minute with a 10 foot lift. It runs on a standard 110 AC plug.
(NOTE: I had wanted to take pictures to post of my cleaning setup Sunday when I did a water change, but I ran short on time. I'll take pictures of my setup this Saturday when I do my next change..)
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The system works like this:
To vacuum the tank.. Â I hook the vacuum tubing with the female garden hose adapter to the inlet on the pump, which is hanging off the side of the trashcan. The pump comes with a 6 foot section of garden hose that is connected to the outlet and lays in the trash-can. I get a partial prime by scooping some water from the tank into the vacuum tube, then plug in the pump. It has enough juice from there to usually establish a good prime. From there, it only takes about 6-7 minutes to suck up 25-27 gallons (or about 30%).
To drain the waste water.. I wheel the full trash-can over to the back door, take the 6 foot hose from pump, connect it to the pet-**** valve at the bottom, open it up, and it drains outside at about 2-3 gallons a minute - about 10-15 minutes.
To prep new water.. I hook the 3/8th vacuum tubing to the water-hose adapter on the sink faucet. I think use it to fill the trash-can with tap water. The benefit of using the sink, is that I'm able to control the temperature & keep it as close to the tank temp as possible. I then batch mix my water treatment chemicals.
To refill the tank.. I just hook up everything used to drain the tank, except I reverse the flow (by hooking the hoses up opposite). It fills at the same rate as it drains - about 25-27 gallons in approximately 6-7 minutes.
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And that's how I'm doing water changes now. All said, it only takes about 30-45 minutes to complete a change. I had considered getting a Venturi kitchen faucet adapter plus the hosing, but our kitchen sink is approximately 35-40 feet from our tank. It just seemed like too much of a hassle. Of course, if I could plumb the back of my tank, then non of this would be necessary.
So how is everyone else doing theirs?
For my 90 gallon tank I currently use a 32 gallon Brute brand trash-can with matching, inter-locking dolly on bottom that I got at Lowes. I drilled out a hole about 2 inches from the bottom and installed a brass pet-**** valve (classic spigot) with a plastic sealing nut on the inside. I used bathroom silicone sealer to create a watertight seal around the seams.
I then got 6 feet of 3/8th clear tubing to hook into my vacuum tube, and got a female water-hose adapter that fits the 3/8ths tubing. I also bought a threaded male adapter for my kitchen sink faucet that will accept female water-hose threads.
The last thing I bought was a 115 volt water pump, that pumps 5 gallons a minute with a 10 foot lift. It runs on a standard 110 AC plug.
(NOTE: I had wanted to take pictures to post of my cleaning setup Sunday when I did a water change, but I ran short on time. I'll take pictures of my setup this Saturday when I do my next change..)
--
The system works like this:
To vacuum the tank.. Â I hook the vacuum tubing with the female garden hose adapter to the inlet on the pump, which is hanging off the side of the trashcan. The pump comes with a 6 foot section of garden hose that is connected to the outlet and lays in the trash-can. I get a partial prime by scooping some water from the tank into the vacuum tube, then plug in the pump. It has enough juice from there to usually establish a good prime. From there, it only takes about 6-7 minutes to suck up 25-27 gallons (or about 30%).
To drain the waste water.. I wheel the full trash-can over to the back door, take the 6 foot hose from pump, connect it to the pet-**** valve at the bottom, open it up, and it drains outside at about 2-3 gallons a minute - about 10-15 minutes.
To prep new water.. I hook the 3/8th vacuum tubing to the water-hose adapter on the sink faucet. I think use it to fill the trash-can with tap water. The benefit of using the sink, is that I'm able to control the temperature & keep it as close to the tank temp as possible. I then batch mix my water treatment chemicals.
To refill the tank.. I just hook up everything used to drain the tank, except I reverse the flow (by hooking the hoses up opposite). It fills at the same rate as it drains - about 25-27 gallons in approximately 6-7 minutes.
--
And that's how I'm doing water changes now. All said, it only takes about 30-45 minutes to complete a change. I had considered getting a Venturi kitchen faucet adapter plus the hosing, but our kitchen sink is approximately 35-40 feet from our tank. It just seemed like too much of a hassle. Of course, if I could plumb the back of my tank, then non of this would be necessary.
So how is everyone else doing theirs?
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