I really dislike doing water changes....

[sal-t-dawg]

Ok. So what is the easiest most efficient way to do a water change? Without going to the LFS and buying water that gives you crazy algae blooms and raises your nitrates to toxic levels!

[TomStill]

get a RO/DI water filter and do an auto top off system. Andywe posted a thread about an auto top off system he is using.

[MVlk]

I recently bought my RO/DI unit from purewaterclub.com and have it feeding to a large trash can for storage. Weekly I pump 20 gallons into a mixing bin and add 3lbs of salt. This has made my life so much easier. My wife loves the fact I do not have an excuse to go to the LFS every week now!

My tank will soon be moved to be in wall within my fish room and the water changes should be even easier. I may be able to add an ATO and automate it like some in the club have.

[sal-t-dawg]

I dont have an ro/di unit yet. At this point the water change is going to take me all day. I have 25 gallons of water (5, 5 gallon jugs) a powerhead for mixing, two heaters and one five gallon bucket. I am putting the water, powerhead, salt and two heaters in the bucket and mixing until the water reaches 75 degrees. This is going to be a lonnnnnnnnnnnnnng day!

[james3370]

i'm automating mine somewhat on the new build.....on the return it will come out of the pump & right at the top ot the sump is a t-fitting w/ the leg pointing forward. in the leg is a union that will normally be plugged. above the t is a ball valve.

for a water change, i will turn the return pump off (on the dj strip), close the ball valve, & change the other side of the union to a pvc pipe. then when i turn the return pump on, it will drain the return chamber of the sump (roughly 10% of tank volume).

then i fill the return chamber w/ new water & reverse the procedure. don't get much easier than that :)

[MVlk]

Well, you can easily cut the time a bit by running to the store and getting a 30+ gallon Rubbermaid container. that way you can mix your batch all at once. Working with the 5 gallon buckets sucks.

With the larger bin, you can better insure the quality of the mix by having the water all pre heated to the same temp. Once you do a change or two from the bin, you can also record the water level in the bin to salt measurement and make it pretty much a no-brainier.

[waynesworld]

You can get a 55 gallon barrel from Nashville barrel for $15 and a RODI for around 70 and have 55 gallons made up all the time and use it for ato then when you want to do water changes all you have to do is add some salt to water and pump it in from the main drum.

[MVlk]

Where is Nashville barrel? I'd love to ditch the trash cans I am using now.

[james3370]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14645756#post14645756 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MVlk
Where is Nashville barrel? I'd live to ditch the trash cans I am using now.

http://*******.com/dbd9hr

:D

[MVlk]

Thx james3370 ... but URL Go Boom :( (Error: Unable to find site's URL to redirect to.)

[james3370]

works for me....try this one:

http://www.lmgtfy.com/?q=nashville+barrel

LOL

[MVlk]

Thx, I suppose I should have thought of using google... sometimes my own stupidty amazes even me.

I'll give them a call.

Nashville Barrel & Drum Service
7401 Cumberland Dr
Fairview, TN 37062
(615) 799-9449

[james3370]

yeah, that "let me google that for you" site goes w/ my smartass personality just great LOL

[waynesworld]

Fairview tn west of nashville 30 miles

[MVlk]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14646756#post14646756 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by waynesworld
Fairview tn west of nashville 30 miles

Did not realize it was that far out... Is it near GlassCages? Got some materials from them last month... was quite a haul from Mount Juliet. Ran into three tractor trailer wrecks which made things even better.

[james3370]

fairview is off i-840 about 5-10 miles closer to nashville than dickson where glasscages is

kinda southwest of nashville & nothwest of franklin

if you took 840 from mt. juliet towards franklin, it is the last exit before 840 ends at i-40 on the west side of nashville

[andywe]

A note about Nashville barrel. I spoke with them, and it dpeends on what they have used at the time so call ahead.

Last week it was a molasses barrell and a macadamia nut barrel. Keep in mind what you have to clean out and if there could be harmful residue :-)

[sandalscout]

Last week it was a molasses barrell and a macadamia nut barrel. Keep in mind what you have to clean out and if there could be harmful residue :-) [/B]

Oh god, you know how long it would take me to eat a barrel of macadamia nuts?!?!?!?! :D :D :D :D a GREAT price though, Kroger sells these little glass jars of them for like $6. hahahahahahahaha (I kid!)

[waynesworld]

I got 2 75 gal vanilla barrels yesterday along with 5 275 gal totes that was something used to make bread. you want food grade but you can not tell them you are using them for drinking water or for food because EPA and insurance issues. It is around 50 min from downtown Nashville.

[MVlk]

Seems like the place to go then... thx all. Hopefully this may help you to sal-t-dawg and this is not just a thread high jack. ;)

[TitansFan]

If you need a barrel I have one you can have for free just need to pick it up in Spring Hill. If you want to bring me a frag of something for it that would be acceptable as well. ;)

[MVlk]

TitansFan. That would be great. Unfortunately I am still getting my tank up and am FOWLR at the moment. I would be happy to do some straight monetary comp though. Was planning a run to the critter soon so Spring Hill would not be far out of the way if you are good with it.