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Simpler Drip Systems :
Yet another way to top-off your tank is with a simple drip system, adjusted to deliver the quantity of freshwater that you need every day. This spreads the amount added evenly throughout the day and keeps conditions really stable in the tank. All you will need is a reserve vat, at piece of airline tubing, and a small clamp to adjust the flow. Start up the syphon effect, adjust the flow, and your drip system is up an running. Slow drip systems can be somewhat tricky to adjust. Because the tubing out of which the water is coming is very restricted , they may stop. Frequent adjustments may therefore be necessary. Try it, and if it is too cumbersome for you to deal with, resort to some other method described here.
There are many differing theories on water changes. Some go as far as to advocate that with "their" systems no water changes whatsoever are necessary, ever. This may have been true for them, but it has never worked for me. Some form of water changing seems necessary, regardless of how sophisticated your system becomes. I have said so for many years, and to date, even with all the sophistication of my own tanks, I am still convinced that water changes are a must.
Since this book is dedicated to the small reef tank, I definitely recommend that you perform water changes on a regular basis. I have long held the theory, based on my own experience, that the best results are obtained when water changes are both :
- frequent and - small
rather than infrequent and large. The reason for that is simple: small and frequent water changes do not change the water composition (chemistry) as much as large ones do, putting less stress on the fish, corals and invertebrates. The changes referred to include temperature, pH, salinity, osmotic pressure, ionic balance, percentage make-up of minerals and individual chemical elements, and so on. You would be amazed what a 20 or 25 percent water change can do to those conditions !
I have, for years, recommended that you change 4 to 5 percent of the tank's water per week, or 2 to 2.5 percent every 3 days. This is simple to do for most Hobbyists, as it normally does not involve handling a great deal of water. For example, if you have a 55 gallon tank, change about 2.5 to 3 gallons a week, or about one gallon every 3 days. Don't bother being totally "accurate", round the numbers off so they match some known container that you use (bucket, jar, old plastic water bottle, etcetera). Small water changes have one more benefit : you are less likely to make a mess by spilling water.
Additionally things cannot get out of hand that much either, because you perform water changes every couple of days. As a result, noxious elements cannot accumulate to any degree, and pollution is much less likely to be present in such amounts that it would cause undue stress on the tank lifeforms. Examples of this include phosphates and nitrates, to name just two.
Manually is the most frequently used method. Remove the amount that you are going to replace first, then add the new water slowly, and preferably to the sump of the trickle filter.
It cannot be stressed enough that both salinity and temperature need to be adjusted beforehand. Perhaps, because we are dealing with a small amount of water, exact, precise, adjustments are not required, but the salinity and temperature must be approximately the same, as those of the water in the tank. You do not want to add water at a temperature that is much much colder, or much much warmer. If the difference is only a degree or so, and the water is added to the sump, no harm will be done. The same applies to salinity, although in this case, you do not have as much latitude. Best is to keep the differences as small as you can.
Use water from a vat where it was prepared beforehand. Do not make up the mixture right then and there. If you do, all of the salt will not be dissolved properly, and adding such water to your tank will lower the redox potential of your aquarium quickly and drastically, stressing all lifeforms in the tank. I have seen the redox potential go down by over 100 mv several times, during testing (Thiel Lab. Bk 23).
Keep the recommendation made earlier in mind. Change small amounts of water frequently, not large amounts infrequently. Change water on a regular schedule, and stick to that schedule. It will be easier for you to remember to do so, for instance, if you always perform your water changes on, say, Fridays or Saturdays.
Automatic water changers are now being installed more and more frequently , and are both simple to set up, and inexpensive to acquire. Check the diagram below for more information :
Notes of importance :
- To install an automatic water changer, you need to be able to drain the excess water that will accumulate. This requires either that it flow into a vat of some sort, to a water drain in the floor, or to a sink (by means of a small pump and hose or pipe).
- Since, more than likely, only a very small amount of water will need to be changed, you will only need a very low output pump. That is the reason a power head type pump can easily be used. Often even the smallest ones will do.
- I recommend using a digital timer. Such timers can be set to trigger at on/off cycles of very short intervals, for example, 1 or 2 or 3 minutes. Mechanical timers usually work only in 15 or 20 minute intervals. Letting the pump run for that long may move more water than you want to, especially if you keep a small tank. Indeed, if you have a 55 gallon tank for example, and you wish to change 1 percent of the water per day, you will want to change only 0.55 gallons, meaning about half a gallon. That is not very much, and only very small pumps, running for a very short amount of time will allow you to do so.
If your pump still moves too much water, notwithstanding the digital timer's setting to its minimum cycle (usually 1 minute), put a C-clamp on the output hose of the pump or power head, and close it gradually more and more, until the right amount of water is moved from the reserve vat to the tank (or sump), in the minimum on/off cycle your timer allows. In fact, anything that restricts the output of the pump, respectively power head, used, will do the job. Small ball valves, shut-off valves, and the like can be used, but be sure that they contain no metal parts, except 316 SS.
- I suggest that you do place an airstone in the reserve vat to keep the water moving around. This will keep it properly mixed and also oxygenated. Water reserve vats must be cleaned from time to time. I suggest at least once a month. This will prevent sediment from accumulating, and possibly breaking down into undesirable compounds.
- Since this is "water-changing" water, it has to be prepared first, and salt added. Preferably use a salt that is low in phosphates, nitrates, and other impurities. Most nationally sold brands are excellent of course. We use Tech-Reef Salt and Hawaiian Marine Mix on an alternating basis, and supplement with Reef-Elements, Vita-Trace, KSM, Iodine Supplement, and the new "Tech-Liquid-Gold" very special nutrient for fish and corals.
Gravity feed water changers
Place a vat with prepared salt water higher than the tank, or higher than the sump of the trickle filter. This will allow it to gravity feed downwards.
Attach a small diameter hose to the vat and guide it to the sump. Install a solenoid valve and a timer (as shown in the diagram). Set the time for minimum on/off cycling, clamp the output hose down until only as much water is delivered as you actually want to change. The diagram shows exactly how to set such a system up.
Solenoids can be obtained from companies dealing with fluid processing, scientific supply places, and some plumbing supply companies. One company that offers a large selection of 110 volt, 2-way solenoids is Richdel/Garden Centers, in Carson City, Nevada. Another source is W. W. Graingers.
Evacuating Water from the sump (if you do not have a floor drain to which it can be guided)
Even if you do not have a floor drain, you can still install an automatic water changer, providing you are prepared to take some time to install the required components seen in the diagram below (not to scale. May look complicated to set up, but is in reality not) :
All in all, your expenses will amount to the cost of a float switch and a power head (which you may already have). You must use a float switch that allows you to control a "high" level, not a "low" level (the type used to protect pumps and prevent them from running dry). Best, of course, would be to evacuate the water that the power head or small pump, is removing from the sump, directly to a sink. If you use a vat, use a large one, so you do not have to empty it all the time. Adjust the level at which the float switch triggers, over a few trial and error sessions, until you are satisfied it does so at the correct level.
As water is added by the water changer, the level in the sump will rise, since more water is now in the "system". This extra water will collect in the sump.
The float switch attached to the power head senses a higher water level, and triggers the power head (or small pump) to start pumping water out of the trickle filter's sump. This water is then collected in another vat, or guided directly to a sink by means of flexible hose.
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