Water change

Yes, water quality inside the tank and water change is absolutely critical! 

 I will leave a grey 5-gallon bucket full of salty water.  Most likely, there will be some salt left, but at some point more salt has to be purchased.  I do water changes every week.  If you do this at least every 10 days it should be ok – so 3 times a month?! 

 This one time water will be mixed with salt.   But, again, at some point you have go to a store across the Farm boy plaza where the paint store is in the middle of that strip – there is a water depot and there is a deal for 12 buckets for like $33 .. usually, I do that.  You may opt to pay either for a single bucket of other combo that you can afford.   I get empty water bucket inside the car and when I am around the store, I go to get water – close the lid well at the store using rubber hammer – otherwise you will have water inside the car!  I put it inside the paint storage room to even temperature – do not mix with salt the same day because store water is extremely cold!  Do not warm water – do not boil it!  Let it warm for two days before you mix with salt. 

Do not use other buckets to get water from the store and mix salt in them!

 I keep the grey bucket with good salty water closer the door.  On the top lid it is marked :"Salt"  

Next to it, there is a white 5-gallon bucket for a used salty water from a tank. 

Still, do not use other buckets for removal used water from the tank!

Do not throw used water immediately to toilet!   Keep it for a few days because during collecting water from a tank there might be caught some life forms and we have a second chance to get back to tank! Also, that water is good for cleaning macros!  After a week or so, water from a tank will form some layer of bio-mass on macros and they could be slowly removed from the tank. 

 I use round plastic container and grab some old used salty water from white bucket and fill it to ½ and bring it closer to the tank.   Immerse in it macro and shake it and wash it so the bio-mass is removed from macros.  Later put that water back to white bucket to use it again if a few days.  

So, after two days in a this room, I take a long flat stick from a drawer near a tank and plastic tool to measure how much salt is in the water and put on the table in the main room – turn on the lights.  Bring the grey bucket with store reverse-osmosis water and put near the table where my chair is.  Open the lid slowly.  Bring the bag with salt – be careful – it is opened! Just see how it is upside and put is down or up and put salt into bucket like half of small cup – better do this more times then one too much!  Stirrrr it and use the tool to see how much salt shows – the needle should be horizontal – left side of the needle should read 0.024-25 no more or less – generally horizontal!  Stirr it well for a few minutes.  The best would be to leave this mixture for another day!  Rinse the tool in warm water, shake it and put into drawer with long flat stick – dry it first!  

When time comes to water changes – take your time this is important process!  Do not hurry!  

Before, you start make sure your water has the same temperature in a tank and in a bucket – there is a thermometer in a drawer left side.. take it and place it for a one minute in a bucket and later into the tank. Remove both white and black cables as you do with anemone feeding!  Do not attempt to change water with water circulating! 

 The glass on the top of tank should be removed the same way like for feeding. ( remove it and place it under the speaker.)..so now you are ready.  Water change can be done in a few ways.  The more cleaning you do, the more water is used. S o, basically, you could change the whole grey pale at once. But that is not adviced because it is too much water to be changed at once in this tank. 

 Changing water means you have to ssuck it throu the pipe and I attached a plastic bottle on one end of that pipe.  It suppose to get more area to be sucked into the pipe and leave larger stones so they will not block the pipe.  But by using this bottle you cant place your pipe because it is too big..so be careful, please.  

The more advanced water change happens inside the main water pump compartment at the left back side of the tank behind the water.   Do not remove or touch water pump at all.  Remove only the bluish sponge that is on the right side of that compartment using hand and flat stick..and do it slowly so water is not disturbed too much... 

I usually also remove the middle compartment flat cover from the top using metal forceps from the drawer – check for living things and put that cover inside the plastic round container..  Now using your hand and flat stick remove two sock-like baggies and see if anything attached to them... and put to container....yess..yess...the compartment on the right should be ok do not do anything there – one anemone lives there so dont disturb it. 

 Clean what you took from compartments in the bathroom...clean it fast...and put it back where it was before.  Now is the time to remove water from the tank!  Close the door below tank first, place the chair closer to tank, put on empty white 5-gallon bucket on the chair and make sure it will not fell from it.

 Now, place "bottle-end" of the pipe in the left compartment where water pump was and … ssuck the air on the other end of that hose and see how water is closer to your mouth!  You really do not have to taste it!  Suck few small times and one bigger and point the other end inside the white bucket.. when you see water coming..using left hand direct water bottle end here and there to suck all dirt from the bottom and from the right side where the sponge was..squize the bottle as you want... 

 When water becomes clear like after 7=9 seconds, using right hand thumb close the other end of pipe and keep it tight so the water will not flow and quickly lift the bottle end to the middle compartment.  If there is not enough water to suck – you can use the rubber with pipe tool and suck the water this way! 

You should have a quarter of white bucket with water by now.  Close that end again and place bottle end in the main tank and slowly ride here and there not to low at all and do not get there macros... Pay attention how low is water in the tank and if corals are not exposed on the hanging rocks – if yes...make sure it last only a few seconds...otherwise they may die! 

 Used water should reach just half of white bucket and lift the bottle-end higher then water and the rest of water should empty the pipe.  Take pipe and bucket away and place new salt water with grey bucket closer to tank.  

Imagine bigger tanks with plumbing and two-three tanks below the main one...that is work..to do water change like 4-5 grey buckets at one time! So, when all is placed in the same place...use clear round container to pour new salt water from grey bukcet into the main tank – I pour it on the rocks closer to the back of reef – slowly so there is a minimal water disturbance.

Do it until water from a main tank flows to the middle compartment and water level start to rise in the left compartment where the water pump is And see if the water level in the left water pump place is about 9 cm lower then main level. 

If it is, stop adding new water.   Now, plug back black cable near the door below the tank.   Observe how the water level changes in water pump compartment on the left side.  Hear the sound!   It should be very small noise – almost nothing to hear!  Let it go for a minute or two.  See how things go inside the reef.  

Now, plug in the second white cable below the tank on the right side.  You should see the two side pumps pumping water.  Sometimes, the one on the left is not always working for the first time.   See the water movement around it – move the magnets and see if water moves.  If definitely water is not moving, it means the pump is stuck.  

Take a skinny brown stick, open the lid according to previous instruction, remove the glass...now – using left hand secure the power cable of the pump – just push it against the tank body and using right hand hit the top of the pump body with that stick ...till you see that water start to flow.  Usually, one hit is good to go.  Put everything back again – put the glass – close the lid....blabla... 

 Sit down and enjoy the view for a few minutes!  There will be some mess around.  Let it settle.  After like half-hour, come back and make the order  inside the the tan the way you like or similar to what was when I left the reef.  Use brown skinny stick and you know the drill by now...

Enjoy!