redsea reefer
Well-Known Member
I can say that I spend about 2 hrs a week on tank stuff.
How often do you do water changes in your RSM?
- Thread starter nanoreefing4fun
- Start date
After my aged SW is heated and areated for about an hour, I can do a water change on my 2 tanks in 15 minutes easily- the siphoning and water replacement, but that's not all that's involved in tank maintenance for most of us. Forget the webcam Glenn - it wouldn't prove a thing unless you include all of the other even minor tasks you do in a week or a month's time. Don't forget to add in the time you use to periodically refill your jugs at the LFS. All of these types things are not included in your 15 minutes a week. Average in everything else, and it's totally unrealistic to tell people all it takes is 15 minutes a week to maintain a tank.
Al - do you buy your water & SW?
Al - do you buy your water & SW?
I was j/k
I do a water change & clean the glass in 15 mins.
I would tell anyone new, wanting to get an idea on the amount of time needed weekly to run a swt, that if you buy your water (not including the time it takes you to get the water from the store), that you can do all the weekly task associated with running a swt in an hour or two. This is realistic, imo.
No Terry I mix mine. I try to do about 30g on the 90g, 2g on 10g, (2g on 12g on a much less precise schedule) every other week all from the same container so mixed all at once. The 90g and 10g are side by side so it's not much trouble or time. If I'm really bored I'll do 1/2 of that every week but my "schedule" is 1x every 2 weeks. I've got my container marked so I know pretty close how much water to draw, I add the salt in a matter of minutes (got a good system down), testing with refractometer etc so it doesn't take long to mix. Keep in mind that I'm averaging an hour to hour and half a week but on NON water change weeks I don't do much. This comes out to my average. Now if I do something like.. oh say "flood the floor" that takes a LOT longer. But my day in day out is coming in about 60 - 90 minutes for the 10g & 90g together. The 12g gets neglected baddddddd!
This has been a great poll - imo - shows more than one way to do the frequency of water changes and it also shows ... what's most common methods most RSM owners use.
Weekly 26 74.29%
Every other Week 5 14.29%
Every three Weeks 1 2.86%
Monthly 3 8.57%
Never 0 0%
Other... please post below... 0 0%
A new poll on "How much time do you spend a week on maintenance?" would offer real insight & a balanced view from the the many, as to the amount of time the majority of RSM tank owners spend on maintenance.
Would be a good poll to do, though you would need to accurately define exactly what you considered maintenance to be and list all associated task you wanted to measure, for it to have meaningful value
Weekly 26 74.29%
Every other Week 5 14.29%
Every three Weeks 1 2.86%
Monthly 3 8.57%
Never 0 0%
Other... please post below... 0 0%
A new poll on "How much time do you spend a week on maintenance?" would offer real insight & a balanced view from the the many, as to the amount of time the majority of RSM tank owners spend on maintenance.
Would be a good poll to do, though you would need to accurately define exactly what you considered maintenance to be and list all associated task you wanted to measure, for it to have meaningful value
Good system Al. It takes me a lot less now to make my little 5 g of SW than it used to. I know how many cups to add, and then fine tune it with a refractometer so as to not overshoot the salinity. It probably takes about an hour or so to mix a bucket. I make a batch of SW right after a water change & then reheat/remix it for an hour before the next water change. While this is all going on I refill my RO/DI jugs for SW & top off. If I count in the simultaneous refilling of RO/DI jugs & mixing my SW for the next week's water change it's about 3 hours. It's not all labor time, but still takes monitoring the salinity and switching the water jugs out as they get filled. I usually make about 10 gallons of RO/DI a week, 20 gallons if I get lazy & skip a water change. If I do a thorough water testing (nitrates, Ca, Alk & Mg) that can take about 45 minutes to an hour (if I don't knock over the little sample holders!). If I do a water change every week I'd estimate the time spent on this, plus testing, scraping, skimmer cleaning, etc. is close to a 4 hour per week average.
Dweezil
Well-Known Member
Glenn ~ Certainly nobody is questioning if what you say is true...I'm absolutely sure it's true. All I'm saying is that making water, mixing the salt, aerating, testing and heating alone is more than 15 minutes for most of us.
Then add to that that I put down towels (just in case) clean the glass, scrape the back (me specific) drain the water, carry the water somewhere to be dumped, then have to get the new water in the tank, clean that bucket, wipe the tank and clean and put everything away for the next week. That is just for simple weekly stuff. All of that takes me much more than 15 minutes.
When I have to pull the pumps and skimmer and media rack out ...uggg even longer. I'm not complaining, I don't mind it too much but it will never happen in 15 minutes. Unless I could find that darn Genie I mis-placed!
Then add to that that I put down towels (just in case) clean the glass, scrape the back (me specific) drain the water, carry the water somewhere to be dumped, then have to get the new water in the tank, clean that bucket, wipe the tank and clean and put everything away for the next week. That is just for simple weekly stuff. All of that takes me much more than 15 minutes.
When I have to pull the pumps and skimmer and media rack out ...uggg even longer. I'm not complaining, I don't mind it too much but it will never happen in 15 minutes. Unless I could find that darn Genie I mis-placed!
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Nowellsy SNR
Active Member
Bump
kenbut
Member
Weekly Maintainance
Mon Test Calcium, Magnesium, Alkalinity, PH
Tues Test Ammonia, Nitrites, Nitrates, PH
Fri Make RO Water -Store in Bins
Sat Add salt to Bins, Mix and Heat overnight.
Sun 10%; water change, clean Skimmer and sponge filters.
Daily Empty Skimmer, Clean Glass with Mag, check temp and PH.
Everyday Enjoy.
At most 15 mins each day.
Mon Test Calcium, Magnesium, Alkalinity, PH
Tues Test Ammonia, Nitrites, Nitrates, PH
Fri Make RO Water -Store in Bins
Sat Add salt to Bins, Mix and Heat overnight.
Sun 10%; water change, clean Skimmer and sponge filters.
Daily Empty Skimmer, Clean Glass with Mag, check temp and PH.
Everyday Enjoy.
At most 15 mins each day.
Last edited by a moderator:
David Shaw
Well-Known Member
I change my water weekly religiously. I buy it pre-mixed from the LFS, and their water perams are always top notch and their water is prepared daily.
To be honest, if i had to mix my own every week, i wouldn't be able to maintain a weekly schedule, due to time restriction by working long hours.
My system works for me with minimal fuss. I pick it up from the LFS on a Thursday on the way into work and do the water change on the Friday. On a friday, once the water is up to temp, i add calcium as required and have got the actual changeover down to about 30 minutes. I do a good clean at the same time so my total maintenance is about an hour a week.
My only other maintenance routine is water testing, changing the white floss daily and generally keeping an eye on the tank overall and water levels, making sure the skimmer is sitting at the right height etc.
I replace my filer media of CPE, Purigen and SeaGel every 3 months.
The only problem i have had is i lost a hitch hiking pulsing xenia. I read on a thread that it prefers slightly dirtier water to survive. My water and sand is crystal clear with my current routine and the coral i have are growing really well.
I know i do a larger weekly change than everyone else, but it seems to work for me.
To be honest, if i had to mix my own every week, i wouldn't be able to maintain a weekly schedule, due to time restriction by working long hours.
My system works for me with minimal fuss. I pick it up from the LFS on a Thursday on the way into work and do the water change on the Friday. On a friday, once the water is up to temp, i add calcium as required and have got the actual changeover down to about 30 minutes. I do a good clean at the same time so my total maintenance is about an hour a week.
My only other maintenance routine is water testing, changing the white floss daily and generally keeping an eye on the tank overall and water levels, making sure the skimmer is sitting at the right height etc.
I replace my filer media of CPE, Purigen and SeaGel every 3 months.
The only problem i have had is i lost a hitch hiking pulsing xenia. I read on a thread that it prefers slightly dirtier water to survive. My water and sand is crystal clear with my current routine and the coral i have are growing really well.
I know i do a larger weekly change than everyone else, but it seems to work for me.
NewEnglandReef
Member
5 to 8 gal, weekly, like clockwork
thebeast1011
Member
I do 15% every other Sunday
