Since getting back into the hobby, like most of us I’ve always felt that water changes are the worst part of keeping a saltwater aquarium. Because these things are quite literally a piece of furniture, they’re rarely next to a sink or drain to ease the maintenance process. My bi-monthly ritual would require that I fill a 10 gallon aquarium up in a back bedroom by carrying buckets of water from the kitchen sink to the tank. After de-chlorinating the water I would add the salt then a heater and power head would run for 12 hours or so until it was ready to be siphoned out of the mixing tank into buckets and carried to my aquarium. Of course this is after I drained 10 gallons from my aquarium and dumped it down the kitchen sink.
Last year I had to forego water changes for 2 months because I threw out my back lifting full buckets of water. That’s when I decided to build something that would do away with all of the lifting.
Basically I’ve built a 10 gallon water change system on wheels that also mixes the salt with the fresh water. Yes I could have bought two large Brute garbage cans, but after you buy the cans, the wheeled bases and pumps, you’re still looking at around $400 and I would rather make something very simple that does everything I want, and can easily be stored away.
So I bought a hand truck with a removable handle that can be laid flat and used as a cart. I added two 12 gallon tanks with large access ports on top. After mounting them to the cart, I added a 600 GPH pump and plumbed it to both tanks with gate valves. Then I built a PVC manifold with a few valves so I could direct the water flow where I wanted it to go. I had been fighting the urge to switch to RO/DI water because I happen to live in an area where the city water was of great quality and my tanks were always healthy. But I figured that since I was going to build this thing I should give it a try. I bought an RO buddy because it was the most compact system I could find, and it mounted easily onto my cart.
The entire unit stands on end in a closet and takes up about the same amount of room as a vacuum cleaner. When I’m ready to use it I roll it over to a sink or out on the patio to a faucet and hook up the water supply to the RO unit. Mine happens to filter 100 GPD, so I can get 10 gallons in a little over a couple hours. Then I fire up the pump and circulate the water through a bulkhead drain in the bottom of the tank, through the pump and back through a return line on the side of the tank. It creates a nice whirl pool effect and mixes the salt nicely. I mounted a power strip on the handle of the cart and have my pump and heater plugged into it. After a few hours I check the SG, clarity and temp. If everything looks good I unplug the power strip and wheel the entire unit to my aquarium. I hang my drain line over the side of the aquarium then turn on the pump for a couple seconds as it bleeds the air out of the line from the new water tank. As soon as the bubble stop I turn off the pump, turn a valve and the water begins to drain into my wastewater tank, all without having to suck on a hose. As soon as I’ve drained off 10 gallons I flip the valve over and turn the pump back on. Within a few minutes it’s done. Then all I do is roll the entire unit to the closest sink, place the drain line in the sink and turn on the pump to drain the waste water away.
I’ve been using it for a couple months and so far it has been a life saver for my back. I showed it to a neighbor who also has reef tanks and he loved it, and I’m building one for him now. I also obtained a provisional patent on the idea to see if I can have a system made entirely from injection molding and market it.
I realize it’s not for everybody, but when I go to my LFS and see people there standing in line to buy 40 gallons of RO water in 5 gallon jugs, it makes sense that there may be a few people out there interested in my idea.
Input or suggestions are always welcome.
Last year I had to forego water changes for 2 months because I threw out my back lifting full buckets of water. That’s when I decided to build something that would do away with all of the lifting.
Basically I’ve built a 10 gallon water change system on wheels that also mixes the salt with the fresh water. Yes I could have bought two large Brute garbage cans, but after you buy the cans, the wheeled bases and pumps, you’re still looking at around $400 and I would rather make something very simple that does everything I want, and can easily be stored away.
So I bought a hand truck with a removable handle that can be laid flat and used as a cart. I added two 12 gallon tanks with large access ports on top. After mounting them to the cart, I added a 600 GPH pump and plumbed it to both tanks with gate valves. Then I built a PVC manifold with a few valves so I could direct the water flow where I wanted it to go. I had been fighting the urge to switch to RO/DI water because I happen to live in an area where the city water was of great quality and my tanks were always healthy. But I figured that since I was going to build this thing I should give it a try. I bought an RO buddy because it was the most compact system I could find, and it mounted easily onto my cart.
The entire unit stands on end in a closet and takes up about the same amount of room as a vacuum cleaner. When I’m ready to use it I roll it over to a sink or out on the patio to a faucet and hook up the water supply to the RO unit. Mine happens to filter 100 GPD, so I can get 10 gallons in a little over a couple hours. Then I fire up the pump and circulate the water through a bulkhead drain in the bottom of the tank, through the pump and back through a return line on the side of the tank. It creates a nice whirl pool effect and mixes the salt nicely. I mounted a power strip on the handle of the cart and have my pump and heater plugged into it. After a few hours I check the SG, clarity and temp. If everything looks good I unplug the power strip and wheel the entire unit to my aquarium. I hang my drain line over the side of the aquarium then turn on the pump for a couple seconds as it bleeds the air out of the line from the new water tank. As soon as the bubble stop I turn off the pump, turn a valve and the water begins to drain into my wastewater tank, all without having to suck on a hose. As soon as I’ve drained off 10 gallons I flip the valve over and turn the pump back on. Within a few minutes it’s done. Then all I do is roll the entire unit to the closest sink, place the drain line in the sink and turn on the pump to drain the waste water away.
I’ve been using it for a couple months and so far it has been a life saver for my back. I showed it to a neighbor who also has reef tanks and he loved it, and I’m building one for him now. I also obtained a provisional patent on the idea to see if I can have a system made entirely from injection molding and market it.
I realize it’s not for everybody, but when I go to my LFS and see people there standing in line to buy 40 gallons of RO water in 5 gallon jugs, it makes sense that there may be a few people out there interested in my idea.
Input or suggestions are always welcome.
