# Water Pump for Water Changes



## Bushkill (Feb 15, 2012)

A Maxijet 1200 should work fine, since you don't want it to disturb the substrate. Its' difficult to be sure that it won't still do some of that since every situation is different. You can make a spray bar that you can cable tie to the end of whatever hose you have running to the tank. Most LFS sell lengths of clear, rigid plastic tubing taht you can perforate and carefully melt the end of it shut. That should let you maintain water flow and minimize turbulence to a large degree.


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## ipkiss (Aug 9, 2011)

You need to make something like this .. 


















I got the idea from another forum member and modified it a little to have a hook. You could probably make yours longer vertically if your tank is deeper. The idea is to have it reach whatever your water change level is so that it never splashes down below the horizontal pipe and the incoming water is always going upwards. I didn't even bother to glue mine, that way, you can even change the length of the downpipe. Then you can have however strong a pump you wish. You actually need a pretty strong one to have enough "head" to go up 4-5 feet from the bottom of the barrel with any kind of efficiency. Like you said, you want this to be done pretty fast. I fill 10-20 gallons in what feels like around 10 minutes -- maybe less.

Oh! as far as the pump, mine is a RIO 600 Aqua Pump. Not too costly and pretty powerful. They make different sizes, so you can get something even stronger (faster) since you got ~40gallons to pump. Also comes with a ton of joints, adapters, doodads. I've heard people go to harbor freight and getting even cheaper sump pumps there, but I figure I'd get something made for aquariums.


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## schnebbles (Jan 10, 2015)

I am just now trying this for filling. I might return the walmart power head and get a stronger one. I had to put my bucket up on my coffee table bc it wasn't strong enough to get all the way up in the tank. It's pretty slow, but I'm sitting here typing as my tank is filling


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## LFM (Sep 18, 2014)

I just use one of those siphons with a 50' hose that attaches to a faucet. All I have to do is kick back and drink my morning cappuccino if I'm doing my water change in the morning or a pint if it's in the evening and let the siphon do all the work taking the water out of my aquarium and then putting new water back in.


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## R.W. (Jun 9, 2014)

I use a cheap sump pump from home depot to push it through 100' of hose, works wonderfully. I can do a 90g water change and cleaning in 30mins, taking my time.


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## flight50 (Apr 17, 2012)

ipkiss said:


> You need to make something like this ..
> 
> 
> I got the idea from another forum member and modified it a little to have a hook. You could probably make yours longer vertically if your tank is deeper. The idea is to have it reach whatever your water change level is so that it never splashes down below the horizontal pipe and the incoming water is always going upwards. I didn't even bother to glue mine, that way, you can even change the length of the downpipe. Then you can have however strong a pump you wish. You actually need a pretty strong one to have enough "head" to go up 4-5 feet from the bottom of the barrel with any kind of efficiency. Like you said, you want this to be done pretty fast. I fill 10-20 gallons in what feels like around 10 minutes -- maybe less.
> ...


I really like that idea. Its innovative.

I use a Mag 7 with a 44g Brute and diy trash can dolly to hold my RO water for my water changing. The bigger the pump, the quicker your change. But the downside is that the current will be quite strong at higher gph and lower head height. The above diy rig looks to have great potential to combat that.


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## schnebbles (Jan 10, 2015)

I had my husband pick up the 200gph submersible pump from Harbor Freight. I'll try it next time. $10.99


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## Gavin Citrus (Aug 2, 2014)

Thanks much all, ipkiss that is exactly what I will create... no concerns about the pump pumping to fast and water overflowing the top of the pipe?


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## kman (Dec 11, 2013)

LFM said:


> I just use one of those siphons with a 50' hose that attaches to a faucet. All I have to do is kick back and drink my morning cappuccino if I'm doing my water change in the morning or a pint if it's in the evening and let the siphon do all the work taking the water out of my aquarium and then putting new water back in.


Lucky you don't live in a drought-stricken state (country). Pouring that much perfectly good water (good for household and yard plants, at least) down the drain is practically criminal here.


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## Diana (Jan 14, 2010)

I fond the cheap HF pumps quit. They do not seem to like being turned on and off. If I keep it running they seem to last longer, so I do not use them for this. 

I have used several Beckett pumps for many years. They WAY outlived their warranty. 
Pump size of course depends on use, but the Tee arrangement pictured above can help fill faster with less damage. 
To fill my larger tanks I usually use a pump rated at about 300 gph. Since it is in a garbage can on the floor there is some head loss, of course. I just use vinyl tubing, but clip it to the tank so it sprays horizontally, and does not dig into the substrate. I also use this to prime canister filters.


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## ipkiss (Aug 9, 2011)

flight50 said:


> I really like that idea. Its innovative.


Heh, thanks, but I wouldn't call it innovative. I've seen quite a few variants of it when I first started poking through these forums looking for a way to combat my substrate disturbance. I think I saw a pic of what plantbrain used and marveled at the simplicity of the idea.




Gavin Citrus said:


> Thanks much all, ipkiss that is exactly what I will create... no concerns about the pump pumping to fast and water overflowing the top of the pipe?


Hmm, I've not had that problem yet, but in my mind, I think that can be combated by some or all of the following:

Larger pvc
longer bottom section
more holes


I believe most importantly, if you let the air in the downpipe escape upwards, and assuming you have enough holes in the bottom section, you would not get an overflow situation. It's essentially the same as dumping the water in without the contraption, you're just redirecting it.

Alternately, making a sealed top with a hose barb so that there's no escape above? 

It's PVC.. if you don't glue it and just push fit, the variations are endless. Even if you glue it, it's cheap enough to make several. Just stand in front of the pvc section at the hardware store and all those fittings may give you plenty ideas. 



kman said:


> Lucky you don't live in a drought-stricken state (country). Pouring that much perfectly good water (good for household and yard plants, at least) down the drain is practically criminal here.


I've always been a little tormented about our hobby and water conservation. I definitely was wondering about you guys there on the west coast when I heard the news about drought in your area and wondered what I would do with my fish tanks if I was there. Maybe I'd have to go low tech!


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## roadmaster (Nov 5, 2009)

I use an old RIO pump maybe 300gph attached to 50 foot of python hose to remove the water.
I use faucet adapter for python to re-fill the tank.


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## LFM (Sep 18, 2014)

ipkiss said:


> I've always been a little tormented about our hobby and water conservation. I definitely was wondering about you guys there on the west coast when I heard the news about drought in your area and wondered what I would do with my fish tanks if I was there. Maybe I'd have to go low tech!


I wouldn't feel guilty or lose sleep over it. Take a look at all the swimming pools (which I don't have), hot tubs (which I don't have), and lush green golf courses that are still there (and not that I'm judging). Our footprint on water is minimal compared to those heavy hitters especially if you have just one or two tanks.

I sure hope it turns around for you guys on the west coast though.


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## kman (Dec 11, 2013)

ipkiss said:


> I've always been a little tormented about our hobby and water conservation. I definitely was wondering about you guys there on the west coast when I heard the news about drought in your area and wondered what I would do with my fish tanks if I was there. Maybe I'd have to go low tech!





LFM said:


> I wouldn't feel guilty or lose sleep over it. Take a look at all the swimming pools (which I don't have), hot tubs (which I don't have), and lush green golf courses that are still there (and not that I'm judging). Our footprint on water is minimal compared to those heavy hitters especially if you have just one or two tanks.
> 
> I sure hope it turns around for you guys on the west coast though.


Thx! And true. I console myself with comparatively small tanks (water changes on two 17 gal tanks would be less than one water change on a 55 gal tank!), and I always re-use my tank water for watering plants, so at least it's not going down the drain.

Not that I don't wish I had a pool and a spa. 

(golf, though, blech)


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## schnebbles (Jan 10, 2015)

I feel bad dumping it all. I don't have anything else I can do with it though.


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## LFM (Sep 18, 2014)

When it's -20 deg C I really have nothing to with the waste water. But just remember that's it a dry cold!


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## Overfloater (Jan 12, 2004)

I use a Rio 1100 to pump from my RO bin through a 20ft garden hose back to the tank. Works great. Just the right amount of flow.


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## pbengt (Feb 8, 2015)

I also use an old spray bar with suction cups on the front of my tank pointed at the glass. I run a 20 foot hose to my $12 submersible pump in the kitchen sink located in a large bucket and treat the water for chlorine there. Major water changers are so easy now.


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## maximusprime (Mar 4, 2013)

You could plumb into a water pipe in your house and slowly drip water in, and keep an overflow box on the tank to drain it out. Constant gradual water change. I'm trying it this weekend. I'll try to get pics.


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## Gavin Citrus (Aug 2, 2014)

Chloramines?


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## Kubla (Jan 5, 2014)

> Quote:
> Originally Posted by *ipkiss*
> _I've always been a little tormented about our hobby and water conservation. I definitely was wondering about you guys there on the west coast when I heard the news about drought in your area and wondered what I would do with my fish tanks if I was there. Maybe I'd have to go low tech! _
> 
> ...


I guess I take a different view on it. Just because someone else is using or wasting a lot is no reason for me to. In fact, it's more reason not to. I know everyones situation is different but I pump the water from my tank into an outside barrel that I use to water my garden.
Overall it's just a drop in the bucket, but enough drops and the bucket is full.


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## kep (Feb 3, 2015)

I use a pump for my water changes as well. I'm not sure what the rating is on it, but it's pretty heavy duty as we used it in the pond in the backyard. It has an attachment for a garden hose and I place the hose carefully in the tank around my driftwood so that it pumps in sideways and doesn't mess anything up. 

I have it pump water out of the tank and onto the small area of grass in the front yard (nice fertilization there!), or into my garden, or the fruit trees depending on what needs it most. Here in SoCal every drop counts! I'll fill my watering cans up too so I can water my potted plants throughout the week. For part of the water change I put the pump into a 5gal bucket and have my gravel vac dump into it while cleaning and then it pumps it out from there. 

I only use RO water in my tank so I put the pump into a 5gal bucket and dump the water into the bucket and then it pumps it back into the tank. Would be so much easier to use tap water!

Researching an at home RO unit because I'm spending $10-15 per week on water, plus the time and effort to go get it every other week. My tap water is super hard and crappy. 

On water conserve note, we also leave a 5gal bucket in the bathtub and let it fill while the water warms up for the shower and use that to water stuff outside. And if it's yellow, let it mellow!


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## kman (Dec 11, 2013)

^^ I'd check into how much water RO wastes before committing to that route, unless you absolutely have to have it for your fish. Most critters can acclimate to hard water. (there are exceptions, of course)

I keep thinking I want to go that route until I remember it takes like 7-8 gallons of tap to produce 1 gal of RO water. That's a LOT of water waste. SoCal can't afford that loss, IMO!


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## kep (Feb 3, 2015)

Whoa! I had no idea! That's a very good point! I will definitely be researching a bit more into that. Even buying RO water at that rate. 

I don't have anything that requires RO water, I just decided to go that route because I felt it was better for the fish. I can add what I want to the water instead of removing something icky and dealing with hard hard hard water with who knows what in it. I don't drink it, and I don't want my fish to either lol


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