have 2 questions...

[putter]

Never moved a tank of any size that had been in use..sorry. But for the water changes, I pre mix mine in a rubber maid tub as well, which I have hard plumbed to the tank, I use a python....(I think thats the brand) syphon, drain the tank down, with the power heads and return pump off, and then simply turn a vavle to fill the tank again. I do about 15% every other week. Some thing that I have not done, but will start doing after reading this thread is dosing the new water with alk booster and calcium.

[fatman]

I am pretty crude with the mother colony tank in my apartment. I change about four gallons twice a week. I pump from the sump with a left over submersible pump to a five gallon bucket. I put a piece of masking tape at the level of water in the tank. I pour the old water into my toilet. I dip the whole bucket into a tote trash can that I keep water mixed up in. I pour back in to the trash can any excess. I set the bucket down on a towel on the floor and let it set while I double check the specific geavity, pH and temp. By the time I finish this (using a refractometer, and electronic Temp and pH meters) the bucket is pretty dry and does not drip on the apartment carpet and leave salt deposits. I pour the water fairly slowly into the top of the tank, not the sump. I remove the tapestrip and place the lid on the bucket, add water to the mixing trash can and add some salt to the trash can. I leave a heater and small Maxi-Jet pump in the trash can at all times. That is it. I want to install something to just pump the new mixed water to the tank, but I keep putting it off as I want to put in another tank and have not talked the landlord into it yet. When he finally agrees I will have a reason to buy a big screen wall mount LCD TV and therefore clear up room for another tank. Do you like the way my mind works with the TV and new tank idea? The new tank will just be a 120 gallon frag tank and will only have a stand tall enough to hold pumps for the closed loop circulation pumps as the mother coral tank overflows will be switched to flowing to the frag tank and the frag tanks overflows will drain to the sump refugium under the mother tank system in order to use the one sump/refugium and its two skimmes for both tanks. Therefore, it will be a 280 gallon system. The low frag tank will allow for the wall mount LCD TV to be mounted above it.

[salt newbie01]

I do larger water changes than some to help replace calcium and other trace elements. On my 58 LPS tank I try to do 15 gallons every week but it winds up being about every 10 days to 2 weeks. I keep water mixed in a big brute can ( I think it's 40 gallons) with power head and heater. I just syphen water into buckets and dump them then use a power head in the brute to pump water into the tank via a long hose. I preform the same procedure on my 75 - changing about the same volume of water - less corals in the 75 so less drain on calc and trace elements. I want to plum a water change station but I will have to do it in the basement and don't want to purchase the pumps and other equipment at this time. Whether you do a 5-10% change weekly or larger volume at greater intervals find a method that works and simplifies the process. Water changes are essential to keeping a healthy reef - the easier you can make it the more likely you will do it.

Sounds like a cool set up fatman - Good use of the space under a wall mounted flat screen. I will have to remember that one - I wonder if moisture rising up from the tank would have ill affects on the tv???