so i dont have to do water changes anymore??

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benito1188

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Mar 22, 2008
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los angeles, california
so whats wrong in this picture?? i was drawing this while in my history class(boring sub prof) anyway, if i let the tap water run like a drip system will i still need to do water changes?? tap water doesnt have chlorine or what so ever and people here dont use heaters since their water stay consistant year round(tropics). and if my pump fails me(power outtage or something) the overflow on my sump will take care of that...right??

poop and gunk that are stuck on the bottom of the tank will be still be siphon out manually every week or so...so give me a good slap if im waay outta my head?? thanks:D:D

automatic filtration.jpg
 
ur not way out of ur head.

1) your still taking away the bio loads.
2) constant and steady stream of fresh water.

if your bacteria doesn't drain faster than your water is flowing through, then you can do this and yes literally never have to do changes again. might acrew a hefty bill though depends on the water rates in cali.

one thing to remember though, even in places like where i live and u live. flowing water is always colder than stagnant water like all of our tanks have. it will be weird for ur fish to always feel flushed out every second by cool water. and idno the exact contents of the water but just make sure you dont use copper intakes. and also the lack of certain bacterias and chemicals can burn fish too. not just the presence of chems like chlorine etc. some of these chemicals take time to develop and arent really present in fresh flowing tap water until it sits around in ur tank long enough.
 
LA doesn't have chlorine? That seems odd. I'd be very weary of both Chlorine and Chloramine.

Not 100% but I think you would want to move the tap to the top above the waterline. IF at the bottom of the tank pressure might be great enough that it couldn't "drip".

Pump line must be at the water's surface OR when you loose power your whole tank will drain.
 
DB junkie;3107451; said:
LA doesn't have chlorine? That seems odd. I'd be very weary of both Chlorine and Chloramine.

Not 100% but I think you would want to move the tap to the top above the waterline. IF at the bottom of the tank pressure might be great enough that it couldn't "drip".

Pump line must be at the water's surface OR when you loose power your whole tank will drain.
Click to expand...

this set up will not be in los angeles, its gonna be in asia.

so that input about the tap water going in, i didnt thought of that before:). i wanted to place it below so that gunk and stuff concentrated on the bottom would somehow blow up to the overflow to be filter and so...

what do you mean by pumpline must be at the water surface?? umm i was thinking maybe adding somekind of check valve to the line going to the tank incase of a power outtage??

thanks so much
 
Retuks;3107046; said:
ur not way out of ur head.

1) your still taking away the bio loads.
2) constant and steady stream of fresh water.

if your bacteria doesn't drain faster than your water is flowing through, then you can do this and yes literally never have to do changes again. might acrew a hefty bill though depends on the water rates in cali.

one thing to remember though, even in places like where i live and u live. flowing water is always colder than stagnant water like all of our tanks have. it will be weird for ur fish to always feel flushed out every second by cool water. and idno the exact contents of the water but just make sure you dont use copper intakes. and also the lack of certain bacterias and chemicals can burn fish too. not just the presence of chems like chlorine etc. some of these chemicals take time to develop and arent really present in fresh flowing tap water until it sits around in ur tank long enough.
Click to expand...

hi, i was thinking of adding a couple of canister filter to the tank to help up with bio and your point about tap water just made me think twice. maybe if i add an auto liquid doser that will drop prime everynow and then??

my goal is for water to flow in and out of the tank that would equal to a daily water change, but not fast enough to shock the fish of new (tap)water comming in. so i guess flow rate comming in/out would count alot...or not?

thanks so much
 
benito1188;3107500; said:
this set up will not be in los angeles, its gonna be in asia.

so that input about the tap water going in, i didnt thought of that before:). i wanted to place it below so that gunk and stuff concentrated on the bottom would somehow blow up to the overflow to be filter and so...

what do you mean by pumpline must be at the water surface?? umm i was thinking maybe adding somekind of check valve to the line going to the tank incase of a power outtage??

thanks so much
Click to expand...

Ahh... In Asia. Fair enough....

If you wanna blow the crap up to the overflow build a jet system to bury in the substrate and feed the pump return water through the jet system. Just be sure to drill a hole so it doesn't backsiphon. You can use check valves if you want and they would do the job... BUT I myself will not trust all my aquarium's water and the life of its inhabitants to a check valve that could fail...... Gravity never fails..LOL
 
on your intake, if you tap the tank at the bottom, put in a elbow and run the intake straight up. run the intake tube up above the waterline at least six inches. this way, you can have a gravity fed drop and the water won't run out on the floor. if you introduce the fresh water into a sump or filter canister that is heated, that would take care of the temperature fluctuations. looks cool man. i may try it.
 
DB junkie;3107571; said:
Ahh... In Asia. Fair enough....

If you wanna blow the crap up to the overflow build a jet system to bury in the substrate and feed the pump return water through the jet system. Just be sure to drill a hole so it doesn't backsiphon. You can use check valves if you want and they would do the job... BUT I myself will not trust all my aquarium's water and the life of its inhabitants to a check valve that could fail...... Gravity never fails..LOL
Click to expand...

ummm...jet system? got a pic of that?? and what hole? drill it where/how?? yeaaa after your input...gravity does scare me :( LOL

gwad! things i do for fish:cry:
 
Search for threads on them, there's a bunch of how to s....lol Jet systems are just small PVC networks that you either glue to the bottom of the tank or bury under substrate. Run the tank return line through them, so your filtered water blasts the poo up to the overflow so it can end up in the filter before it really even touches the substrate.

The "hole" I refer to would be at the water's surface.... A siphon break so the jets don't siphon all your tank water to the sump when the power goes out.

Don't be scared of gravity..... It's constant. VERY reliable. Check valves aren't.
 
DB junkie;3107832; said:
The "hole" I refer to would be at the water's surface.... A siphon break so the jets don't siphon all your tank water to the sump when the power goes out
Click to expand...

im sorry, but ive been trying to draw a picture of that "hole" in my head of what your talking about..i just cant, can you send a link or a pic and how it works? thanks. also i found a thread about those jet system and i like it alot :D:D

so far my only problem right now is the return line siphoning back to the sump draining my main tank dry.

and about the tap water line, im considering what basskeeper said about placing it to the sump...in this case, if a power outtage occurs the sump will have continous flow of water through out the power outtage, keeping my bacteria alive...with the help of a battery operated air pump ofcourse :D

another thing...im trying to keep the main tank clear of any hardware and pipes :D
 
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