DRIP SYSTEMS Success & Failures

[jdhuegel1]

Uhhhhhh... That's not a bad idea at all. I'm listening..!

I've been tooling around with a few ideas while building mine. It seems that you could hang a strainer or cup with a carbon bag in an overflow, or even in the tank and just drip over that rather than run some crazy dosing system or prefilter that risks clog/flood house.

Obviously there are benefits to some of the other additives (I've always run Prime).. but if you've got a healthy tank and filter, and only need to remove chlorine.. could this work?

 

[DIDYSIS]

Cool setup but valves can malfunction and at over 100.00 its an expense not everyone needs. I love the gravity method with a large drain but I know it will not work for everyone. Love this thread for all the ideas.

I may have posted about this already here, but you can't go wrong with this... Floodstop:

http://www.rewci.com/flst1forican.html


Put the motorized ball valve into the incoming water line, and hook up the sensor to the control unit and place it above the water line where it is dry (I put the sensor in my sump). If the drain gets clogged and water starts filling up, it will reach the sensor. Sensor reacts to water, shuts off valve and incoming water line is stopped.

$110 for peace of mind, especially when out of town, but how much would you pay to clean up an overflow?

Sent from the Monster Fish Keeping App

 

[JK47]

I've been tooling around with a few ideas while building mine. It seems that you could hang a strainer or cup with a carbon bag in an overflow, or even in the tank and just drip over that rather than run some crazy dosing system or prefilter that risks clog/flood house.

Obviously there are benefits to some of the other additives (I've always run Prime).. but if you've got a healthy tank and filter, and only need to remove chlorine.. could this work?

With the proper carbon (here) I think it would work in theory.

The reason this concept excites me is I want to drip hot AND cold water at the same time and take some electricity out of the equation. My tanks are in the garage so it makes sense to be able to adjust up hot doing the winter months and bump up cold during the summer months.

 

[Egon]

I don't have that option. I have to filter my water for sediment and chlorine. I don't know if I have low enough chlorine levels to run without filtering.

Before and after (2 weeks) and the sediment filter is clogged and nasty. I am adding a 1 micron after the 5 micon in the pic soon.

View attachment 967480

WOW that's dirty! But is it bad for the fish?
I'm sure your water is clear, I bet you wouldn't even notice a difference if you ran straight tap water into the tank.
Set up a feeder tank, I use African cichlids, and set up a drip system directly from your cold water line. Cold water holds less dissolved minerals and more dissolved gas. Chlorine is a gas so when it hits the warm fish tank water it immediately evaporates out of the water. If the Africans live and even start breeding you know your water is good. If they die, well then…
Of course the money you save on not filtering use for more beer

 

[JK47]

WOW that's dirty! But is it bad for the fish?
I'm sure your water is clear, I bet you wouldn't even notice a difference if you ran straight tap water into the tank.
Set up a feeder tank, I use African cichlids, and set up a drip system directly from your cold water line. Cold water holds less dissolved minerals and more dissolved gas. Chlorine is a gas so when it hits the warm fish tank water it immediately evaporates out of the water. If the Africans live and even start breeding you know your water is good. If they die, well then…
Of course the money you save on not filtering use for more beer

I have no more room for other tanks. I am trying to set up a 40 breeder rack soon but it will be a while. I want all my ducks in a row on how to execute the actual hot/cold plumbing before I go much further. I am sure they would be fine and my water would remain crystal clear but with rays I don't want to risk it. Besides all of that buildup has to go somewhere and I am afraid it will clog up my biological surface area.

 

[JK47]

My current filtration setup to be overhauled soon.

 

[jdhuegel1]

With the proper carbon (here) I think it would work in theory.

The reason this concept excites me is I want to drip hot AND cold water at the same time and take some electricity out of the equation. My tanks are in the garage so it makes sense to be able to adjust up hot doing the winter months and bump up cold during the summer months.

I can't open the link for some reason... but I'm at work and admin are rotten.

The hot/cold option makes sense. I know Egon has mentioned some interesting stuff about water temp and chlorine and I'm not sure how those specifics will play into a design such as this. Maybe he can comment?

My only REAL concern is maintaining flow rate. I don't trust the drip emitters. I'd rather just tap the main, use a ball valve and adjust it accordingly. The concern is if those valves hold constant or if they fluctuate. I'd hate to end up going from 2gph to like 10 without knowing. Do they make ones that lock?

 

[DIDYSIS]

I drip hot and cold and love it.
Heating 1000 gallons with a little water and actually my furnace needs repair so the last 2 days the tank is heating the house to a low of 63 and high of 70 during the day and the tanks are staying at 78.8,
I recommend using toilet valves strait from a water line. They seem to hold what gph you set them with. total combined hot and cold I am running about 7.5gph.

I can't open the link for some reason... but I'm at work and admin are rotten.

My only REAL concern is maintaining flow rate. I don't trust the drip emitters. I'd rather just tap the main, use a ball valve and adjust it accordingly. The concern is if those valves hold constant or if they fluctuate. I'd hate to end up going from 2gph to like 10 without knowing. Do they make ones that lock?

Sent from the Monster Fish Keeping App

 

[JK47]

I can't open the link for some reason... but I'm at work and admin are rotten.

The hot/cold option makes sense. I know Egon has mentioned some interesting stuff about water temp and chlorine and I'm not sure how those specifics will play into a design such as this. Maybe he can comment?

My only REAL concern is maintaining flow rate. I don't trust the drip emitters. I'd rather just tap the main, use a ball valve and adjust it accordingly. The concern is if those valves hold constant or if they fluctuate. I'd hate to end up going from 2gph to like 10 without knowing. Do they make ones that lock?

I wondered the same. Showers, toilet flushes and washing machines have to have some type of impact on the output of those lines I would think.

 

[dxdx]

Cool setup but valves can malfunction and at over 100.00 its an expense not everyone needs. I love the gravity method with a large drain but I know it will not work for everyone. Love this thread for all the ideas.

My main concern is not clogging, I use a decent sized drain in my sump (after the filter socks) and gravity, but my drain line runs outside to my yard. I was concerned the line might freeze and cause a backup/overflow situation. Luckily even in the dead of winter, 80 degree water doesn't allow the line to freeze.

Fortunately I've never had to rely on the valve but I test it every few months to make sure it still works.