Am I Crazy or Could This Possibly Work? - Goodbye Water Changes

[Angelphish]

just curious, what would your stock be for the tank?

You may consider adding pothos to further reduce nitrates but i believe you would still at least need to top up water due to evaporation

The current stock is:
3 Angels
3 Balas
1 Motaguensis
1 Flower horn (in the process of selling it though)
1 Hoplarchus Psittacus
1 King Kong Blood Parrot
1 Green Terror
1 Vieja Synspilum
1 Vieja Guttulatus
1 Green Severum
1 Rotkeil Severum
2 Firemouths
2 Electric Blue Acara
7 Assorted Polypterus
1 Ropefish
1 Black Ghost Knife
1 Gymnotus sp.
1 Pleco
1 Featherfin Cat
1 Sun Cat (May sell it too)

I know the tank is overstocked, but half the fish are less than 3", and 3/4 less than 6". I also do at least two 80% water changes weekly. The nitrates never exceed 20ppm.

I plan to buy another large tank (at least 125g) to move some of the fish over to. It would be connected to the same sump as the 210 to prevent more maintenance and so the denitrification equipment works for both tanks.

 

[J. H.]

Minerals and chemicals go into the tank all the time... even if one assumes the water goes in purified and is 100% H20, the food and the fish aren't. Each adds minerals and chemicals, while the fish and the bacteria (and heat) convert some and break down others. Very few of them leave the tank through evaporation. E.g., metals and salts will accumulate.

Over time these accumulate inside the fish, the filter and the water. As is normal, we may focus on the biggest and most obvious problems like nitrates, but that's only because the water changes solve other less dangerous items before we notice.

I think one could do the math and calculate how much added metals and minerals the tank would have just from food if one knew the content in the foods. Nitrogen, ultimately removed as nitrates, represents only 5-6% of the net dry weight of food (assuming 35% protein.) What is the 94-95%. Where is it going?

I was thinking of enough plants to handle the bioload. They would eat up the salts & metals. I see now that the OP is not really discussing that route, so I guess I was off topic.
I do not really have any knowledge about or understand the current topic, so I guess I'll go into lurker mode
Here is a relevant thread.
https://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/posts/7790964

 

[Galantspeedz]

The current stock is:
3 Angels
3 Balas
1 Motaguensis
1 Flower horn (in the process of selling it though)
1 Hoplarchus Psittacus
1 King Kong Blood Parrot
1 Green Terror
1 Vieja Synspilum
1 Vieja Guttulatus
1 Green Severum
1 Rotkeil Severum
2 Firemouths
2 Electric Blue Acara
7 Assorted Polypterus
1 Ropefish
1 Black Ghost Knife
1 Gymnotus sp.
1 Pleco
1 Featherfin Cat
1 Sun Cat (May sell it too)

I know the tank is overstocked, but half the fish are less than 3", and 3/4 less than 6". I also do at least two 80% water changes weekly. The nitrates never exceed 20ppm.

I plan to buy another large tank (at least 125g) to move some of the fish over to. It would be connected to the same sump as the 210 to prevent more maintenance and so the denitrification equipment works for both tanks.

but if you are planning for couple years later, the size reference would be for the future rather than current?

i be interested to see if your objectives could be met... then i can tap on it.. lol

 

[tarheel96]

Why use the water from a dehumidifier by the way? To save water?

 

[twentyleagues]

If you did a drip system it would eliminate all the ato stuff and most of the other things you have planned. Probably wouldn't need the alk or most of the other supliments either. Bio pellets output will need to be filtered or you will get a bio film on everything after its output. In salt system a skimmer would remove the dead bacteria and keep it from creating more bioload. I have never messed with ozone production but if I was your dad I'd rather you build a mostly fail proof drip as opposed to using electrical current throught water to create ozone. Sulphur reactors are nothing to mess with either any of those things go slightly sideways and it's gonna be bad. If you put enough thought and a little redundancy a drip will be cheaper and more efficient way to handle your issues. Maybe all the stuff together will work your miracle you are looking for but what's that setup going to run you? Thousands? 2 minimum.
I don know a lot of info on ozone will it negate the need for mechanical filtration completely?

 

[Angelphish]

Why use the water from a dehumidifier by the way? To save water?

I'm not sure. We already have the dehumidifier, so I assume to save water, and make use of the water from the dehumidifier.

 

[Angelphish]

If you did a drip system it would eliminate all the ato stuff and most of the other things you have planned. Probably wouldn't need the alk or most of the other supliments either. Bio pellets output will need to be filtered or you will get a bio film on everything after its output. In salt system a skimmer would remove the dead bacteria and keep it from creating more bioload. I have never messed with ozone production but if I was your dad I'd rather you build a mostly fail proof drip as opposed to using electrical current throught water to create ozone. Sulphur reactors are nothing to mess with either any of those things go slightly sideways and it's gonna be bad. If you put enough thought and a little redundancy a drip will be cheaper and more efficient way to handle your issues. Maybe all the stuff together will work your miracle you are looking for but what's that setup going to run you? Thousands? 2 minimum.
I don know a lot of info on ozone will it negate the need for mechanical filtration completely?

I believe it works best on smaller dissolved organics, so it would be a good secondary mechanical filtration method, but not the primary or only mechanical method. I currently run ozone on the 210, but the generator is only 50mg/hr, so the tank isn't receiving the full effects of ozone dosing. Even at 50mg/hr, the water is always pristine, and it kills diseases quite well. I noticed that when a ich does manage to spread in the 210, it's much less severe than it used to be, and usually dies out on its own.

In total everything will cost about $2300, depending on what I need to add/remove from the current supply list. If I could use a normal drip system, I'll happily take that route over spending $2300 on denitrification equipment. My Dad is too stubborn to let me use a normal drip system.

 

[RD.]

Regarding dehumidifier water, you might want to read this.

https://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/threads/dehumidifier-water-aquarium-safe.509379/

 

[J. H.]

Regarding dehumidifier water, you might want to read this.

https://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/threads/dehumidifier-water-aquarium-safe.509379/

Just adding 2 quotes from the thread that sum it up.
Oddball did say there is a type of dehumidifier/filter that could make it feasible, but it sounded expensive.

Not safe for fish, pets, or plants. The moisture condensed in dehumidifiers will contain any airborne smokes, oils, or household chemicals. Also the metals within the dehumidifier vary from model to model and manufacturer to manufacturer and may use steel, aluminum, copper, zinc, and lead (solder) in their component construction.

Doesn't matter what you breathe. Chemicals (air fresheners, kitchen/bath cleaners, furniture polishes, deodorant, hair sprays, perfumes, colognes, etc), oils (cooking and perspiration, liquid candles, etc.), and metals (especially copper, lead, and zinc) when added to aquaria via dehumidifier condensate tend to become more concentrated from "topping off" from the dehumidifier (instead of regular water change). Keep in mind when running a dehumidifier water evaporates more quickly from aquaria. The tendency is to keep topping off a tank instead of performing a regular water change. Each time a tank is topped off from the dehumidifier, the condensate adds more and more of whats in the home's air. And, at concentrations not normally experienced in an aquarium exposed to just room air without the dehumidifier.
Another problem is the addition of bacteria, fungi, and molds that are known to flourish in dehumidifier reservoirs that are not routinely cleaned when they are dumped

 

[Angelphish]

Regarding dehumidifier water, you might want to read this.

https://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/threads/dehumidifier-water-aquarium-safe.509379/

Just adding 2 quotes from the thread that sum it up.
Oddball did say there is a type of dehumidifier/filter that could make it feasible, but it sounded expensive.

Thanks. Now I can finally prove that a humidifier won't work for a drip system. Hopefully I can install a true drip system now that I can show my Dad that a humidifier won't work. If not, he'll probably let me do a very slow, 5-10% daily, drip system at the very least. Which may be enough to flush out the metals and salts that build up.