Continuous drip system for fresh water tanks.

[Accident]

I've never filtered incoming water from the tap or lost a fish from a water change when keeping fish in Chicago or Michigan. Chlorine and ammonia evaporate out so quickly with carbon in the filter it isn't ever even remotely a problem

That's great. You are lucky to have good water w/out conditioning.

 

[Accident]

let me throw this 1 at u guys.

i plan on adding a sump to my 300g tank with a drip system. im most likely adding a 50gal baffleless sump for a holding tank for stingray pups.

right now i drip 3gph to my tank. the drip overflow is a diy 1/2 pvc hanging on the back of the tank.

i plan on using an 800gph overflow going to the sump. obviously it will have to set to skim lower then the drip overflow drain.

the question is. where is the water from the drip system going to go now. will the water level have to be controlled at the sump or can i leave the drip overflow where it is.

im not to concerned about power outages. i can buy a 112v normally closed valve to stop it.

here are a few picts of the drip overflow.

If the drip turns off during a power outage, then, it shouldn't matter. The clean water will mix in no matter where in the system it's introduced. My drip system has an additional "overflow" in the sump that drains outside for continuous water change action and in the event of a power outage the sump won't overflow onto the floor. The drip will continue during power failures and simply runs off outside passively.

I drip more than evaporation can account for and the excess runs outside.

Hope this answers your question.

A

 

[Egon]

I've been watching this thread for a while, I love it! I have a drip system (unfiltered straight tap water) for my large show tanks. Works great, 3 years now. I actually added a garden hose to my drain that goes out my house and I move the hose every few days and keep all my trees watered. It use to just puddle in the back yard in one area easily identified by the very green spot, heavier growth, and squishy when walking in that area. The new hose system distributes the water to a larger area in my yard, I love it. I actually convinced myself the water is free! I was going to water the trees anyway, now I continually water my fish tanks and I turned off the drip line to my trees. Fishy water now waters the trees

 

[jamesdecruz]

Sorry to put a downer on thing but i can see two possible draw backs that no one else has mentioned , the first is the introduction of lead/copper from the mains if you don't condition the water and two how to keep the water at a constant temperature without fiddling with the heater. If you have the heater on high to heat the incoming water would it not be cheaper to just do normal water changes

 

[Egon]

Sorry to put a downer on thing but i can see two possible draw backs that no one else has mentioned , the first is the introduction of lead/copper from the mains if you don't condition the water and two how to keep the water at a constant temperature without fiddling with the heater. If you have the heater on high to heat the incoming water would it not be cheaper to just do normal water changes

Good questions.
Copper pipe: I use copper pipes for my drip system and the whole house is copper. First pic is where I tapped off my washing machine cold water line. Next pic is by my tank. This is before I set up my 360 so only one line is being used. I'm using both lines now. Fish seem fine. It's been 18 months now and no issues. I will continue to use this system for years, only time will tell if this is bad for the fresh water fish?

Heat: I run cold water directly into the tank at about 1 gallon an hour. Water temps are steady at 80 year around. No issue with the heaters keeping up or cold/warm spots in the tank, at least the fish don't seem to be bothered. They are growing and breeding, that's good enough data for me

For me it's not necessarily a cost thing. 1 gallon an hour cost the same as 24 gallons a day. I just don't have to do anything. No bucket, hose, towels. I think it's easier on the fish too, less stress. Have you ever fed your fish during a water change? I do all the time because I'm constantly changing my water. The fish don't seem to notice. In fact I just change half a gallon of water in both tanks while I was typing this.

 

[Accident]

Sorry to put a downer on thing but i can see two possible draw backs that no one else has mentioned , the first is the introduction of lead/copper from the mains if you don't condition the water and two how to keep the water at a constant temperature without fiddling with the heater. If you have the heater on high to heat the incoming water would it not be cheaper to just do normal water changes

Drips so slowly, temp isnt a problem. Im in sub tropical south texas anyway. I didnt know water conditioners removed copper and lead.

A

 

[Wulfonce]

After installing this system on all of my tanks, it basically killed 90% of my “hobby” activities.

I thought caring for the fish was suppose to be the fun part. On the plus side, with all that free time you could start digging up a koi pond.

 

[Accident]

I thought caring for the fish was suppose to be the fun part. On the plus side, with all that free time you could start digging up a koi pond.

I have to agree with you. I do need a new koi pond. In the plans for this summer. I'm not going to build one unless I can really do it right this time. I've killed lots of koi with stupid mistakes over the years.

!A

 

[Valous]

I like the auto drip system something to do further looking into. As far as the copper piping, from what i have read you only have an issue with copper leaching into your watter when it sits in the pipe. so with that said if you dont run water out of your faucet before you start adding water you are actually putting more copper in your system then the auto drip were water is flowing through the pipes.

 

[iwade4fish]

Check your local water supply. NYC adds chloramines, which do not gas off as chlorine does. Furthermore, you need chemicals that remove the chloramines specifically. If you simply use chlorine remover, you end up with ammonia.

I go to college in Florida and they don't use chloramines. Water changes can be done with straight tap (as long as it isn't too large a portion). This system would work well there if I could re-plumb my dorm.

Chlorine isn't as harmful to most fish as people think. In fact, I have seen fish quarantined in 100% untreated tap to rid them of pathogens.

On the East Coast, Melbourne,FL, they use chloramine to treat lake water, for tap water. Contact YOUR local water utility company and ask what they use to disinfect the water. Also, ask when they do chlorine flushes, as these killed 30 Tropheops sp. "Chilumba" juvies. Now, they send me an e-mail when they are going to flush. Levels up to 5times the normal amount when this happens.
Knowledge is power.