I also wouldn't risk it but my town adds quite a bit chemicals to the water. Therefore I use an HMA.
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Drip HMA or straight
- Thread starter scott s
- Start date
HMA will cost $60 per year if you change the cartridges every 3 months that's not much
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Scott,
You asked me via text about a drip system and I didn't give a complete reply. I currently have no filtration on my drip supply. I use to filter system through 2 whole house filters with solid carbon block 5 micron filtration. both filter housings eventually leaked and I removed one at a time. I am going to replace, It's better to air on the side of caution.
Plus, everyones water supply is different. What works for one person may not work for another.
Mike B
With agriculture runoff, sediment, heavy metals, etc often making their way into drinking water, I personally would never add unfiltered water to any of my tanks.
Water suppliers will increase the chlorine/chloramine levels to combat higher levels of organisms or pathogens in the water supply unbeknownst to the end user. Chlorine/chloramine are proven to be toxic to most aquarium life, this includes beneficial nitrifying bacteria. So in addition to directly damaging the fish/ray, there is also potential secondary impact to their life support system (filtration) over time.
Mike makes a great point that everyone has a different water source so it's impossible to do a case by case comparison without detailed data & parameter measurements.
Here is what I settled on a couple years ago, made the most sense to me for my systems.
Source water--->Sediment filtration (two stages on my big tank)--->followed by multiple stages of carbon. I do not constant drip but use float valves as a "top off" type system when refilling tanks after water changes. The source water never directly hits the tank and the refill is gradual over time so there are minimal parameter fluctuations. In the rare event any chloramines make it through the filters, I use a dechlorinator as well (chloramx, prime etc) just to be safe. No shock from rapid temperature change or other variables. Aging water and matching the parameters is the best method but I will never have the room to accommodate 1,000gal + of aged water for tank refills. The setup outlined above seemed like the best compromise I could come up with.
Depending on the filter housing size I'll test the water coming through the filters every 3 months to ensure the carbon is doing its job and that's a wrap.
Not arguing one way or the other, just sharing some info and my .02.
Merry Christmas to all who celebrate.
Water suppliers will increase the chlorine/chloramine levels to combat higher levels of organisms or pathogens in the water supply unbeknownst to the end user. Chlorine/chloramine are proven to be toxic to most aquarium life, this includes beneficial nitrifying bacteria. So in addition to directly damaging the fish/ray, there is also potential secondary impact to their life support system (filtration) over time.
Mike makes a great point that everyone has a different water source so it's impossible to do a case by case comparison without detailed data & parameter measurements.
Here is what I settled on a couple years ago, made the most sense to me for my systems.
Source water--->Sediment filtration (two stages on my big tank)--->followed by multiple stages of carbon. I do not constant drip but use float valves as a "top off" type system when refilling tanks after water changes. The source water never directly hits the tank and the refill is gradual over time so there are minimal parameter fluctuations. In the rare event any chloramines make it through the filters, I use a dechlorinator as well (chloramx, prime etc) just to be safe. No shock from rapid temperature change or other variables. Aging water and matching the parameters is the best method but I will never have the room to accommodate 1,000gal + of aged water for tank refills. The setup outlined above seemed like the best compromise I could come up with.
Depending on the filter housing size I'll test the water coming through the filters every 3 months to ensure the carbon is doing its job and that's a wrap.
Not arguing one way or the other, just sharing some info and my .02.
Merry Christmas to all who celebrate.
Just a ? As I have no idea
Do the water company's add anything to the water in winter time to stop the water freezing in the pipes
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Do the water company's add anything to the water in winter time to stop the water freezing in the pipes
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No mate they don't add anything, well if they do they certainly don't tell us.
Basically as Ade said, they protect the water pipes with lagging and depth of burial in the ground, but once it hits our houses, basically after the metre/stop cock it's effectively down to us to maintain the feed. That's why if a pipe freezes in the loft or if the outside tap freezes and splits its on your head and not the water board's.
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Basically as Ade said, they protect the water pipes with lagging and depth of burial in the ground, but once it hits our houses, basically after the metre/stop cock it's effectively down to us to maintain the feed. That's why if a pipe freezes in the loft or if the outside tap freezes and splits its on your head and not the water board's.
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So mine could freeze the as I have run a pipe underground in my garden
I do get a lot of condensation around my HMA so much that it sometimes sets my leak sensors off
It has never frozen in 5 years so it must be ok as water is always flowing if I turned it off for a few days it maybe a different story
I have always been worried about the overflow pipe to the main drain freezing stopping the sump draining but as that's always warm water flowing out that must stop it freezing but my drain pipe is long about 20ft but also buried and again no problems in 5 years
To be fair I worry about a lot even toxic fumes coming from the main drain back up the overflow pipe into the sump lol
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I guess it could freeze Richard, but as you say you've had no issue in five years then it must be safe. Did you run plastic or copper pipe out to the fish house?
Insulated or not, plastic is far more forgiving than copper. Plastic will form a bulge/bubble rather than splitting like copper.
I've run plastic (hep2O) out to my summer house. It's lagged with foam insulation and in guttering down pipe, under my decking/block work. I'm confident it'll be fine, although it's not yet rigged to my HMA or on a drip.
Your overflow being warm and flowing should be totally fine, especially if buried also. I'll have to lag mine as it will be above ground.
I know what you mean mate about worrying about the drain stench coming back up the overflow and contaminating the sump. If poss you could always install a trap before the drip goes under ground? That would create a barrier like in the kazzi
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