Drip System for indoor pond!

[Fish Eat Fish]

Im planning on setting up an indoor pond when I move into a house next year. My question is how do you set up a drip system if you have city water? I would assume you wouldn't want to drip chlorine into the tank. Do you run it to a dwell tank or something?

 

[camrsz]

It depends on whats all in your water. If its just chlorine then you can get by with an inline carbon filter filter. I use an inline carbon filter for an ice maker.

 

[CHOMPERS]

I agree that it all depends on what is in your water. Since your pond will be a sizeable volume, if chlorine is the only culprit then you can drip it in from the tap (my systems never had measurable chlorine even with a sensitive test kit). If chloramines (chlorine bonded to ammonia) are present then a carbon filter will do the job. There is an insestantly propogated myth that carbon will not remove chloramines, but the fact is that it just requires sufficient contact time. Provided that your drip system has a pressure regulator and drip emitter (rather than just a garden hose), the system will always flow slow enough for the required contact time.

 

[CHOMPERS]

Ummm...Hold that thought...
There is an exception that should be discussed. The term chloramines has that s on the end of it because there is monochloramine and polychloramines. Monochloramines are what everyone thinks of when they hear 'chloramines' (chlorine and ammonia). Polychloramines is the product of monochloramines after they break down and bond to organic materials. In areas with high levels of organics in the municipal water, polychlormines will be present. In the write up, they didn't make the distiction of the type of chloramines. Therefore, you should test for ammonia and chlorine at the start up. Polychloramines will cause early saturation of the carbon bed/filter so periodic testing should be also done.

A mind is a terrible thing to educate

 

[fishdance]

I just drip chlorinated tap water straight into some of my systems. It just depends on what percentage you are changing over a 3-4 day period. Chloramines will break down over that period of time. If you are changing 15% or less of the tank volume weekly then you will be okay. I have been changing 20% weekly for several years without any problems.

 

[Fish Eat Fish]

interesting...I was thinking that due to the slow drip rate it may be ok to drip straight in but it sounds like there are more factors to consider. Can I get my water tested at an LFS or do they only go as far as the nitrate cycle? Anything else that I need to know?

 

[Kobeclone]

All lfs around me just use a cheap test kit that only measures NO2, NO3, ph and ammonia. You are better off to shovel out the $35 for a good liquid master test kit (marine will be the best even for freshwater) and test it at home.

 

[Nic]

I agree that it all depends on what is in your water. Since your pond will be a sizeable volume, if chlorine is the only culprit then you can drip it in from the tap (my systems never had measurable chlorine even with a sensitive test kit). If chloramines (chlorine bonded to ammonia) are present then a carbon filter will do the job. There is an insestantly propogated myth that carbon will not remove chloramines, but the fact is that it just requires sufficient contact time. Provided that your drip system has a pressure regulator and drip emitter (rather than just a garden hose), the system will always flow slow enough for the required contact time.

Ummm...Hold that thought...
There is an exception that should be discussed. The term chloramines has that s on the end of it because there is monochloramine and polychloramines. Monochloramines are what everyone thinks of when they hear 'chloramines' (chlorine and ammonia). Polychloramines is the product of monochloramines after they break down and bond to organic materials. In areas with high levels of organics in the municipal water, polychlormines will be present. In the write up, they didn't make the distiction of the type of chloramines. Therefore, you should test for ammonia and chlorine at the start up. Polychloramines will cause early saturation of the carbon bed/filter so periodic testing should be also done.

thanks for that info chompers....

but i still play it safe 200$ gets you this and you can take the ? out of it

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=74275

 

[Fish Eat Fish]

wow thats a heck of a system. Id like to keep things simple so Im going to wait and see what I find in the water before I decide how to set it up. Thanks for the help guys

 

[CHOMPERS]

thanks for that info chompers....

but i still play it safe 200$ gets you this and you can take the ? out of it

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=74275

Wow, Li did a great job with that link. I saw his original thread when he was installing the system. I have been out of the workforce for the last five years so I do things the cheapie way. And lucky for me, Florida mostly has good water. (Yeah I know, it sucks living in Paradise )