I need practical solution on large water changes

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flamenco-t

Piranha
MFK Member
Mar 27, 2006
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Tank setup 240 gallon with 55 gallon WD filter. Ideally I'd like to do 80-120 gallon of WC per week.

Problems:

1. I live in an apartment, drip system is out of the question due to drilling in wall to run the drain line out.

I MAY be able to run a tee for line from the faucet line from the bathroom sink which is in the next room, but how will I be able to run the drain back ? Can I simply tee it off the sink drain ? If so, I need help in doing so.

2. Phyto or tap water system is out of the question, my water heater is constructed with copper pipes, so using a phtyon and matching water temp with hot water prior to dumping fresh water in the tank is not possible.

3. Let water aerate in a trash bins, well this being said, I'll have to have 3-4 trash bins in the living room for 2 days a week...I'd rather not have to deal with it. Besides with the cold tap water (50 degrees) it does takes good amount power for heater to bring the temp up. My electric bill from last month in 1 bedroom apt is already $ 195 ( I live by myself and work from morning until night)


I know it sounded like I am very picky, but I have large tank to provide the best possible living condition for my fish AT THE SAME TIME, I don;t want to be a slave to my tank. I'd like to spend more time to enjoy it than working on it.

I am leaning towards option 1. Can anyone help me as far as hooking up a tee to the cold water source but more importantly on draining the line ? I was thinking on using a float switch with a small pump in the sump. Once a level is reached from the drip overflow, it'll kick the pump on to pump the excess water out of the sump into the drain.

stan
 
Yes, even by draining the container prior to WC, it's still goes through copper pipes..

stan
 
most houses/apartments are going to have either copper or galv steel piping and every hot water tank i know of(im shure their are exceptions) is made out of copper, although some buildings will have plastic piping of some sort. im willing to bet 90+% of us mfk'ers are using metal piping to get water for our fish with no probs. if your that worried about it run your water for a few minutes b4 you start filling your tank, i assure you it will be fine. its not the solid piping that is a threat to the fish, its the amount of dissolved copper in the water that will hurt the fish and it would have to sit in the piping for a very long time till theres even a trace amount of copper in your water. for over 3 years i have been filling my tanks 1-2 times a week throuhg my plumbing which is OLD galvanized steel piping that is quite corroded and rusty in the pipes and a copper HWT with no probs, i just run the water for a few min. also dont know if this makes a diff to you but i am a liscened journeyman plumber so maybe i know a little bout what im talking bout but im no aquatic expert so maybe i dont, you decide.

p.s.- using prime will also neutralize any heavy metals that you might be worried about.
 
Lowes and Home Depot sell a 96G fiberglass trashcan (has two large wheels). It is water tight so you could use that as a holding tank. Just add a low-wattage heater and ~1000GPH pump and your good to go.
 
1) For the cold water you can use a a tap (sadleback or piercing valve) from an icemaker installation kit.

Return (drain) you can add a dishwasher drain adapter before the 'J' pipe.

2) Attach a dual valve from a washing machine to the hot & cold pipes under the sink with the above taps so you can mix the water for appropriate temp., use the float switch to turn them on/off. Use a second float switch for as a high water limit switch to cut the electric to the valves.

Use a pump for the return the water to the dishwater drain, a float switch to activate/deactivate the pump and anti-syphon holes on the return lines just under the minimum water level.

Put a barrier around the float switches so spashing fish won't trigger them.

It's all just so easy... :nilly:

Have you seen CHOMPERS built-in water system? He has a few other good ideas too.

Dr Joe

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dr.joe considering he lives in an apartment i wouldnt suggest altering the plumbing in any way, esp. using tap valves, if something goes wrong he could flood his apartment and risk a big claim and loosing his home. he can do whaever he wants but the python method seems to be the easiest, safest, and most visually friendly(no tubs or pipes strung through the apartment all the time).
 
Well,

I feel better about the copper pipe if I were to do Phtyon setup. But I am seriously considering the drip system.

I can use a cold water for the drip though right ? I mean 2 gph of cold water won't have any effect on 270 gallon of total volume....

So far I am thinking on putting the drip emitter on the return side of the sump and install a float switch on the pre filter side to drain.

I'll have to check on the plumbing in the bathroom to see if I can pull this off..I'll propably use a Wye adapter for the drip source so I won't have to worry about covering a hole for the saddleback setup.

I'll take a look at chompers' thread..

thanks

stan
 
I have a float switch tied to a relay that powers a pump. When the water reaches a certain level it runs the pump for 1 minute (The relay is programmable from .9 seconds to 999 minutes). If you have a powerful enough pump then the drain for your house can be at pretty much any level in comparison to the sump. You can use garden hose for the drain if you can find a decent way to hide it.

I run 2x 2GPH drip emitters in conjunction with it.
 
Water heater tanks are lined steel (that's why they rust out eventually). The fittings/pipes may be copper, but the tank isn't. If the tank itself were copper, water heaters would cost $1000's.
 
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