Finally got all the parts I need to get this thing running. So far, so good and no leaks. First off I wanna thank Pharaoh, dmopar74, and everybody else for their help in this thread where I discussed the design of the system:
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=298789&page=3
I wanted a cheap and easy 24/7 changer and I think I got what I wanted. It's definitely not as fancy as Li's system but I think this will get the job done for me. This is definitely an easy project and anybody can set this up. Since my tank is in the garage, running the feed and drain lines was very easy. Guys with tanks in the house may have to get more creative. In all, I spent about $130 in the system. Probably could have done it with less but I used good quality parts to avoid problems down the road.
I contacted my city's water department and checked their water quality reports. As it turns out, my city only adds chlorine and no chloramines. But I went ahead and installed a chloramine filter to take care of the chlorine and just in case they decide to add chloramines in the future. Besides, the chloramine filter setup costs about the same as purchasing a dual canister chlorine-only filter from Lowes or Home Depot.
Now on to the setup. My feed line is coming from the washer hookup (cold line). I installed a brass Y-valve with the appropriate fitting to get it down to 1/4" tubing:
Here is the chloramine filter itself. This unit goes for $62 from thefilterguys.biz. They're a great company and I highly recommend them for your advanced filtration needs. Feed line on the right, tank return on the left:
And here is where the water feeds into the tank. I ran this on the opposite side and corner of where the overflow box is so it can mix with the tank water before being drained.
I'm currently running 2x 2gph drip emitters. This is effectively changing 96 gallons per day - roughly a 165% water change on a weekly basis. This flow rate is temporary for now as I want to get my nitrates down. Once my nitrate levels stabilize, I'm hoping to run a 1.5-2gph flow rate:
And lastly, here's the drain line out of my sump and where it drains down the driveway. I simply installed a small bulkhead and ran slightly larger diamter tubing all the way out of the garage. I couldnt figure out how else to use the water given where the tank is located, so this will do for now:
Now for the skeptics, here's some scientific proof
I went ahead and purchased a chlorine/chloramine test kit from filterguys. The test kit doesn't separately test for chlorine and chloramine though. The instructions say that any pink color indicates a presence of chlorine and/or chloramine.
The clear water on the left is what is coming out of the chloramine filter, NO CHLORINE OR CHLORAMINES!!! The pink tube is straight out of the tap.
Here's proof that granular activated carbon WORKS!!!!
And here's a test of the nitrates. Tap water on the left, tank water on the right. This is 4 days after doing an 80% water change. Tap water looks to be in the 5ppm range and tank water is at about 80ppm. Hopefully in a few weeks the tank water will look more like the tap water, at least I'm hoping
So that's it!!! Super easy, super cheap. Best part is, NO MORE WATER CHANGES EVERY SATURDAY MORNING!!!!!!!!!!!! Cant believe I took so long to set one of these up. And I'm surprised more people aren't using them.
Questions? Comments?
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=298789&page=3
I wanted a cheap and easy 24/7 changer and I think I got what I wanted. It's definitely not as fancy as Li's system but I think this will get the job done for me. This is definitely an easy project and anybody can set this up. Since my tank is in the garage, running the feed and drain lines was very easy. Guys with tanks in the house may have to get more creative. In all, I spent about $130 in the system. Probably could have done it with less but I used good quality parts to avoid problems down the road.
I contacted my city's water department and checked their water quality reports. As it turns out, my city only adds chlorine and no chloramines. But I went ahead and installed a chloramine filter to take care of the chlorine and just in case they decide to add chloramines in the future. Besides, the chloramine filter setup costs about the same as purchasing a dual canister chlorine-only filter from Lowes or Home Depot.
Now on to the setup. My feed line is coming from the washer hookup (cold line). I installed a brass Y-valve with the appropriate fitting to get it down to 1/4" tubing:
Here is the chloramine filter itself. This unit goes for $62 from thefilterguys.biz. They're a great company and I highly recommend them for your advanced filtration needs. Feed line on the right, tank return on the left:
And here is where the water feeds into the tank. I ran this on the opposite side and corner of where the overflow box is so it can mix with the tank water before being drained.
I'm currently running 2x 2gph drip emitters. This is effectively changing 96 gallons per day - roughly a 165% water change on a weekly basis. This flow rate is temporary for now as I want to get my nitrates down. Once my nitrate levels stabilize, I'm hoping to run a 1.5-2gph flow rate:
And lastly, here's the drain line out of my sump and where it drains down the driveway. I simply installed a small bulkhead and ran slightly larger diamter tubing all the way out of the garage. I couldnt figure out how else to use the water given where the tank is located, so this will do for now:
Now for the skeptics, here's some scientific proof
I went ahead and purchased a chlorine/chloramine test kit from filterguys. The test kit doesn't separately test for chlorine and chloramine though. The instructions say that any pink color indicates a presence of chlorine and/or chloramine. The clear water on the left is what is coming out of the chloramine filter, NO CHLORINE OR CHLORAMINES!!! The pink tube is straight out of the tap.
Here's proof that granular activated carbon WORKS!!!! And here's a test of the nitrates. Tap water on the left, tank water on the right. This is 4 days after doing an 80% water change. Tap water looks to be in the 5ppm range and tank water is at about 80ppm. Hopefully in a few weeks the tank water will look more like the tap water, at least I'm hoping
So that's it!!! Super easy, super cheap. Best part is, NO MORE WATER CHANGES EVERY SATURDAY MORNING!!!!!!!!!!!! Cant believe I took so long to set one of these up. And I'm surprised more people aren't using them.
Questions? Comments?
