Large Water changes
- Thread starter Wretched5705
- Start date
I know how much people love their pythons, but I have to degas my tapwater because my city artificially inflates the pH with (hydrogen, is it?). My tap water also has zero hardness which makes it even more unstable, requiring active destabilization on my part to avoid weekly pH crashes in my tanks. Anyway, I use a bucket filled as violently as possible in the bathtub to increase aeration and get the gases out. I did use a hose once, but the fish were entombed in bubbles within the hour and I've heard stories about aneurysms and gill damage, so now I smack the water around as much as possible before its final destination. I also enjoy knowing that every ounce going in is dechlorinated before it touches the aquarium. It's good exercise, too. But I do use a pond pump to empty the big tank.
taking water out:
$5 garden hose in the tank.. my lips at the other end near a sink...
putting water back in:
$2 adapter on the end of the hose, gets attached to the sink faucet.. turn the water on, adjust the temp and add the water conditioner as it fills up the tank..
clean and simple...
$5 garden hose in the tank.. my lips at the other end near a sink...
putting water back in:
$2 adapter on the end of the hose, gets attached to the sink faucet.. turn the water on, adjust the temp and add the water conditioner as it fills up the tank..
clean and simple...
Wretched5705;3562890; said:
When we set up our 300 gal tank, my husband was adamant about making it as maintenance-free as possible. He spent about two weeks putting in the plumbing. We have a bare-floor tank and have extreme mechanical filtration using two spa filters run with a big Hammerhead pump (5800 gph). Besides the main uptake in the tank, there are two "poop suckers" strategically placed in the tank that quickly remove all debris and feces from the tank. In the 16 months that the tank has been running, there has been no debris to vacuum out.
When doing water changes, the pump is turned off, and the valve to the dump line is opened. We can rapidly drain out 200 gallons in a very short time. By turning various valves on/off, we can siphon water through the return nozzle, backwash the filter cartridges in the spa filters and then dump the water outside the house. (Of course, the return spray nozzle is only several inches below the waterline, so the backwashing is limited).
In our equipment room (where the mechanical filters are) we have a utility sink with a line running up to a 55 gallon tank sitting a high shelf. This tank is full of heated, conditioned water. A valve is opened, and water gravity flows into the tank. Since it only holds 55 gallons, we turn the water on at the sink which flows into the holding tank. More chemicals are added. The slowest part of the whole operation is keeping the 55 gallon tank refilled.
We change out about 300 gallons on two consecutive days. (we run out of hot water the first day), and manage to keep nitrates < 20 ppm. We turn the pump on and rapidly pump in the last 100 gallons. Our fish love the turbulent water. Here's an old video where the water is being pumped in:
http://s148.photobucket.com/albums/s29/pacumom/Pacu/?action=view¤t=WaterChange.flv
Poop Sucker
Mechanical Filtration
The vertical pipe on the right is the line coming from the 55 gal holding tank. Just behind it is a pipe going down through the floor, under the house, outside to the patio.
The two horizontal lines are the uptake lines from the main uptake and the two poop suckers. The oblique line at the back is the return line back to the tank. There are valves on each end of every pipe--at the filter and at the tank.
Water changes truly are a breeze with my husband's innovative system.
In the 3.5 + years this system has been running, there has been no debris to vacuum out. We love our system and plan on duplicating it in a bigger way for the new tank system that's coming in. We are in the planning stages for filtration for our tank that is being fabricated now. The 15' x 4' x 4' tank will have four poop suckers and two main uptake lines tied into four large spa filters run by two Reeflo Hammerhead pumps. We'll use 1.5" pipes instead of the necked down 1" pipes we're using now. Instead of a large wet/dry filter, we will run two Ultima 4000s run by Reeflo Barracuda pumps, one off the main tank and one off the 300 gallon sump. During water changes, the 300 gallon tank will double as a holding tank to pump new water back into the main tank. Since the fish viewing room and the tank/equipment room are going to be constructed, if we plan things right, we'll have drains for the Ultimas to purge into and to dump from the main tank. We will have hot/cold water lines to the 300 gallon sump/holding tank so we can easily fill it for water changes. My head spins trying to figure it all out. It needs to all be figured out before the plumbing drains/water lines are put in.
The 55 gallon tank on a high shelf has worked so well for the 300 gallon tank, we might put two 55s up high for an emergency water supply for the main tank. (power outage, generator also not working)
The ultimate for us would be to install a 24/7 continuous water change system. We're going to have to figure that one out later.
That is simply amazingpacu mom;3563915; said:When we set up our 300 gal tank, my husband was adamant about making it as maintenance-free as possible. He spent about two weeks putting in the plumbing. We have a bare-floor tank and have extreme mechanical filtration using two spa filters run with a big Hammerhead pump (5800 gph). Besides the main uptake in the tank, there are two "poop suckers" strategically placed in the tank that quickly remove all debris and feces from the tank. In the 16 months that the tank has been running, there has been no debris to vacuum out.
When doing water changes, the pump is turned off, and the valve to the dump line is opened. We can rapidly drain out 200 gallons in a very short time. By turning various valves on/off, we can siphon water through the return nozzle, backwash the filter cartridges in the spa filters and then dump the water outside the house. (Of course, the return spray nozzle is only several inches below the waterline, so the backwashing is limited).
In our equipment room (where the mechanical filters are) we have a utility sink with a line running up to a 55 gallon tank sitting a high shelf. This tank is full of heated, conditioned water. A valve is opened, and water gravity flows into the tank. Since it only holds 55 gallons, we turn the water on at the sink which flows into the holding tank. More chemicals are added. The slowest part of the whole operation is keeping the 55 gallon tank refilled.
We change out about 300 gallons on two consecutive days. (we run out of hot water the first day), and manage to keep nitrates < 20 ppm. We turn the pump on and rapidly pump in the last 100 gallons. Our fish love the turbulent water. Here's an old video where the water is being pumped in:
http://s148.photobucket.com/albums/s29/pacumom/Pacu/?action=view¤t=WaterChange.flv
Poop Sucker
Mechanical Filtration
The vertical pipe on the right is the line coming from the 55 gal holding tank. Just behind it is a pipe going down through the floor, under the house, outside to the patio.
The two horizontal lines are the uptake lines from the main uptake and the two poop suckers. The oblique line at the back is the return line back to the tank. There are valves on each end of every pipe--at the filter and at the tank.
Water changes truly are a breeze with my husband's innovative system.
In the 3.5 + years this system has been running, there has been no debris to vacuum out. We love our system and plan on duplicating it in a bigger way for the new tank system that's coming in. We are in the planning stages for filtration for our tank that is being fabricated now. The 15' x 4' x 4' tank will have four poop suckers and two main uptake lines tied into four large spa filters run by two Reeflo Hammerhead pumps. We'll use 1.5" pipes instead of the necked down 1" pipes we're using now. Instead of a large wet/dry filter, we will run two Ultima 4000s run by Reeflo Barracuda pumps, one off the main tank and one off the 300 gallon sump. During water changes, the 300 gallon tank will double as a holding tank to pump new water back into the main tank. Since the fish viewing room and the tank/equipment room are going to be constructed, if we plan things right, we'll have drains for the Ultimas to purge into and to dump from the main tank. We will have hot/cold water lines to the 300 gallon sump/holding tank so we can easily fill it for water changes. My head spins trying to figure it all out. It needs to all be figured out before the plumbing drains/water lines are put in.
The 55 gallon tank on a high shelf has worked so well for the 300 gallon tank, we might put two 55s up high for an emergency water supply for the main tank. (power outage, generator also not working)
The ultimate for us would be to install a 24/7 continuous water change system. We're going to have to figure that one out later.
"Necessity is the mother of invention" Our system was born out of desperation. We want to spend our time watching our fish, not cleaning up after them.
Everyone here seems to like the Python, but in my opinion, they are only good for smaller tanks. The hose is too small (only 5/8" I think). For larger tanks, you need to scale up.
I would recommend making your own MFK size gravel vacuum. Take the Python concept and step it up a notch. I can vacuum my gravel and do a water change in 30 minutes on my 270 gallon where it used to take me over an hour with the standard Python. The hose is 1.25" and it can drain 100 gallons in well under 10 minutes.
Check out my thread: http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=209451
I would recommend making your own MFK size gravel vacuum. Take the Python concept and step it up a notch. I can vacuum my gravel and do a water change in 30 minutes on my 270 gallon where it used to take me over an hour with the standard Python. The hose is 1.25" and it can drain 100 gallons in well under 10 minutes.
Check out my thread: http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=209451
