Pre-mixed water tank refiller

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
good idea man i am planing on using a 50gal drum for the sorta the same thing
except it will drain the tank as well hopefully into the garden
 
I did this with my planted tank kind of. The sump is on the floor of my basement, I put my 50 gallon Rubbermaid on top of my washer fill it up add prime. then use 5/8 tubing gravity feed to the sump.

My sump is setup so I can leave the pump running into the sump rather than the tank when I do my 50% weekly water changes. Your Idea would work nice for my 55 gallon upstairs.
 
Updated Instructions..


It's a real pain to have a bucket brigade and also since I have chlorinated tap water I needed a different method for doing water changes on my 125 gallon rather than just reversing flow on my Python so I created my own method. The goal is to use my XP3 canister filter's suction to suck the water out of a plastic bin that contains pre-mixed water. It uses the intake side of the filter so the water is pre-filtered before it ever gets to the tank which eliminated unwanted contaminants and debris from getting into the tank. I also didn't want to make a sump because of the cost. The total cost of this project was under $30 not including the canister filter.

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Parts List:
1x Rena Filstar XP3 canister filter
1x Watts brand 10 feet, 7/8" OD, 5/8" ID clear vinyl tubing ($10)
2x 1/2" threaded ball valves ($1.50)
2x 1/2" compression Tee with threaded side (replaces 1/2" solvent Tee)
5x 5/8" flare fitting with 1/2" threads
1x GE Silicone 10.5 oz. tube ($3.67)
1x Plastic bin with lid and latches (preferably clear) ($10)
1x Sharp knife, scissors or razorblade
1x Lighter or candle
1x Prop (Optional - used to prop up one side of the plastic bin to force more water to intake tube -- I used a rolled towel)
10x Metal hose clamps (I can't remember the size -- I think 5/8" or slightly larger, but they fit tightly on the hose)
2x Plastic tube clamps supplied with the XP3 filter.

You MUST use the tube clamps or it WILL leak water. It costs a little bit more money because of the flare fittings and compression Tee but I feel "safer" with it. Also, as an additional sealer I placed silicone on the threads of the flare fitting before screwing them into the ball valve and compression tee.


I used 7/8" OD (0.875") tubing because it fit securely on the 1/2" (0.5") valve and tee fitting without any glue. It is a little more rigid than the tubing used on the XP3. I may end up upgrading all of my tubing to this because of that. It has less chance of collapsing on itself than the XP3's tubing.

Make sure you wash all of the parts. I washed them in the sink with scalding hot water and wiped them with a wash cloth. I then let them soak in the hot water until the water started to get cold. I also test fitted the plastic bin to make sure it held water and wasn't going to burst.

Also, for the plastic bin I got one from wal-mart. It's actually not large enough to do a full 25% water change as it is about 7 gallons short but it was the largest one I could fit into the stand's doors.

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INSTRUCTIONS

Step 1. Assemble the flare fittings into the threaded ball valves. Also assemble a flare fitting into the side of the compression tee. Use a coating of the silicone on to the threads prior to assembly. After screwing them in, wipe the excess around the fitting to create an additional seal.

Step 2. Remove intake side of tubing from the canister filter that came with the XP3 because the outside diameter of the tubing is too small to fit the flare fittings.

Step 3. Measure the length of tubing that you removed from the filter and cut that amount from the clear vinyl tubing. Attach it to the plastic intake piece that goes into the tank. Use the plastic hose clamps to seal it. I haven't tried the metal hose clamps because I was worried of overtightening and cracking the plastic.

Step 4. Take the same piece and push the tubing onto the flare fitting and hose clamp it.

Step 5. Cut about a 4" piece of the vinyl tubing off of the roll and put it into the "top" of the compression tee.

Step 6. Cut another 4-6" piece of vinyl tubing off the roll and put it into the other end of the compression tee valve and attach that to the intake of the canister filter. Use the plastic clamps to clamp it to the canister filter.

Step 7. Cut another 4" piece of vinyl tubing off the roll. Put that onto the flare fitting in the side of the compression tee and use metal hose clamps to seal. Now attach this to the 2nd ball valve and use the metal hose clamps to seal it.

Step 8. Cut another piece of vinyl tubing off the roll that will be long enough to go from your 2nd ball valve to the bottom of the plastic bin. Put that onto the other side of the ball valve and use a metal hose clamp to seal it. This end will go into the bottom of the plastic bin.

Step 9. Place your plastic bin (after testing it for water leaks) under the fish tank and use the the prop on one side of it up so that water will run to one corner of the bin when it gets low. This will help maximize the amount of water that is transferred to your tank.

Step 10. Get your plastic bin and put the top on it. Cut a hole in the top of the lid large enough to fit the vinyl tubing. It should be in the corner that you have the bin tilted to. If need be, you can use a lighter or candle to heat the end of the knife or scissors to cut through the plastic easier. I used a small knife at first and it just split the top. I used a heated razor blade instead.

Step 11. Somewhere on the top cut another hole about 1/2"x1/2" square so that you can put the tube from your Python into it to fill it. I pull the large intake tube of the Python off and use the small tubing to fill the bin. If you don't want to, then cut about a 2"x2" square that is large enough to fit the intake tube. Additionally I use this hole to mix in my dechlorinator. I use the "funnel" that came with the XP3 and stick it in there and just pour the dechlorinator into the funnel so it doesn't spill all over the top.

Step 12. Go get some sleep and wait for the silicone to dry.

Step 13. Wake up, feed the fishes if necessary and continue work.

Step 14. Place the long tube coming off the 2nd ball valve into the plastic bin placing the end of it in the corner that you tilted the bin toward. Use the suction cups to secure it in place. I used the invisi-therm suction cup to actually secure it and the XP3 suction cup for extra security. I don't like the XP3's because they tend to come loose easier and the invisi-therm suction cups hold the tube better.

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HOW TO USE

Normal Operation
First ball valve on the main intake tube is OPEN. Second ball valve come off of tee fitting into plastic bin is CLOSED.

Re-fill Operation
Close first ball valve on main intake tube and IMMEDIATELY open the second ball valve coming off of the tee fitting. It should start sucking the water out of the bin. When you are close to the bottom or it begins sucking air then close the second ball vale and re-open the first ball valve. It should then start sucking water from the tank.


Priming the XP3
You can either do it the old way by pulling the quick disconnect up then filling the tube and then closing the quick disconnect. Make sure the first ball valve is open and second ball valve is closed. Alternatively you can leave the quick disconnect alone and simply close the first ball valve. Fill it up as usual and just open the ball valve. This will create the same siphon action.
 
Cool.

Steve
 
After all this time I have decided to ditch the 125g tank for a smaller 36g. I disassembled all but 1 of the XP3 filters and inspected the fittings. The main compression T-fitting and the ball valve had a lot of build up as did all of the hoses. Doing this all over again I would probably opt to replace the hoses every 2 years (it's cheap anyway) and clean the fittings yearly at least. They came apart pretty easily.

I did notice that in the last 2 months one of the main ball valves coming from the intake started to leak out of the handle portion when it was turned to the "off" position. I just put a cup under it to catch the drops. It didn't leak in the "on" position so I didn't need the cup when it was running in the normal position.
 
Updated! I just got my 36g up and running again and got new hoses and used the original fittings. All of my fish in my 125 started to die off for no known reason and I think I figured it out. The brass fittings I use still have copper in them. You can see some green "aging" on the fittings also. It was leeching copper into the water and more than likely killed the fish off.

I figured this out while cycling the new tank, it became cloudy within 2 days of getting it cranked back up. Did a water change, removed all the fittings and clear water now for a few days.

So use ONLY plastic fittings. You can get all of these parts from a Home Depot or Lowes. Use threaded plastic fittings with flared ends and just slide the tubing over the flared end and use hose clamps. Don't do them super tight, just enough it won't leak or you could crack them. They are delicate and getting the vinyl off of them after you get them on it hard.
 
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