question about filters

[TRENT]

"so many water changes on huge tanks seems like a waste sometimes"

Water your plants, that is what I do. This way it dosen"t feel like such a wast and the plants love it. Just an idea

 

[digger]

Ok I should have explained this better, my bad. Water changes are not an option I do weekly changes, however with the water I would rather recycle it through possibly R/O unit to return it to the tank again rather than down the drain I was wondering if anyone else has done this or something similar and more efficiently

 

[pcfriedrich]

watering plants with your old aquarium water is probably the cheapest, and ecologically best choice. R/O systems are expensive, and your plants would rather you water them with old, nutrient rich, aquarium water rather than fresh tapwater.

you are going to use water to water your plants anyway, why not recycle your aquarium water?

 

[nfored]

I hooked up a toilet to a pump and a float switch and all of my tank water goes into the storage tank to flush the toilet. I think you would be surprised how much toilet water you go through in one week

 

[Bb66cuda]

Ok I should have explained this better, my bad. Water changes are not an option I do weekly changes, however with the water I would rather recycle it through possibly R/O unit to return it to the tank again rather than down the drain I was wondering if anyone else has done this or something similar and more efficiently

Give it up, you can't reuse your water. If you send it through an r/o filter only about 1/4 to about 1/10 of the water gets filtered the rest is waste water. Then you would need to add trace elements back to the water.Just water your plants with it or send it down the drain. Its not a waste! Your fish have used the water to live, it needs to be changed.

 

[justin guest]

I hooked up a toilet to a pump and a float switch and all of my tank water goes into the storage tank to flush the toilet. I think you would be surprised how much toilet water you go through in one week

Fantastic idea! When I head back to oz next year i´m planning to build a 15000L tank. Now i know how i´m going to do the water changes. Just put a bypass in one of my pump lines that goes to the toilet. Every time somone flushes, the water level drops in the sump and a float switch in the sump brings fresh filtered water into the system. Large water changes will be done by inviting people around for a barbie...
j<><