Serious questions to big tanks set up

[coolcomfort]

When people use the drip system, how do they dechlorinate the water at the same time?

Another question, how do people clean out these big tanks? Do people use graval vac on the floor to keep the sand/gravel clear? Or do they use something else?

 

[Rob909]

I assume you mean drip system as in top off/auto water change instead of acclimation method.
The drip method works because it adds such small amounts of tap water at a time, the chlorine has a chance to dilute in the established tank water. Think of putting a single drop of food dye in a 100 gallon tank. Now think of putting about 20 gallons of food dye in the same size tank. The single drop would not effect the water much but putting 20 gallons of dye (as you would a water change with tap water) would completely dye the water. Same concept here with the chlorine, except you can’t see it.

To keep the tanks clean, yes gravel vacs are used. Smash it into the gravel or skim over the surface of sand. YouTube has plenty of videos on how to clean your substrate and even ways to clean deep into the sand.
Some (like myself) prefer bare bottom tanks. They make maintenance much easier because the detritus doesn’t get buried in the substrate. It’s like dropping a handful of dirt on carpet vs a tile floor. The carpet (substrate) hides the dirt well and you can clean the big stuff from the top but it’s all still there until you vacuum it out. Since you can’t see it, you assume it’s gone and eventually, the detritus left behind builds up and creates higher nutrient levels in the tank.
On a tile floor (bare bottom tank) you can see what needs to be picked up and it can be vacuumed right up.
Barebottom just isn’t as attractive for most people.
You can paint the bottom of the tank to get rid of the reflection you see, or you can actually put floor tiles inside the tank as a base. Your imagination is your only limit!

 

[tcav88]

As stated above it’s like a putting a bucket of water in the ocean. Many people use 3 stage carbon filters to dechlorinate although myself and probably 4-5ppl here in Ohio well known on this site do not declorinate and haven’t for years with no losses although chlorine here is only 1.4ppm and no chloramine is flushed through our water here, which if your does then a multi stage pre filter is a must. I myself also run a cold drip some experienced ray keepers run a mixture of hot and cold to reduce heater usage although I find no difference per month really in electricity cost maybe 5-10$ As far as gravel vac i have powerheads that keep detritus from settling on my substrate so all I do is replace the filter floss in the sumps.

 

[TexasMFK31]

I run through a 5 micron, then 1 micron sediment filter. From there, it goes through 2 carbon block filters. I am looking to add another 2 stages of carbon which I will rotates in 2s. Take the last 2, move up in the chain, and 2 new ones in the back. The idea being to get 6 months use of them, instead of just 3.

 

[DRUKENMUNKY]

I run a 3 stage filter first thru sediment then through two carbon blocks that filter both chlorine and chloramine..what I also did was plumb the drain into the sump a little differently. I have a 240 gallon sump that normally runs at about 1/3 filled...I drilled a bulk head to drain at this level like most people do but I added a valve to it before it hits the drain going to the floor. I did this so I can shut the drain off the day before I know im going to gravel vac......for example close the drain on Monday then on tues my sump is now 2/3 full and I gravel vac till its back to the 1/3 full. doesn't disrupt my system and most importantly my tank temp does not dive into colder temps from doing a big water change. fyi my drip system changes 121 gallons a day. only thing you might consider is that if you use this method to gravel vac and are using a sump with bioballs …...some of your bioballs may be submerged when you fill on gravel vac days. I set mines up so ceramic rings are on bottom chambers and bio balls are on the highest chambers

 

[pcb0832]

I use those battery operated gravel vacs that empty everything into a fine fabric bag and then the water returns to the tank. So easy and does not get your hands wet at all. I purchased mine on amazon for about 20 dollars. Most gravel vacs will take c type batteries.

 

[Hari Haran]

you could add another drip system with diluted prime which can work on the side with your drip system.

 

[duanes]

I find most drip systems woefully inadequate, because most people take the term drip, literally and drip maybe 1 or 2 gallons per hour.
To equal one of my every other day water changes, 7 gallons per hour would need to dripped.
I also find those battery operated siphons inadequate, because the really bad stuff (nitrate, hormones, fish urine) are not removed when using them.
Cosmetically they are OK because they remove aesthetic debris, but realistically its the invisible stuff that causes health problems in a closed, or slow dripped system.