The effectiveness and efficiency of low-rate drip systems
- Thread starter CarpCharacin
- Start date
I do think they are over-rated if the term "drip" is used literally, and the removal of old water more closely resembles slow seepage.
My nitrate goal, when in the US was no more than 5ppm, and to achieve it I needed between 30 to 40% removal of old tank water every other day.
On a 100 gal tank, a drip of 1 gallon per hour might get very where close, and if that was my average nitrate reading, I'd go with it.
This may be what I try now living in Panama when the 180gal tank is finally set up. Here in the dry season water is very scarce. I might add a large water change sometime during the week to flush out the residual nitrate that remains or builds from only slow sewage out of the tank, and should have the overflow go straight to the garden.
My plan is to go with really hungry plants in the tank, and refugiums to aid in nitrate reduction.
Now that my tank is outside, on the patio, using water lilies and water hyacinth might help.
I use a modified drip, mostly a speed thing. I don't have time to do a fin level water change.
I use 40% capacity dump, and refill storage water. That cycles through the tank at a slow rate.
It allows me to water change on the fly, with better results than steady drip in. Drip out. Convenience is the main reason for drip systems.
I use 40% capacity dump, and refill storage water. That cycles through the tank at a slow rate.
It allows me to water change on the fly, with better results than steady drip in. Drip out. Convenience is the main reason for drip systems.
Interesting thread. If I get my upgrade, I'd probably drip in a lot as my water is included in my assessment. Only real extra cost would be carbon or whatever filtration for chlorine. My water report says<1ppm chlorine and my pool strips read 0.5 so I guess I wouldn't need as big filtration on drip system as others would.
I “drip” 160 gallons per day into a 540 gallon tank. Been doing it for years, I don’t do water changes in that tank unless I need to drain it down to net a fish out of it.
I’m replacing 1/3 or less of display daily, and it takes months for nitrates to get above 40 ppm in that tank.
You have to consider several things besides drip rate. Like....how heavily is the tank stocked? How much do you feed?
I’m replacing 1/3 or less of display daily, and it takes months for nitrates to get above 40 ppm in that tank.
You have to consider several things besides drip rate. Like....how heavily is the tank stocked? How much do you feed?
Exactly. No different than manual water changes, how much and/or how often is dictated by ones bio-load.
i drip roughly 150 gallons per day on a 700 gallon system and purposely use an oversized sump to allow the sump to rise an extra 100 gallons every other day using a simple flow valve. every other day i use this additional water to gravel vac the system. I dont know the calculations or whatever but i can tell you that since converting to this system my nitrates have finally reached 5 ppm or lower which i have never you been able to achieve in the over 25 years i have been in the hobby. The big benefit to converting to drip for me was keeping my water temp stable. I dont have hot water in my man cave and filling 250 gallons on a water change would drop my temps to the mid 70s For 12 years i did 2 250 gallon water changes per week and still had nitrates steady at the 15 to 20 ppm range. As mentioned i feel that the most attention should be put on your livestock and feeding regiment. i still believe in old school gravel cleaning......with my monsterfish...even though they eat everything i throw at them..foods like massivore.....still disintagrate little particles of dust into the water colum when the fish eat it. even miniscule parts of uneaten food will build nitrate. dont let the drip system make you lazy to still maintain your tank....get those organics out. And as much as we love to see our fish eat i feel alot of people overfeed...that along with overstocking...the neverending chase to get 0 nitrate lol
