Better water changing solution

[ruskoinabiscuit]

I want to build a simple system for water changes. I'm just done with filling up 5 gallon buckets and dumping into the tank. Doing this on a 55g is just too much work for me atm, full time job - toddler - arthritis - it just sucks. I want to use my gravel tube to empty into the buckets - and feed my plants with the water. Then I want to get a faucet adapter and attach that to a tube and fill up the tank directly. What type of tubing should I buy? and using this method, how would I add the dechlorinater? Has anyone built this solution? If so what parts did you use?
Thanks.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

The water conditioner may be an issue, as you don’t know the exact amount that is going through the tube.

I would imagine you would need to have the hose run from the faucet, into a 5g bucket, (so you can add dechlorinator once it gets full) and then “flush” the 5g somehow, into the tank.

Not exactly sure how you would go about doing that...

 

[ruskoinabiscuit]

The water conditioner may be an issue, as you don’t know the exact amount that is going through the tube.

I would imagine you would need to have the hose run from the faucet, into a 5g bucket, (so you can add dechlorinator once it gets full) and then “flush” the 5g somehow, into the tank.

Not exactly sure how you would go about doing that...

I could use math to know how much I took out and calculate how much is going back in
If I remove 3 five gallon buckets that's 15 gallons going back in. If it's easy I can do more and have little to no evaporation.
If going from the bucket to the tank, pumps would be required.

 

[clambert122]

Here was my solution to saying screw buckets.


My setup went as follows.

Equipment

X1 Neptune FFM ATK ( I chose this because I plan to move to an Apex controller at some point. But any ATK system should be fine I'm sure. )
X1 LiterMeter III 3 stage pump ( its older, and I'm sure there are better options on the market today. But it can move a pretty large amount of water in a day, pretty quietly. I had it moving 30 gallons a day in and out of my 150 gallon a little bit back when I had to treat for Ick )
X1 15 gallon reservoir. I bought mine, but you can build one easily enough.
X2 Kaomer X1 Bluetooth Microdoser. ( I don't like these pumps, as they do not remember their programming if the power gets reset )
X1 3 way Osmosis kit with long hoses.
A lot of hosing.


My literMeter has 2 pumps hooked up to it currently. All of my water gets pumped in / out of my sump under the tank.
1 pump has a hose into the sump, and then empties into a nearby sink I was able to route the hose to the sink somewhat discreetly.
1 pump has a hose in the sump, and the other end pulls from the 15 gallon reservoir next to the tank.

I generally set the amount I pump back into the tank 2 liters less per day than I pump out of the tank. So if I add 8 liters a day, I remove 10 liters a day. The water level in the sump will gradually lower below the ATK's activation level, and fill the sump back up. I set the amount I pump into the tank lower than the amount I take out so that, if over time, the flow rates get off just a little, it wont overfill my sump.

I use one microdoser to add water conditioner to the reservoir, and one adds plant food to the sump.

I have to manually add the water atm to the reservoir until I can do a little more handy work. I just have to screw the Osmosis kit hose into the sink and turn the water on. And then pay attention to make sure I don't overflow the reservoir.

I want to install a Y valve under the sink so I can just divert water. Pretty sure I can use a little robot called a PushBot ( a popular home automation robot ) to move the switch back and forth for me. Then ill move the Osmosis kit under the sink, and just have a hose that comes out of a hole I drill right in the corner below the booze.

Then I can just measure the flow rate of the water. Figure out how much the flow rate is and how long it takes to fill up the reservoir, and then automate a routine in google home to just turn the water for it on at a specific time, based on the amount i have going in and out of the tank on a daily basis.

 

[ruskoinabiscuit]

Here was my solution to saying screw buckets.


My setup went as follows.

Equipment

X1 Neptune FFM ATK ( I chose this because I plan to move to an Apex controller at some point. But any ATK system should be fine I'm sure. )
X1 LiterMeter III 3 stage pump ( its older, and I'm sure there are better options on the market today. But it can move a pretty large amount of water in a day, pretty quietly. I had it moving 30 gallons a day in and out of my 150 gallon a little bit back when I had to treat for Ick )
X1 15 gallon reservoir. I bought mine, but you can build one easily enough.
X2 Kaomer X1 Bluetooth Microdoser. ( I don't like these pumps, as they do not remember their programming if the power gets reset )
X1 3 way Osmosis kit with long hoses.
A lot of hosing.


My literMeter has 2 pumps hooked up to it currently. All of my water gets pumped in / out of my sump under the tank.
1 pump has a hose into the sump, and then empties into a nearby sink I was able to route the hose to the sink somewhat discreetly.
1 pump has a hose in the sump, and the other end pulls from the 15 gallon reservoir next to the tank.

I generally set the amount I pump back into the tank 2 liters less per day than I pump out of the tank. So if I add 8 liters a day, I remove 10 liters a day. The water level in the sump will gradually lower below the ATK's activation level, and fill the sump back up. I set the amount I pump into the tank lower than the amount I take out so that, if over time, the flow rates get off just a little, it wont overfill my sump.

I use one microdoser to add water conditioner to the reservoir, and one adds plant food to the sump.

I have to manually add the water atm to the reservoir until I can do a little more handy work. I just have to screw the Osmosis kit hose into the sink and turn the water on. And then pay attention to make sure I don't overflow the reservoir.

I want to install a Y valve under the sink so I can just divert water. Pretty sure I can use a little robot called a PushBot ( a popular home automation robot ) to move the switch back and forth for me. Then ill move the Osmosis kit under the sink, and just have a hose that comes out of a hole I drill right in the corner below the booze.

Then I can just measure the flow rate of the water. Figure out how much the flow rate is and how long it takes to fill up the reservoir, and then automate a routine in google home to just turn the water for it on at a specific time, based on the amount i have going in and out of the tank on a daily basis.

wow that's quite the setup, and pretty damn impressive. I don't have room for the extra equipment atm unfortunately. That would have to be a future solution for me once I can get a house, but where I live there isn't a home for under 1million... I know a few engineers that live in my apartment complex (including myself). Gonna save this post because that's a badass setup - do you run a filter? Or just the constant fresh water

 

[clambert122]

wow that's quite the setup, and pretty damn impressive. I don't have room for the extra equipment atm unfortunately. That would have to be a future solution for me once I can get a house, but where I live there isn't a home for under 1million... I know a few engineers that live in my apartment complex (including myself). Gonna save this post because that's a badass setup - do you run a filter? Or just the constant fresh water

Thanks! Some of it was given to me. Some I bought, so it wasn't to bad.

There is a sump under the tank flipping over the tank 5 times an hour.

But the only "extra" room that's being taken up is the side reservoir ( the black cabinet off to the side is a chiller and has nothing to do with the tasks of moving water in / out of the tank ) All the other crap, the pumps and so forth are under the tank.

Your already going to have to allocate some space for water storage no matter what though. And your going to need pumps to do it no matter what.

 

[Colin_T]

Adding chlorinated tap water to an aquarium and hoping you add enough dechlorinator is asking for trouble. You might get away with it for months or even years, but one day you will wipe out the tank. This usually happens after the water company does work on the pipes and increases the chlorine/ chloramine levels in the water. You do a water change and fill the tank with tap water, add dechlorinator and all the fish die.

Your best bet is to get a garden hose and either attach that to your gravel cleaner and run it out the door onto the lawn. Or make a plastic drink bottle gravel cleaner and use a garden hose to drain the tank.

To fill the tank, get a large plastic storage container, wheelie bin or something else that holds water. Put it near the tank and use a hose to fill the container with tap water. You can use a garden hose, plastic hose or black irrigation tubing. When you have filled the container with tap water, add dechlorinator and aerate the solution. While it is aerating, gravel clean and drain the main tank.

Use a small water pump like an AquaClear powerhead and some clear plastic hose to pump the dechlorinated water from the container into the aquarium. Make a U out of pvc pipe and attach it to the end of the hose. Hang the U upside down over the edge of the tank and it will allow you to turn the pump on and off without needing to hold the hose in the tank.

When you have filled the tank, dry the container and hoses and put them somewhere safe.

 

[Electric Warrior]

I'm not great at DIY, so investing in a Python was the best decision I ever made, especially running a big tank; there is no way I could use buckets on my 350L/90G. Having said that, they do seem to waste a lot of water when draining as you have to run the cold tap, but living in Scotland, we aren't often short of water. When I refill my tank, I simply turn off the filter, fill the tank (temp matched), and then add Prime in the amount for the whole tank. Never had any issues in well over a decade doing it this way, although my city's water parameters are pretty stable and have low levels of chlorine. I personally think a lot of people are too hung up on chlorine in the tap water. As long as your filters are off until you've finished and added the Prime or whatever to the tank (in the amount required for the whole tank, not just for how much water you've added), it's not a big deal. I guess it's all subjective, but I've never had any issues, nor known any one who has, with adding water straight from the tap. But, if you have the space, time, and money to have tons of water lying around in huge containers like a lot of discus owners do, then by all means go for it.