limited water changes... next step, overkill

[Magnum Man]

my 8 inch draw tubes, are fool proof draw of 8 inch's of art out of each tank, at maximum... today I modified my gravel vacuum to hook to my draw pump, so I can draw that water from the substrate if desired... also this set up would be used if Zi anted to drain the tank completely...

the only issue I've had, is my foot sometimes bumps the pump out pump, and the cheesy barb fitting attachments, strip off the threads on the pump, because of poor manufacturing tolerances... I've checked the threads on the pump, and they are 1/2 inch NPT, so I'll replace those with brass fittings, with teflon tape on the threads... I'm not worrying about any leaching, as this is all on the waste water side, 10 feet of drain hose away from the aquariums, so shrimp will be safe with this set up... I'm really liking my Indy pit crew fast water changes, at the push of a button... now there are 2 tanks, I'd really like to clean the substrate well

 

[Magnum Man]

I got the cheesy parts out, and the pump is drip free...
this is my siphon tube.... so the maximum it can suck, is just over 8 inches... just in case I get interrupted, don't want to come back to fish flopping on wet gravel

hmmm caught a lady bug...

 

[Magnum Man]

another big water change today, and I'm loosing some of the "dark" from my dark water tank... fish are still looking great, my need to take up adding "tea" bags to the filter media area???

 

[Magnum Man]

thermometer for the RO holding tank... C, and F temp scales, a 9 inch stem to reach into the actual water, rather than just recording the plastic tank measurement.... the thermometer is also able to calibrate

 

[Magnum Man]

Wow... 20 minutes for water changes for this group of 10 tanks, drawing down the full depth of my screened suction pipe... I was hustling, as I included 30 seconds, through a 1/4 inch line, of hard well water back in, per tank, when adding the pure RO water change water...
I always add the water above my digital heaters so I can monitor the temperature and that the cooler water is at the heater... with the mat heater laid against the side of the holding tank, and a piece of 2 inch foam insulation outside of the heating pad, the most temperature difference I saw, was 3 degrees F. including the colder well water... I'll be experimenting with how much mineral water I'm adding back...
it's a lot going on all at once, so I want to make sure I've had my caffine, and am focused, and uninterrupted while doing it...

so I'm pulling 9 inches of water out twice a week for water changes... I figure that is about a 50 % water change on the 55 gallons...

 

[Magnum Man]

well that was a half hour ago, and no one looks strange with the slightly larger water change, and the addition of about a gallon of hard water, per tank...

 

[Magnum Man]

took a while as busy as I am... but my stainless "T" is drilled and tapped for 1/2 inch pipe thread, and the themometer is installed... with a 9 inch probe and it sitting a few inches above the tank, if the water is within 6 inches of full, I'll get reliable temps

 

[MaloK]

In a stagnant water tank the bottom will always be colder. Sometimes a lot.

If you are on concrete, you can put the tank on 2 inch pink styrofoam and get R10 in between.

Since a sheet can do a lot more, why not R40 ( or maximum height available ).