JSD_Philly
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
- Joined
- Dec 26, 2015
- Messages
- 23
I posted this over in my tank thread, but I thought it would be helpful to post here also.
For me, Water changes are by far the most annoying part of having a bigger tank. Since I rent, I am unable to set up any plumbing, so I had to make due.
Here is what I did:
Tonight I finally got my water change system set up. I went through a bunch of difference designs and, as usual: The simplest design seems to work the best.
So here it is, pictures tell it best I think.The general design is this: Water reservoir below the tank, window next to the tank. I have set up a system that allows water to be drained from the tank and out the window, then I turn the valves and turn on the pump and water fills the tank.
Here is the valve system I created:
It is probably unnecessary, but I think it is important to use plumbers tape on ALL the connections I used:
Here is the reservoir on the out side and the inside view (I am still going to tweak this a bit, but it does work for now)
Outside:
Inside:
Here is the tank input/output (again, I'll tweak this to make sure it only drains the correct amount, even if I forget to turn it off for a minute)
Here is the valve system set up (this will be mounted to the wall soon)
Here is the output when draining tank (I had to add a pump to prime water for the draining)
Here is the switch to turn on the pump
Here is the tank when it was drained, right before I turned on the fill cycle.
And lastly, here is Herman getting a treat for putting up with the construction around his tank for the last hour:
I have a hose outside the window that I will use to fill the reservoir and I have a heater and bubbler to help get the water up to the right temp. I use Prime to get the water ready for pumping in.
Hope this helps someone who is trying to get water changes to be a bit easier.
For me, Water changes are by far the most annoying part of having a bigger tank. Since I rent, I am unable to set up any plumbing, so I had to make due.
Here is what I did:
Tonight I finally got my water change system set up. I went through a bunch of difference designs and, as usual: The simplest design seems to work the best.
So here it is, pictures tell it best I think.The general design is this: Water reservoir below the tank, window next to the tank. I have set up a system that allows water to be drained from the tank and out the window, then I turn the valves and turn on the pump and water fills the tank.
Here is the valve system I created:
It is probably unnecessary, but I think it is important to use plumbers tape on ALL the connections I used:
Here is the reservoir on the out side and the inside view (I am still going to tweak this a bit, but it does work for now)
Outside:
Inside:
Here is the tank input/output (again, I'll tweak this to make sure it only drains the correct amount, even if I forget to turn it off for a minute)
Here is the valve system set up (this will be mounted to the wall soon)
Here is the output when draining tank (I had to add a pump to prime water for the draining)
Here is the switch to turn on the pump
Here is the tank when it was drained, right before I turned on the fill cycle.
And lastly, here is Herman getting a treat for putting up with the construction around his tank for the last hour:
I have a hose outside the window that I will use to fill the reservoir and I have a heater and bubbler to help get the water up to the right temp. I use Prime to get the water ready for pumping in.
Hope this helps someone who is trying to get water changes to be a bit easier.