drip system

[charliezx2]

I guys i was thinking about doing a drip system on my 55 to help with high nitrate problem was thinking about 1gph. my question is what size overflow some i make i cant drill my tank. i donto want the overflow to drain my tank faster then it fills up if that's possible and i don't want to flood it of course

 

[GBHammbone]

What is the cause of your high nitrates?

 

[charliezx2]

probably over stock up i don't want to get riad of any fish i am planning on bigger tank

 

[Wy Renegade]

I guys i was thinking about doing a drip system on my 55 to help with high nitrate problem was thinking about 1gph. my question is what size overflow some i make i cant drill my tank. i donto want the overflow to drain my tank faster then it fills up if that's possible and i don't want to flood it of course

Not real sure what exactly you are referring to by a drip system. Some people install a prefab overflow system to drain water into a sump to expand tank volume and then return that water to a main tank via a return pump. The key to this type of system is to match the volume of the overflow to the flow rate of the return pump. Very few aquarium style return pumps are going to give you a flow rate of 1gph.

 

[charliezx2]

basically its the same thing big aquariums do putting a constant supply of fresh water in the system and taking out the old

 

[Wy Renegade]

basically its the same thing big aquariums do putting a constant supply of fresh water in the system and taking out the old

Ok, then its a overflow with a return and some sort of sump or storage container for additional water. A drip system is something you place in a garden to water plants. I've seen some people use a drip system to water a paludarium or something of that nature, but they either are using the water from the tank to water or they are combating the effects of evaporation, and trying to balance evaporation with a drip system can be very tricky indeed. Again, you're not going to find an aquarium return pump that will produce a flow rate of 1 gph. Most have a flow rate that is signicantly higher than that.

 

[GBHammbone]

A lot of keepers have a system like this on monsterfishkeepers.com usually because a lot of them have tanks of 200 plus gallons and doing normal water changes are a pain.i believe you would need a water line plumbed to the tank to drip in water at a set rate. In your case you want 1gph. Then there is an overflow at a set height (usually in a sump) to drain off the water when it gets high, so you are then doing a "constant water change". i don't know a way to do it "in tank"without drilling due to the water needing to go up over the lip and out. IMO, you just need to 1) reduce your stock to manageable levels, 2) multiple weekly large water changes.

 

[blert]

I guys i was thinking about doing a drip system on my 55 to help with high nitrate problem was thinking about 1gph. my question is what size overflow some i make i cant drill my tank. i donto want the overflow to drain my tank faster then it fills up if that's possible and i don't want to flood it of course

Look into HOB overflows.
Water cannot flow through the overflow faster than water entering the system. Flooding will only happen if your overflow plumbing gets clogged or it is not robust enough the keep up with the water entering the system. Plan properly and do the research.

 

[charliezx2]

I no how i am going to get the water to the tank i just don't want to come home to my house flooded because its not flowing out the overflow

 

[blert]

I no how i am going to get the water to the tank i just don't want to come home to my house flooded because its not flowing out the overflow

Like I said, there are only three ways for that to happen...
1) Overflow not robust enough. But at 1gph that's not going to happen even with the smallest overflow.
2) Something clogs the overflow or plumbing. That won't happen if you plan properly and put screens or such in place and you maintain it properly. If it is on a planted tank I highly suggest the use of some type of screen. You can also run two or more overflows and set one just a bit higher than the main to act as an emergency line.
3) Syphon break. With most commercial HOB overflows on the market today you won't have that problem. I have an Esshops HOB overflow on my reef tank that has not broken syphon or shown any signs of doing so, it is running ~120gph.

You can do DIY PVC overflows that would work very well at 1gph. They are so cheap to make that you could set two up easily.

 

[charliezx2]

That's what i placed to do thanks for the info

 

[Twoie]

I have looked into doing this exact thing on my setup's! For those of you unsure of what he is talking about here is a video of it.

http://youtu.be/NrJ3eAE4qQE

And for the original poster, you can do a really cheap PVC overflow, here is an instructional for that aswell!

http://youtu.be/65yVr7DiDls

Both YouTube videos are made by Uarujoey, an awesome DIY guy!