- Messages
- 27
- Location
- River Falls WI
Hello everyone...
I'm contemplating building a self-water changing sump in my basement for a spare 55; if it works I'll do the same on my main tank. (Why? My back's getting really tired of hauling 5 gal buckets of RO water... )
My plan is to take a 30 - 55 gal plastic barrel as a filter sump and add a continuous trickle of extra water. It would then have a siphon on the drain; when the water level in the sump gets high enough, the sump drains (mostly!) and the siphon breaks. Voila! Automatic water changes! No moving parts!
So here's my main question - Will continuously running the tank water through a couple of gallons of peat (in the tank filter) allow me to use "regular" water instead of RO? My water is abt pH 8, 10 dH, 10 kH out of the tap (I'd run it through a carbon filter first to get rid of chlorine.) My fish do well with RO, but it's a lot of waste water down the drain. Besides, maybe they'll do better with more frequent water changes...
Any help or insights would be appreciated!
thanks!
mak
I'm contemplating building a self-water changing sump in my basement for a spare 55; if it works I'll do the same on my main tank. (Why? My back's getting really tired of hauling 5 gal buckets of RO water... )
My plan is to take a 30 - 55 gal plastic barrel as a filter sump and add a continuous trickle of extra water. It would then have a siphon on the drain; when the water level in the sump gets high enough, the sump drains (mostly!) and the siphon breaks. Voila! Automatic water changes! No moving parts!
So here's my main question - Will continuously running the tank water through a couple of gallons of peat (in the tank filter) allow me to use "regular" water instead of RO? My water is abt pH 8, 10 dH, 10 kH out of the tap (I'd run it through a carbon filter first to get rid of chlorine.) My fish do well with RO, but it's a lot of waste water down the drain. Besides, maybe they'll do better with more frequent water changes...
Any help or insights would be appreciated!
thanks!
mak