Ted a well done video as usual.We on Long Island,NY, are so lucky to have water that doesn't need anything to modify it.My sponge filters always look like the one on the right in your video.With as many tanks as you have an automatic system is a great time saver.Carrying buckets is a no ,no, for us older aquarists.With 30 tanks I use two water pumps attached to hoses ,moved from tank to tank ,that lead to the sink.In summer the hoses are emptied in the garden.I change 50% of the water in each tank weekly.This weekly .process takes me 3 1/2 hours.I age water only for emergencies and use no RO. I do use Tropical Magnolia leaves for the Apistos and a mix for Rift lake African cichlids.I've bred ,with some success, both soft and hard water fish , some purchased from your fish room.My system is not automatic but I would assume most of you viewers don't have as many tanks as you do.
That is just incredible. come the new year a drain system will be a necessity for me. I'm fortunate enough to have my fish room in my garage to the water can just be piped or led by hose right into the yard. Your fish room in inspirational.
Ted, thank you for share your experience on this subject. It was very through and consise and enlightening. I hope to get to the stage where I require an automated system. Cheers from Kelowna, BC.
How big are the drain pipes. I am currently doing this just making sure they won't over flow if not big enough. Thank you for the video always great content
Remember, chloramines will always be found in municipal tap water even when that municipality doesn't use chloramines for water treatment because chloramine is also a byproduct of the interaction between chlorine and organic contaminants in the water system and there will always be organics in any water systems. All cities use either chloramine or chlorine in city water supplies. Chlorine is used far less now because it dissipates much more quickly than chloramines do (it's less efficient).
Sorry to tell you but you are incorrect. Chloramine is often used in large water systems. The byproduct of the interaction between organics and chlorine is called trihalomethanes. Look up your local water companies water quality report and they will list the data. I believe chloramine is ammonia bonded to chlorine which allows the new molecule to last for a longer period of time .
That system was not drain and fill, it was all fill and overflow. The fill emitters are all above the water line in the tank. And even if they were in the water, the water pipe from the manifold runs on the ceiling, and the manifold has solenoid-controlled valves that would prevent back flow.
I never change water, I just add. Here's my hint "aquaponics" lol I can be lazy and get some fresh veggies out of it lol I really enjoy all your videos. Keep them up.
fish need minerals and trace elements that disappear after some time, even in an aquaponics system, so I think fish ALWAYS need new water, or extra dosing of the first two. Maybe i'm wrong, but that is the logical thing I keep in mind unless others (can) proof i'm wrong.
If I understand your setup - you are acclimating fish that naturally occur in low pH and minimal dissolved solids to your tap water's pH of 8.2 in one week? I have water that comes from the tap at 8.4 pH and have been afraid to try the finicky species such as discus as a result. Love your videos! Thank you for all your time and effort.
+Ben Carson I am not sure I understand what you are asking for. I have some siphons that are hoses attached to old u-tube intakes from canister filters that have screens on the end. The automated changer does not have a siphon.
+MelodicSeoul I let the water changer do it. After the fish have settled in for a couple days, I turn on the water changer valve over the tank. It will take a week for the water in the tank to be brought up to the tap parameters.
Because that is how I was instructed to do it by Jehmco. The solenoid is set up to work with the full tap pressure. The regulator reduces the pressure going into the pvc to prevent damaging it or the drop valves.
+Don Jensen That was a piece of leaf... it actually stuck in the tube and you can see it. I never siphon with an unscreened siphon head unless the water is flowing to a bucket (as it was in the video... but you cannot see the bucket).
450 tds to 300 tds and Mg/Ca traded for NaCl- so the water softener is an ion exchanger? I'm guessing RO water mixed with tap water is not cheaper in your situation, nor is it feasible because you would have to store even more water than you already do - and the mixing of it... time consuming. Personally I wouldn't be happy with NaCl in the water - but I don't have to change nearly as many tanks as you do either. Very informative. I'm guessing your RO unit is only used for certain fish or breeding... guess I'll have to wait to find out... Hurry!
+Catfish Cave Sodium chloride in an aquarium is not a problem for most fish in low concentrations, and 300 ppm is relatively low. Magnesium and calcium (GH) are much more bothersome for soft water fish. The habitats that they come from (especially black water) have no measurable GH. I use the RO mostly for fish that are arriving from those places, and then acclimate them slowly to my tap water. For example, if I buy wild clown loaches in and acclimate them into my 6-7 GH water, they will die in front of me in about 5 minutes. If I start them in RO water and acclimate them to that GH over a week, they will be fine.
Awesome video, amazing set up. I used to have a whole house water softener that came with the house when I bought it. I removed it cause the salts in the water were tearing up/ prematurely corroding the copper pipes and ANY metal parts in toilets and many of the valves in the house. I swapped it out with a whole house water filter - just a huge carbon filter with catalytic carbon that removes all the chlorine and chloramimes, and fluoride, and whatever else the water company thinks I need to have. My water is pretty hard, but that's just fine for the African cichlids I keep. I have an RO for our family drinking water.
