Edward Shave
Member
I am experimenting with a DIY drip auto water change system.
Currently I am not adding any kind of de-chlorinator just dripping tap water straight into the tanks. So for example my 200L gets about 4L of fresh (tap water) per hour (96L per day) and the same amount is removed via a kind of self regulating siphon. The tank holds 200L of air when empty so a lot less water allowing for the space above the surface and displacement by way of contents. However I use the 200L figure as a rule of thumb when making calculations here as any errors are on the safe side.
Using an online calculator I estimate the tank is getting the equivalent of a 40% water change every 24 hours.
My water company tells me the average measured level of chlorine over the past 12 months was 0.29 mg/L. The highest reading was 0.63 mg/L. That's not to say those readings were the same as my personal tap water which should if anything be lower by the time it comes out of my tap. My water company does not add Chloramines .
The only means I have to measure chlorine is the Tetra 6 in 1 test strips. I understand these strips cannot be relied upon for accurate measures but I assume they will at least indicate the presence of chlorine. In my case I can see no discernible colour change when dipped in my tank. To be sure I tested some distilled water and got the same result. There was a barely perceptible colour change when testing my tap water but still less than 0.8mg/L if the colour chart is to be believed.
The tank has reasonable water flow and a spray bar running end to end powered by 2 x 800LPH external filters. So I have been working on the assumption (rightly or wrongly) that the chlorine will begin to evaporate as it's introduced and reach equilibrium at a very low (safe) level. However even if that's right I still would like to do something about chlorine in the long run in case there were to be a sudden short term increase. So I have been thinking about dosing Prime/Safe via a peristaltic pump or using an inline carbon filter.
Prime/Safe
Problem with these is how to dose very small quantities. In the case of Safe I would need to dose around 2 mg/hour and for Prime 0.1 ml/hour. Any ideas?
Carbon Filter
I'm a bit unsure of what is fact and what is fiction when reading about carbon filters. My current thinking is that activated carbon may take stuff out that my fishes and plants currently use. I don't add any fertilizer other than root tabs. So since I'm only interested in removing chlorine, would non activated carbon be a better bet? And if so where to get it as I can only see activated carbon on offer when googling. Also due to the relatively slow flow through the carbon I'm thinking I can use a cheap inline filter housing for the job such as this... Refillable InLine Filter Housing for DI Resin / Carbon Any drawbacks going this route?
Currently I am not adding any kind of de-chlorinator just dripping tap water straight into the tanks. So for example my 200L gets about 4L of fresh (tap water) per hour (96L per day) and the same amount is removed via a kind of self regulating siphon. The tank holds 200L of air when empty so a lot less water allowing for the space above the surface and displacement by way of contents. However I use the 200L figure as a rule of thumb when making calculations here as any errors are on the safe side.
Using an online calculator I estimate the tank is getting the equivalent of a 40% water change every 24 hours.
My water company tells me the average measured level of chlorine over the past 12 months was 0.29 mg/L. The highest reading was 0.63 mg/L. That's not to say those readings were the same as my personal tap water which should if anything be lower by the time it comes out of my tap. My water company does not add Chloramines .
The only means I have to measure chlorine is the Tetra 6 in 1 test strips. I understand these strips cannot be relied upon for accurate measures but I assume they will at least indicate the presence of chlorine. In my case I can see no discernible colour change when dipped in my tank. To be sure I tested some distilled water and got the same result. There was a barely perceptible colour change when testing my tap water but still less than 0.8mg/L if the colour chart is to be believed.
The tank has reasonable water flow and a spray bar running end to end powered by 2 x 800LPH external filters. So I have been working on the assumption (rightly or wrongly) that the chlorine will begin to evaporate as it's introduced and reach equilibrium at a very low (safe) level. However even if that's right I still would like to do something about chlorine in the long run in case there were to be a sudden short term increase. So I have been thinking about dosing Prime/Safe via a peristaltic pump or using an inline carbon filter.
Prime/Safe
Problem with these is how to dose very small quantities. In the case of Safe I would need to dose around 2 mg/hour and for Prime 0.1 ml/hour. Any ideas?
Carbon Filter
I'm a bit unsure of what is fact and what is fiction when reading about carbon filters. My current thinking is that activated carbon may take stuff out that my fishes and plants currently use. I don't add any fertilizer other than root tabs. So since I'm only interested in removing chlorine, would non activated carbon be a better bet? And if so where to get it as I can only see activated carbon on offer when googling. Also due to the relatively slow flow through the carbon I'm thinking I can use a cheap inline filter housing for the job such as this... Refillable InLine Filter Housing for DI Resin / Carbon Any drawbacks going this route?