# drip water changing system



## dogman (Aug 2, 2006)

After much research and thought, I decided to give in to my laziness and build an automatic water changer (or in this case more of a continuous drip system). The first obstacle that I had to surmount, was the fact that our municipality uses chloramines in the treatment of our drinking water. I did not want to resort to R.O. because of the need to reconstitute the mineral content of the water....just more work, remember my main motivation here was to not have to make weekly water changes. I happened to stumble upon some information that led me to believe that chloramines, as nasty as they are could be removed by carbon. The idea was to make sure that there was a large volume of carbon and that the water had ample dwell time for the carbon to do its work, thus was born this, the grandfather of all carbon filters.
I really must apologize for the poor quality of my photos. A new camera just isn't in the budget right now though, so the old Kodak 1 mp will have to do. And with no further ado, here it is:

5 foot Carbon filter









This carbon filter is constructed of 2" pvc pipe and is 5 feet in length, I would approximate that it holds 5 to 6 pounds of highly activated potable water grade carbon(this is readily available on ebay). I decided on a vertical mount in order to keep the water from creating a channel, by which it might pass through without contacting all of the carbon. The water inlet is on the bottom and the outlet is on the top. One should also keep in mind that the water passes through here very slowly, I have the flow set at about 1 gallon per hour. I tested it at 1 gallon per minute and at that rate, the chloramines and or chlorine measured 0. How long the carbon will last? Well, that I am not sure, for now I plan to test once a week. I used 1/4" tubing (the type used to install ice makers) to transport the water from the filter to the aquarium. Once to the tank, it was attached to a small valve and the flow can be adjusted. The valve is circled and there is an arrow showing the water flowing into the tank.

Water inflow valve









So,now that the water is flowing into the tank it would probably be prudent to have a manner in which to get rid of the excess. My solution, a pvc overflow from a design that I found in an other forum. It is made using 1/2" pipe, the arrow is showing the water level...the location of the open end tee is what controls the water level.

PVC overflow:









I then attached a hose to the bottom of the over flow and direct it down the drain. I think that about covers it, it is a simple design, but IMHO simple is usually better....fewer things to go wrong. Oh, I used a drip calculator to determine the amount of water flow and 1 gallon per hour would be equal to about a 90% water change each week. Before, I was doing a 50% water change once a week taking time that could be used doing something else. I also feel that the inhabitants of my aquarium are happier and healthier due to the fact that they are not being subjected to such large shifts in water quality.


----------



## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

Nice simple setup! My continuous water change system is more complicated, but I doubt that it works any better. I keep my incoming flow at around 5-6 drops per second, but it varies during the day from maybe 2 drops per second to a trickle. And, my tank had a drilled back glass, where I installed a simple overflow pipe. It seems to work very well for me, and I'm pretty sure yours will work as well.

The only question I see is that with the higher flow rate you use your fertilizer dosing may need to be daily instead of every other day.


----------



## dogman (Aug 2, 2006)

I have to admit that I followed the development of your water change system and it was partly my inspiration to push ahead with my own. So, your vote of confidence means a lot...Thank you. I am trying to get my in flow slowed down to about 12 gallons per day, as I was also questioning the fertilizer dosing.


----------



## gpimm (Sep 17, 2006)

Hi Dogman,

Did you check for ammonia after your filter? We also have chloramine in our water. I've been using a counter top carbon drinking water filter that uses the full size cartridge. It seems to break the chlorine-ammonia bond and adsorbs the chlorine leaving the ammonia free. I'm not worried as the ammonia level is quite low and is a nitrogen source for the plants.

Your filter should last a long time. I finally had to change the filter cartridge a couple of weeks ago. It had been in use for nearly 5 years filtering water for drinking and cooking in my household of 1. 

An easy test of your filter is to just drink some of the water. When the filter stops working you can taste the city water...

Gary


----------

