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DIY Project DIY Water Changer, No more buckets!!

The only reason I can see to use boiled cold water vs water from the hot tap is that the hot water has potentially sat around in your hot water system for a while, so could have a higher copper content from the pipes (providing you have copper piping and hot water tank etc.).

The cold water that goes in the kettle will probably have come from the kitchen so will be directly supplied from the mains and have a lower copper content, if you're also a little bit more paranoid, running it for a little while to make sure the standing water in the pipe is flushed through will also minimise this.

However if you're using water conditioner* it should remove the copper, so there shouldn't be an issue.

*despite what people have said in other posts on the forum, I'd recommend using water conditioner all the time, it only takes the water authority to add a whole heap of chlorine/chloramine (or some other nasty) to kill a bug in their water supply and your tank could become decidedly unwell even if it would be fine most of the time with normal tap water.

Just my 2p on the Subject...

Cheers,

Matt
 
Hi Matt, you are right. Water that passes a boiler will have coper on it. Many years ago I learn that the hard way, when I wiped out a tank full of angelfish. I am not sure that water conditioner will take the coper out, especially with so many tanks with shrimp...
 
Hmm, well most conditioners do say they remove copper although what amounts of copper I don't know.
(I use a Tetra product (the name escapes me right now), not the cheapest (actually it's a bit of a rip-off when doing EI and weekly 50% changes), but it's what I've always used and seems to be ok).

Best-practice would be to use water fresh out of a mains tap rather than the hot-water system though.

On a vaguely related topic, I've always wondered if there might be an easy way to calculate the amount of hot water required to make cold water a certain temperature, could be a handy calculator, that way you could measure tank-temp and having a known volume of cold water you could measure the cold water temp and x litres of hot water (at 90-100'C) and know it'd be at 26'C (or whatever your tank temp was).

Might have to try and write a calculator to do it someday, will probably need to find a physics geek to work out the maths though 🙂

Once this method of calculation was known, it might be possible to use the equation and some automation to connect some kind of boiler to mix water from the mains to a precise temp for automated water changes, although a sump and a normal tank-heater may well prove to be less convoluted and dangerous! (albeit slower) 🙂
 
🙂 to change my water I use a large 20 litter water bottle cooler, that has been outside on the garden for a week, and heat it with a aquarium thermostat over night. As I got a 125L tank, 20L is more than enough for the week.

I wonder how the large aquariums get their water changed, unless they do it on the sumps...
 
On the copper front...

I've read many opinions on this over the years but the ones which strike me as scientifically valid are:
-New copper piping will leach more copper than old piping. This is because as the copper oxidises inside the pipes so a protective barrier is formed to stop copper from leaching out.
-The water which has been sitting in the pipes will have more copper than that which comes after. Again this makes sense because the standing water will have had time to collect lots of copper but the flowing water wont have.

So where does this leave us on cold days requiring large water changes?
-Maybe not advisable on a brand new hot water system.
-On an older system, run the tap for a bit first, to clear the pipes, before filling the tank.
 
oliverar said:
I don't get the whole bit in the diagram around the shower?
Click to expand...
Whats not to get? It's were you place the hose to empty the tank 😛 could be a wash basin, the toilet, the garden, out the window! whatever you like 😛
 
O, right ok! I thought that you were like using the shower and like plumbing this in or something! Sorry that was me being stupid!
 
Give that I don't have a mixer tap... I'm wondering if an in-line heater to heat the water going back into the tank might work? (not that I"m near water changes yet, but I remember doing 10% every month on my old low teck tank and that was hassle enough... and the tank was a fraction of the size, so already thinking that I can siphon water out onto the flower bed outside the window for outgoing, and perhaps run a pipe in from the tap near the window - and if I add an in-line heater, we could be in business. Can anyone think why that might not work?

m
 
redonewaterchangehook.jpg

Simply hang onto the tank, start siphon to drain, after, I attach the end to the shower head, adjust temp and refill.

I wander off, no need to stop it since the pipe has a pre set depth of draining. I just watch when it is filling.

Regards,
Tom Barr
 
The preset depth is what i use and the thing slurps as an alarm when its done i then know to change the setup to fill. I use a Python that i made using new spare parts and my own hose (Cost peanuts that way) use the water to start the syphon... Effortless.

As you say watch out on filling. I want to build a fail safe in to mine....
 
I only ever flooded the floor once when refilling, but I have come close many times, plus the Juwel tanks give you a little more room for error haha
 
LondonDragon said:
I only ever flooded the floor once when refilling, but I have come close many times, plus the Juwel tanks give you a little more room for error haha
Click to expand...

Twice now!! 😳
 
sorry for constant qus,

Other than Tom's white pipe gadget, londondragon's pump in the tank, how do people keep the hose in the tank without having to stand and hold it?
 
ive got a wooden lid so ive fixed a 15mm pipe clip inside i just push the hose through that.
 
Plastic market pegs, the huge ones people use for clipping the sheets to stalls. I prefer to stand and watch however, you can then use the water going in to agitate any areas of plants that have buckled over or to keep plants moist if it's a slower flow.
 
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