28 replies to this topic

[tranced]

hi. i have a standard 3ft tank that i was doing nothing with, it was in pretty bad shape so i put it outside and threw some random stuff in there. kinda like an experiment really... lol. it has no filters, pumps or heaters of any kind. it basically just got platys, corys, glass shrimp, various snails, and some plants.

it gets morning sun, and ive quite enjoyed sitting there watching it in the morning, as the sun hits the plants start bubbling away etc. there is also alot of fry from the platys.

im thinking of setting up a more permanent, and larger tank. i have a 6 x 2 x 1.5 tank thats collecting dust. i was thinking of cementing some stirrups into the ground, and attaching a wooden frame that would serve as a stand. the tank has two large holes with those threaded plastic thingys (bulkheads?). im thinking of covering them with sponge and having a constant drip going into the tank, then out through the sponged holes.

i dunno what i should use as a water source... there is a gas storage hot water unit that constantly drips water from the relief valve... do you think this drip would contain dangerous amounts of copper?

i was thinking of diverting some of the gutter flow into the tank, would being flushed with rainwater be bad for the tank? im thinking the platys wouldnt like soft water?? i could use a buffering substrate... any ideas here?

i could always plumb one of the taps to provide a constant drip of scheme water into the tank... but then chlorines a problem i guess?

any suggestions for plants that will thrive under neglectful conditions? im adding ferts to the water column right now but id like to have plants that can grow without it.

so yeah these are the pressing questions at the moment... im not sure what i should do...

[Cicolid]

i dunno what i should use as a water source... there is a gas storage hot water unit that constantly drips water from the relief valve... do you think this drip would contain dangerous amounts of copper?

I would advise you DO NOT use this as a water supply as there will be toxic amounts of copper in it.

HTH

Col

[tranced]

thanks mate. i will probably hook up scheme water drip.does anyone have any idea if a constant drip of tap water would be bad chlorinewise? it will probably be a slow sort of drip, and the tanks quite large? i guess they vary the amount of chlorine in the water anyway >_< so i might just have to 'see what happens'

any ideas on maybe dispersing the chlorine? the drip could say travel along an open channel for a metre, exposing it to air? or could drop one metre through the air into the tank? this sort of thing?

i have decided to leave the tank exposed so it will get a little bit of rainfall.

[lojik]

any ideas on maybe dispersing the chlorine?

I've read of plenty of people who swear by plain tapwater in their tanks.

Apparently UV is good for removing chlorine from water, so you may find it sorts itself out.
Perhaps have the mains tap drip into a jug that is exposed to the sun, which then overflows/drips into the tank?

[golden_dase]

Apparently UV is good for removing chlorine from water, so you may find it sorts itself out.

Are you sure?

[Cawdor]

An easy way to remove chlorine from water is just to have it sitting in a large container outside. Exposure to the sun (UV) will quicken the process.

Rainwater is a great source of water for tanks, but depending on what fish you keep you may have to harden the water and raise pH.

[golden_dase]

I thought UV is the type of light spectrum that kills bacteria etc.. didn't know it could remove chlorine

[lojik]

didn't know it could remove chlorine

Neither did I till I had a conversation last week with a guy who works for the water board.

[Cawdor]

Technically UV doesn't remove chlorine, it breaks it down
Syd can probably give us a detailed description of how it happens.

[werdna]

I doubt chlorine would be an issue anyway if it is on a constant drip setup.

[tranced]

i didnt think the chlorine would be an issue on a slow drip system, as it would probably evaporate faster than it could accumulate. i know people sometimes hook their tanks up like this, was hoping one of them could give me a definate answer. i will probably setup a reservoir, so the water will enter that first, and eventually overflow into the tank just to be safe.

also... where is the high level of copper from the hot water system coming from? sure it enters it though a copper pipe, but all tap water does... is it due to the water sitting in the pipes until its needed to top off the tank?

[tranced]

can anyone tell me the source of copper in a gas storage hot water system? the tank is welded steel... the pipes are of course copper (just like all water pipes) is there something i am missing here?

[Neakit]

you also have other contaminates coming from the annodes that are used to save the steel tank.

[tranced]

right, now thats making some sense. zinc i presume? how easily do these heavy metals come out of solution? if i run the water through a convoluted water pathway that takes ages, will it tend to precipitate out?

[Neakit]

no they generally stay in solution. Its probably better to get a plumber to replace the leaking relief valve and just top up using the hose.

[tranced]

havent got around to building a stand or anything for my 6 footer yet... but the 3 footer is still going strong! vallis has taken over and platies are still alive! pretty good for a no-tech tank that sitting outside, its basically free to run this sucker!

[Mr_docfish]

the water corp will add copper sulphate to the grid at times - it is one of many chemicals they would ad.
Chlorine is a small matter in our tap water - the metals are the bigger problem...... copper, zinc, aluminium etc.....

Tanks with high pH (high KH), high Phosphates or high dissolved Organic Carbons (DOC) will help reduce the soluble metals in the tank... and water conditioner will also help.....

and yes, light (particularly UV) will cause free chlorine to gas out of solution.

[Kieran]

Photos?

[Blakey]

i have thought of doing the same thing.... but i worry about the temperature? I have a big jungley garden and have often thought about dropping a larger aquarium in there and putting some archer fish / barramundi in it create a true style biotype...

Show us some picsss

[tranced]

it looks like a 3ft aquarium filled with pea soup