swimfin27
Full Member
Breeding is the ultimate joy!
Posts: 67
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Post by swimfin27 on Dec 24, 2015 13:18:45 GMT -5
Hi E.A. community, it has been a while since I have been active.
I have come to pick brains and chew bubble gum...and I'm all out of bubble gum.
Has anyone given any real thought as to where our sewer drains lead? I know first hand what the effect just leaving your sink on while you brush your teeth has on our natural resources. This knowledge has prompted me to cringe as I dump my used aquarium water down the drain or in the backyard(after watering the plants). I started to question what I could do to make this water reusable again.
My skill set is in wastewater and I know how to make a supernate, that is passable to EPA standards and beyond, using a biological process. This biological process uses the same microbial lifeforms that are in our aquariums, give or take a few exceptions.
My ultimate goal is to create a simple process to convert my used aquarium water into reusable water for the sole purpose of water changes.
Some thoughts and ideas that I already have are: A. 1. Pre filter influent(incoming wastewater(waste)) using filter floss into a storage bin 2. Keep under cycled aeration and anoxic periods to achieve denitryfication. 3. Decant(discharge) supernate to secondary holding container. 4. Run effluent(out going) through R/O unit using the waste from the R/O as gardening water or filling toilet reservoir for flushing.
B. 1. Repeat steps 1-3 in (A) 2. Use plants for nutrient removal,Aquaponic style.
What are some of your thoughts and ideas on these methods? This idea is still in the development stages right now but without these discussions on conservation this hobby/career will one day be null.
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Post by Carl on Dec 25, 2015 13:22:58 GMT -5
This seems like a good idea if it is worth the trouble and expense. I a dry climate where water is precious, it makes more sense to me The RO will loose a of the water as waste too. Further Reference for RO use: www.aquarium-pond-answers.com/2006/12/how-do-fish-drink.html#reverse_osmosisConsidering the cost of saltwater, and the fact this cannot be used to water one's garden as I have with my clients freshwater aquariums, developing such a system (minus the RO since it will defeat the purpose) could save a lot of money and keep old saltwater from being flushed which is what I did with my SW clients Carl
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Post by devonjohnsgard on Dec 28, 2015 12:36:26 GMT -5
This is a very interesting project. I'd like to follow along. Right now, I'm dumping water in my garden area. Even through the winter, I'm still dropping it for added nutrients to the soil. But it's still a pretty big waste.
So, your taking your water change water putting it in one container. Then putting into another through a supernate? then through an RO?
Sorry, I'm not much help in the process, but you can bounce some ideas off me...
Welcome back btw! I was wondering where you went just last week. Hope your well.
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Post by devonjohnsgard on Dec 28, 2015 12:39:14 GMT -5
Wondering if the RO will make it worth your while. Another good option is running the waste to a washing machine.
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Post by childofiam on Jan 8, 2016 22:15:03 GMT -5
I put my water into my 600 gal yard pond that house gold fish and Coy. One side of the pond has a 12 foot long bed, 3 foot wide that the water has to run through before it get to the pond. There is a layer of soil on top of peat gravel and lava rock where we plant flowers that benefit from the water. We also catch the rain water from our back roof for the pond. I pull water from this pond in the summer to water my other flower gardens. Water here in our small town is the price of gold per say. We even have to pay for run off water even tho no water leaves our property.
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Post by Carl on Jan 9, 2016 11:21:54 GMT -5
I put my water into my 600 gal yard pond that house gold fish and Coy. One side of the pond has a 12 foot long bed, 3 foot wide that the water has to run through before it get to the pond. There is a layer of soil on top of peat gravel and lava rock where we plant flowers that benefit from the water. We also catch the rain water from our back roof for the pond. I pull water from this pond in the summer to water my other flower gardens. Water here in our small town is the price of gold per say. We even have to pay for run off water even tho no water leaves our property. This is a rather ingenious system! How are the nitrate levels in your pond with this system? Carl
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Post by childofiam on Jan 9, 2016 13:02:44 GMT -5
I put my water into my 600 gal yard pond that house gold fish and Coy. One side of the pond has a 12 foot long bed, 3 foot wide that the water has to run through before it get to the pond. There is a layer of soil on top of peat gravel and lava rock where we plant flowers that benefit from the water. We also catch the rain water from our back roof for the pond. I pull water from this pond in the summer to water my other flower gardens. Water here in our small town is the price of gold per say. We even have to pay for run off water even tho no water leaves our property. This is a rather ingenious system! How are the nitrate levels in your pond with this system? Carl In the Spring and fall no problems at all because its the rainy seasons in Indiana, but in the hot summer I have to add fresh water because of evaporation, I can loose 10 gals of water a day when temps get above 90. Keeping 80% of the deep end "4 feet" covered with Lillie's and floating plants keeps algae away. I have not tested for minerals in the past but I will from now on because of this article I am still studying written by a guy named Carl Strohmeyer, "AQUARIUM CHEMISTRY; Calcium, KH, Ph, GH, Mineral Cations/Electrolytes; Freshwater & Marine" Thank you Carl Richard
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Post by parker002 on Jan 12, 2016 16:48:24 GMT -5
I find I lose the most water right now. When the humidity drops below 30% and the temps go into the single digits, the pond dries up literally overnight.
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Post by childofiam on Jan 12, 2016 18:25:27 GMT -5
I find I lose the most water right now. When the humidity drops below 30% and the temps go into the single digits, the pond dries up literally overnight. Right now it is 13 deg and the Humidity is 78%. Our high today was 16 deg and the sun went down as the temps will drop to 3 deg tonight. I can always tell when a storm is coming in the summer in Indiana... My pond will start to go down
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Post by Carl on Jan 13, 2016 11:12:29 GMT -5
Interesting! with the exception of two ponds I built here in Oregon, all my experience with ponds is in southern California where this is not a problem. At worse, the pond water might get below 50F in Dec. thru Feb. Carl
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Post by parker002 on Jan 13, 2016 11:38:57 GMT -5
ROFL
My pond is one big icicle. It's going to be in the 20's today but we had 2 or 3 days last week where wind chills went past 20 below and it's looking like this weekend is coming in with much of the same. Low on Saturday night of -3 with windchills below -30.
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Post by childofiam on Jan 13, 2016 11:47:16 GMT -5
Interesting! with the exception of two ponds I built here in Oregon, all my experience with ponds is in southern California where this is not a problem. At worse, the pond water might get below 50F in Dec. thru Feb. Carl I have seen the ice a foot thick, I leave the pump running 24 / 7 with a water fall. This doesn't allow Ammonia to build up and the O2 to stay stable.
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Post by parker002 on Jan 13, 2016 12:15:32 GMT -5
Yeah, I leave the waterfall running and I also use a heating element. This keeps about a 2' diameter hole in the ice so gas exchange can take place.
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Post by childofiam on Jan 21, 2016 18:28:44 GMT -5
Hi E.A. community, it has been a while since I have been active. I have come to pick brains and chew bubble gum...and I'm all out of bubble gum. Has anyone given any real thought as to where our sewer drains lead? I know first hand what the effect just leaving your sink on while you brush your teeth has on our natural resources. This knowledge has prompted me to cringe as I dump my used aquarium water down the drain or in the backyard(after watering the plants). I started to question what I could do to make this water reusable again. My skill set is in wastewater and I know how to make a supernate, that is passable to EPA standards and beyond, using a biological process. This biological process uses the same microbial lifeforms that are in our aquariums, give or take a few exceptions. My ultimate goal is to create a simple process to convert my used aquarium water into reusable water for the sole purpose of water changes. Some thoughts and ideas that I already have are: A. 1. Pre filter influent(incoming wastewater(waste)) using filter floss into a storage bin 2. Keep under cycled aeration and anoxic periods to achieve denitryfication. 3. Decant(discharge) supernate to secondary holding container. 4. Run effluent(out going) through R/O unit using the waste from the R/O as gardening water or filling toilet reservoir for flushing. B. 1. Repeat steps 1-3 in (A) 2. Use plants for nutrient removal,Aquaponic style. What are some of your thoughts and ideas on these methods? This idea is still in the development stages right now but without these discussions on conservation this hobby/career will one day be null. This time of year, "Winter" I could use the water to refill the toilet bowl. Water is at the cost of gold here and our sewer bill is 3 times the water bill. You have made me scratch my head about this...
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