Re:prepping aquarium water

[Dave Millman <dave at tactics_com>]

Folks have been discussing prepping aquarium water in a barrel.

I have never regretted installing running water to a 35-gallon trash can in 
the fish room closet. It has made water chemistry almost trivial. The 
installation took a few hours, which was recovered within a few weeks in 
time savings.

I ran a cold water line under the floor from the nearest bathroom to a 
T-connector and valve manifold mounted to the wall in the fish room closet. 
One valve directs tap water to a hose, another valve controls water to the 
RO system.

A 35 gallon trash can on wheels has a hole cut in the lid for hoses and 
heater cables in. At the bottom of the trash can sits a water pump and a 
heater.

When it's time to brew any combination of RO water, just turn on the RO 
system and let it run into the can. After a couple of forgetfulness 
episodes (very messy), I installed an overflow hose so that excess water 
dumps to a drain hose after reaching the 30-gallon mark. Folks with better 
memories will remember that water is brewing and turn it off in time.

The heater heats the water as it brews. I can mix dechlorinator, ferts and 
whatever right in the can. The pump is used both to mix the ingredients 
within the can and to pump the results into tanks. Water is fully mixed and 
heated before adding to a tank.

Since I drain tanks straight out the window to a plant bed, I use no 
buckets to change water, just a siphon hose and the pump hose.

This would be less of a big deal if I used tap water in the tanks, but alas 
I do not.