The Puffer Forum

RTR wrote: 5. Water partials: I have done a lot of work in this area, and IMNSOHO and IME there is nothing, repeat, nothing, as good as daily partials for maintaining steady/stable tank parameters and promoting fish health and growth. From the fish keeper's viewpoint this is neither efficient nor anything other than a PITA, that I grant. From the fish's viewpoint, the only thing better would be a constant flow-through system.

What is a constant flow through system and how does it work?

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=1058&p=9119&hilit=+hobby+flow#p9042

Sorry going back to 2005, but I thought I recently read this as a new topic last week.

Very large aquariums located near seashores may have tanks of water from the ocean filtered and heated being continually added to their massive systems, while dirty water is constantly drained off. I am pretty positive I have seen sumped freshwater setup schematic where an adjustable drain is added to one overflow, to regulate change rate, while an auto-topoff in the sump ensures that water is added as needed.

Many public aquaria use flow-through systems for FW, but it is uncommon for hobbyists. The most hobbyists are likely to custom build is an automated or semi-automated daily partial system*. I have run such on a relatively small scale in the past, and have been delighted with the results. currently i am playing with several techniques for this winter's revision of the tank room. I am most likely to settle on running a couple of semi-automated setups with 20% alternate-day partialling systems. They will be on smallish (mid-sized tanks, likely four tanks per system). The choice of alternate-day rather than smaller daily-partial setups is due to space restriction on my room for reservoirs of aged water (one of my "things"). I have to get as many tanks as possible onto semi-automated setups to reduce the need for my effectively daily need to check the tank room and do some tank work most days - it takes very little time in actuality, but I am not physically in shape to be reliable any more. I had rather shed tanks than have the fish suffer. Both of these setups will be breeding systems, one for the rainbows, the other either for one of the two tangs I currently run or maybe for Emperor Tetras (I.m curious to see if the Emperors will do as well in such a setup as I suspect that they will. I have done a single-tank setup for them which worked well, so it may work with a lower-labor system).

*Such setups are not as rare as most on-line hobbyists would imagine. One local group to which I belong has several members with such.

that is what I thought it was... WWM has hooked me up with a gentleman who is willing to work with me on one of these set ups.

This is more future thinking than the "here and now", but in Canada we are allowed to take water OUT of a water shed but not allowed to put it IN. Yea, BIG fine / imprisonment for that.

Since our move is inevitable one property we are looking at is along a river with city serviced water.

If and that is a big IF, we obtain the waterfront property, I could take the river water, place it into holding tanks, sterilize it, and have the tanks auto drain into the city sewage or have it used in the gardens.

I know Large oceanfront aquariums do this... but I wonder where the waste water goes? Back to the ocean?

Personally I think this is an ideal set up that could be used for fish tanks as well as waste toilet water or showers etc... (grey water)

Thank you for the replies... I'll be looking into this further as the move date becomes nearer..